A tip-off of how things went for the McPherson College Bulldogs Saturday night against Southwestern was that Jason Schwartz was the team's leader on both defense and offense.
From his linebacking spot, Schwartz made eight unassisted tackles and was in on 15 others, as he continues to make a statement for KCAC postseason honors.
Offensively, Schwartz completed a 44-yard pass to Tyler Fuchs on a fake punt, which was about the only highlight for the Bulldogs in a 32-0 loss.
The pattern is becoming painfully familiar for the youthful Bulldogs -- the defense plays well, but the offense sputters. Mac has scored only one touchdown in its three games, albeit against three of the teams ranked in the top four in the KCAC preseason polls.
The Bulldogs looked to be going into halftime down only 14-0, but with 23 seconds left and Mac on its own 21 after an interception by Dallas Blacklock, quarterback Jason Gondringer threw a pass that was picked off by Darryl Brooks, who went 45 yards for the score. Instead of taking a knee and going into halftime still with a chance to win, the Bulldogs were deflated as they were down 22-0.
"That was my fault," McPherson coach Dan Davis said. "I wanted to show the offense that we had a little confidence in them, so I thought we'd give it a shot."
The Moundbuilders spent the second half milking the clock, including one drive that took 19 plays and melted away nine minutes.
Wiley Jackson had a pair of scores for Southwestern and rushed for 96 yards to lead the way.
Take away Schwartz's 44-yard pass on a well-designed play, the Bulldogs managed only 59 yards, 31 of those by Jay Williams on 11 carries.
"We've got to make some serious evaluations personnel-wise and see what happens," Davis said. "We had some chances to score, but we're just not making plays. We don't finish what we start."
The Bulldogs were close to scoring twice. They got to the Southwestern 3 late in the first half and actually did score, but a penalty wiped it out and they ended up turning the ball over on downs. In the second half, the Bulldogs punched it down to the Southwestern 5, with the same result.
"I told the guys at halftime that I'm not going to use the youth excuse anymore and I won't," Davis said. "It's just very frustrating right now."
Mac will try to pick up its first win Saturday when it hosts Sterling College in a 1:30 p.m. contest.
STATISTICS
Mac Listed First
First Downs -- 8, 25. Rushes-Yards -- 24-23; 62-274. Passing -- 5-25-2-80; 10-22-2-193. Punts-Avg. -- 7-33.7; 2-28.0. Fumbles-Lost -- 2-1; 3-2. Penalties-Yards -- 8-55; 11-107.
INDIVIDUALS
Rushing
Mac -- Williams 11-31, Hill 3-6, Harris 2-6, Gondringer 8-(-20).
Southwestern -- Jackson 20-96, Williams 11-49, Manthos 3-30, Burdine 8-31, Michael 13-28, Daniels 5-28, Warner 2-12.
Passing
Mac -- Gondringer 4-24-2-36, Schwartz 1-1-0-44.
Southwestern -- Michael 9-21-2-186.
Receiving
Mac -- Fuchs 1-44, Williams 1-24, Eason 1-5, Harris 1-4, McClintic 1-3.
Southwestern -- Hartfield 3-90, Bell 3-59, Jackson 1-25, Seeley 1-7, Lowe 1-6, Williams 1-6.
