By RANDY GONZALES

rgonzales@dailynews.net

After giving up more than 400 yards rushing in last week's 59-41 loss at Pittsburg State University, the Fort Hays State University football team gets national power Northwest Missouri State University for Saturday's Senior Day.

"They're a very good football team," Tiger coach Kevin Verdugo said. "But I don't think there's a bad team in our conference."

Kickoff is 2 p.m. for the Tigers' final home game against Northwest Missouri State, which clinched at least a share of the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association title with an overtime win over Washburn University last week.

Fort Hays (5-4 overall, 3-4 MIAA) needs a win either Saturday against the Bearcats or next week at Missouri Southern State University for the first winning season in Tiger coach Kevin Verdugo's five years at the school.

As well, if the Tigers don't win their next two games, they can probably kiss their postseason hopes goodbye.

At the other end of the spectrum, third-ranked Northwest Missouri State (8-1, 7-0) has been national runner-up the last four seasons and owns a 35-game MIAA regular-season winning streak under Coach Mel Tjeerdsma, who turned the program around when he arrived in 1994.

"I think they're kind of the Division II version of K-State," Verdugo said. "School really decided they wanted to win."

The Bearcats average 458 yards per game, 304 passing and 154 on the ground.

"They're going to have a very good running game," Verdugo said. "Probably one of the most athletic lines in the conference.

"They're also able to throw the football," he added,

Senior tailback LaRon Council leads the Bearcats in rushing, scoring 12 TDs with 864 yards on the ground, averaging 5.1 yards per carry. Junior quarterback Blake Bolles is completing 67 percent of his passes (194-of-288) with 26 touchdowns and seven interceptions. The leading receiver is sophomore wideout Jake Soy, who has 47 catches for 803 yards and 15 TDs.

"He's a good football player, like the rest of the team," Verdugo said of Bolles.

Fort Hays suffered its worst loss of the season last year against Northwest Missouri State, falling 56-7 on the road.

But the Bearcats squeaked by the Tigers in Hays in 2007, winning 17-10.

Senior quarterback Mike Garrison has operated the Tigers' no-huddle spread offense with efficiency, completing 168-of-278 passes (60 percent) for 2,028 yards, with 13 touchdowns and five interceptions. He also has rushed for 290 yards and four TDs.

Verdugo said Garrison doesn't turn the ball over.

"That's what I want our quarterback to do, manage the game well," Verdugo said.

Junior running back James Walker leads the Tigers with 759 yards rushing and eight touchdowns, while junior wideout O.J. Murdock is a dangerous deep threat, averaging almost 23 yards per catch on 27 receptions, with eight TDs.

Verdugo praised the seniors before their final home game.

"Great kids, great players," Verdugo said. "Can't make strides without a group like that."