# 2019 Emporia State Hornets football team

The 2019 Emporia State Hornets football team represented Emporia State University in the 2019 NCAA Division II football season. The Hornets played their home games on Jones Field at Francis G. Welch Stadium in Emporia, Kansas, as they had done since 1937. 2019 is the 122nd season in school history. The Hornets were led by head coach Garin Higgins, who was in his 18th season overall, and 13th season at Emporia State as head coach. Emporia State has been a member of the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association (MIAA) since 1991.

## Preseason

The Hornets enter the 2018 season after finishing with an 8–4 overall, 7–4 in conference play last season under Higgins. The 2019 MIAA Media Day will be held on July 31, where conference preseason rankings will be released.
New changes occurred this year in conference play. With Lindenwood and Southwest Baptist's departures in July 2019, Lincoln re-joined MIAA football play after four seasons in the Great Lakes Valley Conference.
On July 31, 2019, the Hornets were chosen to finish 6th in the conference preseason polls by the coaches and media.

## Personnel
### Coaching staff

Along with Higgins, there are 9 assistants.
| Name | Position | Seasons at ESU | Alma mater |
| Garin Higgins | Head coach | 13 | Emporia State (1992) |
| Bryan Nardo | Co-defensive coordinator/linebackers Coach | 8 | Ohio (2008) |
| Mike LoPorto | Co-defensive coordinator/defensive line coach | 10 | Emporia State (2010) |
| Nathan Linsey | Defensive Secondary/special teams coordinator | 8 | Emporia State (2010) |
| Cayden Cochran | Passing Game/recruiting coordinator/Receivers | 2 | Valdosta State (2013) |
| Tony Koehling | Running game coordinator/offensive line coach | 5 | Ohio (2013) |
| Daniel Goodman | Strength and conditioning coach/running backs | 2 | Emporia State (2015) |
| Jermaine Lopez | Special Teams Quality Control | 1 | Emporia State (2017) |
| Evan Porter | Offensive Quality Control | 1 | Emporia State (2017) |
| Ethan Sharp | Defensive Quality Control | 1 | Emporia State (2017) |
| Reference: ||||

### Roster
## Schedule

| Date | Time | Opponent | Site | Result | Attendance |
| September 5 | 7:00 pm | Northeastern State | Francis G. Welch StadiumEmporia, KS | W 51–14 | 4,861 |
| September 14 | 7:00 pm | at Pittsburg State | Carnie Smith StadiumPittsburg, KS | L 23–47 | 8,597 |
| September 21 | 2:00 pm | Nebraska–Kearney | Welch StadiumEmporia, KS | L 21–31 | 4,087 |
| September 28 | 6:00 pm | at Lincoln (MO) | Dwight T. Reed StadiumJefferson City, MO | W 50–7 | 3,108 |
| October 5 | 2:00 pm | No. 7 Northwest Missouri | Welch StadiumEmporia, KS | L 23–34 | 4,098 |
| October 12 | 7:00 pm | at Fort Hays State | Lewis Field StadiumHays, KS | L 3–19 | 6,735 |
| October 19 | 2:00 pm | No. 14 Central Missouri | Welch StadiumEmporia, KS | L 27–34 | 4,532 |
| October 26 | 1:00 pm | at Missouri Western | Spratt StadiumSaint Joseph, MO | L 0–28 | 4,583 |
| November 2 | 2:00 pm | Washburn | Francis G. Welch StadiumEmporia, KS | L 17–37 | 4,098 |
| November 9 | 2:00 pm | at Missouri Southern | Fred G. Hughes StadiumJoplin, MO | W 29–6 | 4,327 |
| November 16 | 2:00 pm | Central Oklahoma | Welch StadiumEmporia, KS | W 34–14 | 3,017 |
| Rankings from Coaches' Poll released prior to the gameAll times are in Central time |||||||
Source:

### Game notes, regular season
#### Northeastern State

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Northeastern State | 0 | 0 | 0 | 14 | 14 |
| • Emporia State | 20 | 10 | 14 | 7 | 51 |

#### Pittsburg State

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Emporia State | 7 | 0 | 8 | 8 | 23 |
| • Pittsburg State | 0 | 13 | 10 | 24 | 47 |

#### Nebraska–Kearney

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| • Nebraska–Kearney | 7 | 10 | 7 | 7 | 31 |
| Emporia State | 0 | 6 | 15 | 0 | 21 |

#### Lincoln (MO)

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| • Emporia State | 13 | 13 | 21 | 3 | 50 |
| Lincoln (MO) | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 |

#### Northwest Missouri

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| • #7 Northwest Missouri | 5 | 7 | 19 | 3 | 34 |
| Emporia State | 10 | 7 | 6 | 0 | 23 |

#### Fort Hays State

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Emporia State | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 3 |
| • Fort Hays State | 3 | 13 | 3 | 0 | 19 |

#### Central Missouri

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| • #14 Central Missouri | 10 | 10 | 6 | 8 | 34 |
| Emporia State | 7 | 13 | 0 | 7 | 27 |

#### Missouri Western

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Emporia State | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| • Missouri Western | 7 | 14 | 0 | 7 | 28 |

#### Washburn

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| • Washburn | 14 | 14 | 7 | 2 | 37 |
| Emporia State | 7 | 3 | 7 | 0 | 17 |

#### Missouri Southern

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| • Emporia State | 3 | 6 | 13 | 7 | 29 |
| Missouri Southern | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 6 |

#### Central Oklahoma

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Central Oklahoma | 0 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 14 |
| • Emporia State | 10 | 7 | 0 | 17 | 34 |