November 14, 2026-The #21 Hornets outgained Fort Hays State by 90 yards but had two turnovers and gave up a safety in a 22-17 loss to the Tigers in Hays, Kan. on Saturday.
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HOW IT HAPPENED
Emporia State took the opening kick and drove 73 yards before turning the ball over on downs at the Fort Hays State two yard line. The Hornets forced a punt on FHSU's possession thanks in part to a
Christian Westbrooks sack back to the Tiger six yard line. ESU took advantage of good field possession following the punt and took a 7-0 on a one yard run by
Teaguen Collins and the PAT by Braden McCary with 2:20 left in the quarter.
On the Tigers first play from scrimmage Major Cantrell found Kolton Coleman behind the Hornet defense and he went 71 yards for the score. The PAT attempt was wide and Emporia State held onto a 7-6 lead with 1:53 left in the opening quarter.
After a punt to start the second quarter, Emporia State forced another three and out, highlighted by a
Carlos Strong Jr. sack for a loss of 13 back to the Tiger eight yard line. The Hornets again took advantage of the short field and McCary hit a 24 yard field goal to give ESU a 10-6 lead with 9:07 left in the half. FHSU answered with a five play, 73 yard drive capped by a four yard touchdown pass from Mason McMinn to Keyshawn Dooley for a 13-10 lead with 6:03 left. The Hornets would drive down ot the Tiger 12 yard line with 11 seconds left in the half, but
Charles Morgan was tackled at the four and time ran out before the ESU could spike the ball.
The second half started with Emporia State forcing a punt, but the return was fumbled giving FHSU the ball at the ESU 36. The Hornets forced another three and out with
Landon Boss getting a ten yard sack on third and six. Logan Russell's punt was downed at the one yard line and on second and ten
Camden Crooks was tackled in the endzone by Parrish Terry and Shadryon Blanka for a safety and 15-10 Tiger lead.
The teams traded punts over the next six series. On Fort Hays State's first full possession of the fourth quarter, Emporia State forced another punt on fourth and three but was flagged for running into the kicker to extend the drive. On the next play AG Floyd bounced outside and went 67 yards for touchdown to put the Tigers up 22-10 with 12:03 remaining in the game.
The Hornets answered with an eight play, 70 yard drive that ended with an 11 yard touchdown pass from
Jamison Sarver to
Ty Walls on fourth down with 8:28 left.
After trading punts, Emporia State got the ball back with 2:57 left on their own 42 with all three timeouts. The Hornets drove all the way down to the Tiger four yard line, converting two third downs along the way. Facing third and goal from the four Sarver was intercepted by Donovan Guyton in the endzone with 46 seconds left to seal the FHSU win.
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A LOOK AT THE STATS
Jamison Sarver went 37 of 53 for 290 yards with a touchdown and added 15 rushing yards.Â
Ethan Schultze was his favorite receiver with nine catches for a career high 109 yards as 12 different Hornets caught a pass.
Gabe Roland had eight tackles while
Carlos Strong Jr. had six with 1.5 sacks.Â
Landon Boss added four solo stops with a sack and two quarterback hurries.
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UP NEXT
The Hornets end the regular season 8-3 and will await their post season fate. Entering the day Emporia State was sixth in Super Region 4. The automatic qualifiers from the MIAA, GAC, RMAC and Lone Star Conferences along with the next four highest rated teams in NPI in the region will make the NCAA playoffs.Â
The NCAA Selection Show is set for 5:00 p.m. on Sunday on ncaa.com Â
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