Coming off the first win of the year, Missouri Southern’s football team will face a team it has beaten the last two games in a row.

Tomorrow, the Lions will welcome the Griffons of Missouri Western State University for Southern’s homecoming.

The Lions may be without their starting quarterback, senior Collin Howard, for tomorrow’s game after he suffered a blow to the head against Lincoln last week. Tatum said Howard did exhibit symptoms of a concussion this week and tomorrow’s starter won’t be known until game time. However if Howard is too hurt to play, junior Black McDonald will get the start and freshman Kyle Webster will also take snaps.

Last year, also at home, the Lions dominated Western, winning 23-6. 

Southern’s victory in 2009 was a bit more eventful.

The Lions used 21 unanswered points in the fourth quarter to go ahead of the Griffons, permanently.

With 12 seconds on the clock, Roland Thompson found Daniel Thompson in the endzone with a 10-yard touchdown pass for the final nail in the coffin. 

 “We’re very proud of the fact that we’ve beaten a program of this stature,” Head Coach Bart Tatum said. “We’ve been very fortunate; they’ve been hard-fought games. But we do feel fortunate to have beaten them the last two years.”

Asked if his confidence is raised by the streak against Western, Tatum said, “It sure doesn’t hurt.”

Tatum, along with sophomore left guard Tommy White, called Western one of the MIAA’s most balanced offensive attacks, noting its ability to threaten via run or pass at any given time.

“If they have a lot of weight on their hands, they’re definitely coming for you,” White said of Western’s defensive line. “If they’re kind of backed off a little bit, they’re going to do a little game or try to get you off balance, push-pull you or just go around you as quick as possible. So you have to pick up the small things, you kind of have to have a small case of OCD; you have to pick up the little things. If their knuckles are white, they’re bull-rushing you. If their hands are soft on the turf, they’re going to back up…but I just wanna hit ‘em.”

Last week, at the Edward Jones Dome in St. Louis, Southern dismantled the Lincoln University Blue Tigers’ defense en route to a 56-14 victory, the Lions’ first of the season.

Junior wide receiver Landon Zerkel caught eight passes for 193 yards and three touchdowns, while running back, sophomore Steven Sumpter carried the ball 13 times for 162 yards and also scored three times. Also getting in on the scoring were juniors Mortez Jackson and Ne’Ronte Threatt, running and catching touchdowns respectively.