Tony Adame looks at Saturday’s small-college, junior college football games (Oct. 24)
MIAA
Fort Hays State (5-2, 5-2 MIAA) at No. 3 Northwest Missouri (7-0, 7-0), 2 p.m. — If Fort Hays State can go back-to-back with upsets over ranked teams following last Saturday’s win over No. 13 Emporia State, the Tigers can consider themselves very much alive in the NCAA Division II playoff hunt.
Fort Hays State’s defense is led by senior linebacker Brock Long, a Southeast-Saline and Hutchinson Community College product. Long, in the mix for MIAA Defensive Player of the Year with four games left, is second in the MIAA with 110 tackles and leads the league with 13.5 tackles for loss.
Other games
Pittsburg State (4-3, 4-3) at Nebraska-Kearney (0-7, 0-7), 1 p.m.
Northeastern State (2-5, 2-5) at Central Missouri (5-2, 5-2), 1:30 p.m.
Missouri Western (4-3, 4-3) at No. 19 Emporia State (6-1, 6-1), 2 p.m.
Central Oklahoma (2-5, 2-5) at Washburn (4-3, 4-3), 2 p.m.
Lindenwood (2-5, 2-5) at Missouri Southern (1-6, 1-6), 2:30 p.m.
KCAC
No. 11 Tabor (6-1, 5-0) at Friends (2-5, 2-5), 1:30 p.m. — After beating No. 19 Kansas Wesleyan last Saturday, the KCAC title is Tabor’s to lose. The Bluejays have four games remaining, with none against teams with winning records and two against the KCAC’s last-place (McPherson) and next-to-last place (Bethany) teams.
Tabor defensive end Dylan Delk is having an All-American season. The 6-3, 220-pound senior from Hillsboro High leads the KCAC in tackles for loss (14.5) and sacks (6) and leads Tabor with 46 tackles.
Other games
Ottawa (4-2, 4-1) at Sterling (3-3, 3-2), 1:30 p.m.
No. 19 Kansas Wesleyan (6-1, 4-1) at Bethany (1-6, 1-4), 1:30 p.m.
Bethel (2-4, 2-3) at Southwestern (2-5, 2-3), 1:30 p.m.
McPherson (0-6, 0-5) at Saint Mary (2-5, 2-3), 1:30 p.m.
Jayhawk Conference
Garden City (1-7, 1-4 Jayhawk) at No. 1 Butler (8-0, 5-0), 7 p.m. — Butler running back KicKobe McCrary is coming off his most dominant game as a Grizzly, rushing for 249 yards and two touchdowns in last Saturday’s 42-39 win over No. 1 Coffeyville. McCrary, 6-2 and 234 pounds, leads the nation with 19 touchdowns. Butler went from No. 3 to No. 1 in the country in this week’s NJCAA poll after beating Coffeyville and No. 2 Snow lost 37-27 to unranked Eastern Arizona.
Butler and No. 2 Rochester (Minn.) are the only two undefeated teams left in the Top 25, with both at 8-0. Butler has three regular-season games remaining. Rochester has one regular-season game remaining on Saturday against Fond du lac before the MCAC playoffs, which would end on Nov. 7, the same day as Butler’s final regular-season game.
Other games
No. 13 Iowa Western (6-2) at Hutchinson (4-4), 1 p.m.
Independence (1-7, 1-4) at Fort Scott (2-6, 1-5), 1 p.m.
No. 4 Coffeyville (7-1, 3-1) at Highland (4-3, 3-1), 1 p.m.
Tony Adame
This story was originally published October 23, 2015 at 11:16 AM with the headline "Tony Adame looks at Saturday’s small-college, junior college football games (Oct. 24)."