Hays, Kan. -- Missouri Southern junior quarterback TJ Fleeton tied his own school record with 36 completions, but the Lions' football team fell 22-10 tonight in the 2016 season opener at Fort Hays State. 

Southern (0-1, 0-1 MIAA) was led by Fleeton's 36-51 performance for 272 yards and a touchdown. Fleeton ties a record he set last season against Fort Hays at home. Scott Lathrop led the team with 80 receiving yards in his first start as a receiver, catching 10 passes on the night. Jordan Morrison had 67 yards on eight receptions, while Demontra McNealy had five catches for 38 yards and a score. Terrell Crawford had six catches for 37 yards and Jay Hadley had four catches. 

Hadley rushed for 56 yards on 12 carries and Fleeton had 47 yards on 18 rushes. Brock Renken added a 29-yard field goal for the Lions' other score. 

Defensively, Ricky Green led the Lions with eight tackles, while Justin Legier tallied eight of his own, including a stop behind the line for a loss of eight yards. Romel Hill had six tackles, while Trevor Plafcan and Stephan Randall had a sack each. Green had two passes broken up, while Keith Beverly and Legier had a break up each. 

The Lions took the opening kickoff and demonstrated some flashes of dominance as Fleeton completed six passes for 60 yards and Southern drove to the Tigers '(1-0, 1-0 MIAA) one-yard line, but turned the ball over on downs after a failed field goal. 

Fort Hays scored as Malik Thomas ripped off a 61-yard touchdown run to go up 7-0 with 7:34 to go in the first quarter. 

Neither team scored on their next three possessions as the Lions' defense forced two-straight three and outs for the Tigers that led to Renken's field goal, making the score 7-3 with 7:50 to go in the first half. 

Another three and out from the Southern defense gave the Lions the ball back with 5:56 to go in the quarter, but the drive stalled. The defense again forced a Hays punt to give the Lions the ball, but an interception return for a score by Raheeme Dumas made the score 13-3 after the point after failed. 

Southern lined up for a 44-yard field goal attempt as the clock was rolling down, but the kick was missed wide left with FHSU leading 13-3 at the half. 

Another FHSU field goal, this time a 29-yard make from Brandon Brown made the score 16-3 with 11:48 left. The Lions took the ball and drove down the field as Fleeton hit McNealy for a six-yard score to cut the score to 16-10 after Renken's kick was good. 

Two more field goals from Brown, however, sealed the win for the Tigers. 

Southern had 27 first downs to the Tigers' 16 and the Lions out-passed Fort Hays 272-147. Southern out-gained the Tigers 394-354 and held the ball for seven more minutes than Hays. 

The Lions will be back in action Saturday, September 10 as Southern plays host to Missouri Western. Kickoff from Fred G. Hughes Stadium is slated for 6 pm.