HAYS — No. 19 Fort Hays State captured the MIAA football title for a second straight year and make playoff appearances in back-to-back seasons for the first time.
Fort Hays State (9-2) qualified for the NCAA Division II Football Playoffs for the second straight year. The Tigers begin their playoff quest at noon Saturday against the University of Indianapolis.
Indianapolis enters the game 9-1 overall, ranked No. 12 in the latest AFCA Division II Poll. The Greyhounds posted a 7-0 Great Lakes Valley Conference record. They lost to Grand Valley State, the super region’s No. 3 seed.
Fort Hays State and Indianapolis were the top two seeds in Super Region 3 last year, FHSU as the No. 1 and Indy as the No. 2. No. 4 seed Ferris State upset the Tigers 31-21. No. 7 seed Harding upset the Greyhounds 27-24.
LAST WEEK — Fort Hays State secured its second consecutive MIAA Championship with a 58-0 shutout over Northeastern State. Claflin native Layne Bieberle caught two touchdown passes and had 95 yards on six catches.
Fort Hays State led 28-0 after one period. Bieberle caught a 19-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Jacob Mezera. Halfback Harley Hazlett completed a 42-yard touchdown to Bieberle.
Mezera connected with Dandre Reed with an 11-yard shovel pass and Manny Ramsey caught a 4-yard touchdown pass. D.J. Hickman scored on 1- and 2-yard runs. Charles Tigner scored on a 36-yard dash. Dante Brown converted three field goals.
WEB CAST — A free webstream of the playoff game will be available.
Go to http://www.glvcsn.com/uindy/ to watch on the GLVC Sports Network. Just like the MIAA Network, the GLVC Network has an app available on Roku, Android TV, Amazon Fire TV, and Apple TV. Search for the GLVC Sports Network on when using any of the four devices on your TV.
AUDIO — Gerard Wellbrock and Dustin Armbruster will call the playoff game from Key Stadium on Saturday. Mix 103.3-FM (Hays) and 1590-AM (Great Bend) will air the game. Internet radio is available (https://www.hayspost.com/tiger-radio/)
