By MATT PIKE
The first athletes of the week have been announced by the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association as the2026 football season kicked off, with Missouri Western State University quarterback Isaiah Tate being named the league’s first Offensive Athlete of the Week,
In Tate's first game for the Griffons, the junior transfer quarterback delivered a record-setting performance leading the MoWest offense in a high-scoring, 63-58 loss to No. 20 Augustana. Tate completed 18-of-29 passes for 420 yards and four touchdowns while adding 26 rushing yards and a touchdown on six carries to open the 2026 season with an MIAA-leading 446 yards of total offense and five total touchdowns.
Tate's four passing touchdowns tied the MoWest single-game record, while his five total touchdowns also tied the program's single-game record. His 420 passing yards also rank second in school history for a single game, while his 446 yards of total offense in a single game rank fourth in the program.
Emporia State’s Landon Boss was named the first Defensive Athlete of the Week, while Central Oklahoma’s Bradley Thao was named the first Special Teams Athlete of the Week. The MIAA also honored some other notable performances from the opening weekend, which included players from both Northwest Missouri State University and MoWest.
Bearcats running back Te'Shaun Porter rushed for 100 yards and scored three touchdowns while leading the Northwest to a 48-3 road win over Texas A&M-Kingsville to open the 2026 season. Porter, carried the ball 16 times and averaged 6.3 yards per carry, scoring touchdowns on runs of one yard, nine yards, and one yard, rushing for 100-yards for just the second time in his collegiete career.
On the defensive side of the ball, defensive back Jackson Torry set the tone for the Bearcats when he picked off a first-quarter pass and returned it 94 yards for a touchdown, giving Northwest a 7-0 lead at Texas A&M-Kingsville. The Bearcat defense limited the Javelinas to only 179 total yards (80 rushing, 99 passing) and 10 first downs. It was Torry's first career interception and touchdown as a Bearcat. His 94-yard return ranks as the second-longest interception return for a touchdown in the nation this season and is the longest return for a score in the MIAA.
On special teams for MoWest, true freshman Peyton Hatfield provided a spark, returning a kickoff 98 yards for a touchdown to pull the Griffons within 48-42 with 7:29 remaining in the third quarter. Hatfield ended his first collegiate game with 219 all-purpose yards, including 142 kickoff return yards and 77 receiving yards. He accounted for two touchdowns in his Griffon debut, scoring once on the 98-yard kickoff return and once through the air.
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