Michael Hill ran through Fort Hays and in turn, ran right into the record books.
The senior running back became Missouri Western’s all-time rushing leader and carries leader Saturday as the Griffons defeated Fort Hays 21-3 at Lewis Field Stadium.
Hill finished with 26 carries for 198 yards to pace 7th-ranked MWSU (4-0, 3-0 MIAA) to its first road win of the season. He became the program’s all-time leading rusher with a 19-yard run in the second quarter, surpassing Tony Williams’ record of 3,396 Hill surpassed Thomas Hodges’ career carries mark (693) with a 56 yard run to begin the third quarter.
Junior quarterback Travis Partridge celebrated his 22nd birthday by going 13-24 for 163 yards and two touchdowns with one interception through the air, and rushing for 23 yards and adding a score on the ground.
The Missouri Western defense held Hays to 270 yards of offense.
The Griffons jumped out to a 14-3 lead midway through the second quarter, but a series of miscues prevented them from pulling away. MWSU committed two turnovers to end the half. The struggles continued in the third quarter after the Tigers stuffed Partridge on a 4th and goal attempt. The Griffons found themselves in scoring position again minutes later, but missed a 44-yard field goal attempt.
The Griffon defense kept the Tigers at bay long enough for the Griffon offense to mount a 12 play 81 yard scoring drive in the fourth quarter, capped by Partridge’s quarterback sneak from one yard out to give the Griffs a 21-3 lead.
Fort Hays falls to 0-4 on the season, while the Griffons felt relieved to escape their first road game of the season with their first road win of the season.
“I”ve had a root-canal once and this game reminded me of that,” quipped Head Coach Jerry Partridge. “I got it done and I was better for it, but it was real painful throughout the whole process.”
Hill has sped up the process of becoming Missouri Western’s all-time rushing king. He has now rushed for 737 yards through four games, upping his record career total to 3,538 career yards on 709 career carries.
“I always had (the record) in the back of my mind but I never thought I’d get to it,” he explained. “I’m just blessed to have everybody I’ve had around me.”
“This record goes to them too.”
The Griffons return home Saturday, September 29th to take on Central Oklahoma in the Wendy’s Hall of Fame Game at 7:00 pm. Ironically, Tony Williams, MWSU’s former rushing leader, is one of the inductees into this year’s Missouri Western Hall of Fame.
— MWSU Sports Information —