# 2016 Emporia State Hornets football team

The 2016 Emporia State Hornets football team represented Emporia State University in the 2016 NCAA Division II football season. The Hornets played their home games on the newly-renovated Jones Field at Francis G. Welch Stadium in Emporia, Kansas, as they have done since 1937. 2016 was the 119th season in school history. The Hornets were led by head coach Garin Higgins, finished his 15th overall season, and 10th overall at Emporia State. Emporia State has a member of the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association since 1991.

## Preseason

The Hornets entered the 2016 season after finishing with an 11–3 overall, 9–2 in conference play last season under Higgins. On August 2, 2016 at the MIAA Football Media Day, the Hornets were chosen to finish tied for third place in the Coaches Poll, and fourth in the Media Poll.
Sporting News released their Top-25 on May 25, 2016, landing Emporia State at #24. On June 15, 2016, Lindy's NCAA Division II Preseason Top 25 released its poll, ranking Emporia State at #12.
On August 15, the American Football Coaches Association released the Preseason Division II Poll, landing Emporia State at #24.
On August 22, D2football.com released its Top 25 poll, ranking Emporia State 12th.

## Personnel
### Coaching staff

Along with Higgins, there were 10 assistants.
| Name | Position | Seasons at ESU | Alma mater |
| Garin Higgins | Head coach | 10 | Emporia State (1992) |
| Mike LoPorto | Co-defensive coordinator/defensive line coach | 9 | Emporia State (2007) |
| Bryan Nardo | Co-defensive coordinator/linebackers Coach | 5 | Ohio (2008) |
| Matt Nardo | Off. coordinator/recruiting Coord./Inside & H-backs/Receivers coach | 2 | Ohio (2005) |
| Nathan Linsey | Secondary/special teams coordinator | 5 | Emporia State (2010) |
| Justin Wieser | Running backs/Strength and Conditioning | 4 | Emporia State (2010) |
| Tony Koehling | Offensive line coach | 2 | Ohio (2013) |
| Terence Coleman | Outside Receivers | 4 | Northwestern Oklahoma State (2000) |
| Daniel Goodman | Graduate Assistant – Tight ends coach | 2 | Emporia State (2014) |
| Antwan Crutcher | Graduate Assistant – Defensive line | 1 | Ohio (2015) |
| Daniel Siehndel | Graduate Assistant – Defensive backs | 1 | Southeast Missouri State (2015) |
| Reference: ||||

### Roster
## Schedule

| Date | Time | Opponent | Rank | Site | Result | Attendance |
| September 1 | 7:00 pm | No. 1 Northwest Missouri State | No. 24 | Francis G. Welch StadiumEmporia, KS | L 14–41 | 6,821 |
| September 8 | 7:00 pm | at Nebraska–Kearney | | Ron & Carol Cope StadiumKearney, NE | W 34–7 | 4,663 |
| September 17 | 2:00 pm | Missouri Southern | | Francis G. Welch StadiumEmporia, KS (Traditions Day) | W 49–21 | 5,304 |
| September 24 | 1:00 pm | at No. 13 Central Missouri | | Audrey J. Walton StadiumWarrensburg, MO | W 37–31 $^{3OT}$ | 7,995 |
| October 1 | 2:00 pm | Central Oklahoma | No. 23 | Francis G. Welch StadiumEmporia, KS | W 35–21 | 4,987 |
| October 8 | 2:00 pm | at Northeastern State | No. 18 | Doc Wadley StadiumTahlequah, OK | W 47–27 | 1,503 |
| October 15 | 2:00 pm | Lindenwood | No. 12 | Francis G. Welch StadiumEmporia, KS | W 35–28 | 6,014 |
| October 22 | 2:00 pm | at Pittsburg State | No. 12 | Carnie Smith StadiumPittsburg, KS | W 41–36 | 8,763 |
| October 29 | 2:00 pm | Fort Hays State | No. 10 | Francis G. Welch StadiumEmporia, KS | W 24–16 | 6,103 |
| November 5 | 1:00 pm | at Missouri Western | No. 9 | Spratt StadiumSt. Joseph, MO | W 27–14 | 4,017 |
| November 12 | 1:00 pm | at Washburn | No. 9 | Yager Stadium at Moore BowlTopeka, KS (Turnpike Tussle) | W 30–3 | 6,789 |
| November 19 | 1:00 p.m. | No. 13 Minnesota–Duluth | No. 9 | Francis G. Welch StadiumEmporia, KS (NCAA Division II First Round) | W 59–26 | 5,014 |
| November 26 | 1:00 p.m. | No. 1 Northwest Missouri State | No. 9 | Bearcat StadiumMaryville, MO (NCAA Division II Second Round) | L 13–44 | 5,119 |
| HomecomingRankings from Coaches' Poll released prior to the gameAll times are in Central time |||||||
Source:

### Game notes, regular season
#### Northwest Missouri

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| • #1 Northwest Missouri | 3 | 17 | 14 | 7 | 41 |
| #24 Emporia State | 7 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 14 |

#### Nebraska–Kearney

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| • Emporia State | 3 | 14 | 10 | 7 | 34 |
| Nebraska–Kearney | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 7 |

#### Missouri Southern

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Missouri Southern | 0 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 21 |
| • Emporia State | 28 | 14 | 7 | 0 | 49 |

#### Central Missouri

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | OT | 2OT | Total |
| • Emporia State | 7 | 3 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 6 | 37 |
| #13 Central Missouri | 0 | 7 | 0 | 17 | 7 | 0 | 31 |

#### Central Oklahoma

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Central Oklahoma | 0 | 0 | 10 | 11 | 21 |
| • #23 Emporia State | 7 | 14 | 7 | 7 | 35 |

#### Northeastern State

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| • #18 Emporia State | 16 | 14 | 10 | 7 | 47 |
| Northeastern State | 13 | 7 | 0 | 7 | 27 |

#### Lindenwood

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Lindenwood | 0 | 7 | 7 | 14 | 28 |
| • #12 Emporia State | 0 | 0 | 14 | 21 | 35 |

#### Pittsburg State

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| • #12 Emporia State | 14 | 17 | 0 | 10 | 41 |
| Pittsburg State | 17 | 7 | 0 | 12 | 36 |

#### Fort Hays State

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Fort Hays State | 3 | 0 | 0 | 13 | 16 |
| • #10 Emporia State | 7 | 0 | 7 | 10 | 24 |

#### Missouri Western

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| • #9 Emporia State | 3 | 7 | 0 | 17 | 27 |
| Missouri Western | 7 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 14 |

#### Washburn

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| • #9 Emporia State | 0 | 17 | 7 | 6 | 30 |
| Washburn | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 |

### Game notes, post-season
#### Minnesota–Duluth

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| #13 Minnesota–Duluth | 13 | 7 | 6 | 0 | 26 |
| • #9 Emporia State | 14 | 14 | 14 | 17 | 59 |
For the first time in school history, Emporia State was selected to host an NCAA postseason football game.

#### Northwest Missouri

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| #9 Emporia State | 0 | 13 | 0 | 0 | 13 |
| • #1 Northwest Missouri State | 17 | 14 | 3 | 10 | 44 |