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Mo. Southern will throw everything out there
11/4/2011
By RANDY GONZALES
rgonzales@dailynews.net
Tiger coach Chris Brown expects the Lions' offense to throw everything but the kitchen sink at his defense Saturday.
The Fort Hays State University football team plays host to Missouri Southern State University in MIAA action. Kickoff for the Hall of Fame Game is 2 p.m. at Lewis Field Stadium.
"Offensively, they do a lot of different things, got some reverse passes, some double reverses, some double-reverse flea-flickers," Brown said. "They got all kinds of things in their scheme of offense."
On top of that, Missouri Southern (3-5 overall, 2-5 MIAA) will use two different quarterbacks against Fort Hays (3-6, 2-5). Both senior Collin Howard and redshirt-freshman Kyle Webster are expected to get snaps.
"Use two quarterbacks quite a bit," Brown said. "When (Howard) is in there, throw the ball little more, use him on the run. When (Webster) is in the game, got more of your counter with him, the more sprint-out stuff."
Howard has completed 143-of-228 passes for 1,592 yards, with 13 touchdowns and eight interceptions. Webster has completed 20-of-32 passes for 195 yards, with three TDs and two interceptions, and has run for 219 yards and two TDs.
The Lions' top rusher is sophomore Steven Sumpter, who has 639 yards and seven TDs.
Missouri Southern also has one of the top receivers in the conference in junior wideout Landon Zerkel, who has 64 catches for 889 yards and six TDs.
"I think they're very good up front, got good o-linemen, great tailback," Brown said. "They got two, three wide receivers that can make things happen, pretty quick, can get vertical deep on you."
The Tiger defense is led by senior linebacker Alex Whitehill, who leads NCAA Division II with 133 tackles. He needs 18 tackles to break the school's single-season record of 150, set by Junior Hartig in 1979.
Offensively, the Tigers have a 1-2 punch at running back. Junior Andre Smith has 734 yards and three TDs, and sophomore Edward Smith has 633 yards and five rushing TDs.
Junior quarterback Anthony Sheppard has completed 57-of-105 passes for 644 yards, with four TDs and six interceptions.
The Tigers' top receiver is senior Anthony Smith, who has 35 catches for 436 yards and five touchdowns.
| Scoreboard | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Sport | Date | Opponent | Score |
| 2/18 | SW Baptist | L 66-53 | |
| 12/1 | Oklahoma - Panhandle | L 66-60 (OT) | |