Ninth-ranked Emporia State travels to Joplin on Saturday, October 10 to face Missouri Southern at Fred G. Hughes Stadium, putting the Hornets' unbeaten record on the line at the halfway point of the MIAA season.
Emporia State is 5-0 overall and 3-0 in the conference. In last week's 34-22 win over Missouri Western, quarterback Jamison Sarver completed 32 of 49 passes for a career-high 390 yards and two touchdowns, spreading completions to eleven different receivers, the university reported in its October 8 game preview. Camden Crooks added 110 yards from scrimmage, and the defence won the turnover battle with two interceptions and a fumble recovery while committing none.
Missouri Southern is 1-4 and 0-3 in the MIAA, but the series history argues against complacency: Emporia State leads it 28-22, and the Hornets needed a 31-24 result the last time. Kickoff is 2 p.m., with radio coverage on KFFX-FM and streaming on the MIAA Network.
Defensively, Emporia State's Tyler Schultze set the school career record with his 32nd pass break-up last week, and Aidan Hicks tied his career high with eleven tackles. Landon Boss recorded 4.5 tackles for loss, a sack and a forced fumble.
Mid-season road games against struggling rivals are where unbeaten seasons quietly die. The Hornets' numbers say contender; Joplin gets the next vote.
Emporia State's balance is the scouting problem: a quarterback coming off 390 yards, eleven receivers with catches, and a defence setting school records will travel well. Missouri Southern's path runs through slowing the game and shortening it, the classic underdog arithmetic, in front of a home crowd with nothing to lose.
Up next, the Hornets host Central Oklahoma on Saturday, October 17, so a win in Joplin would carry Emporia State into the season's second half unbeaten with its ranking, and its margin for error, intact.
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