Football | 11/2/2011 10:55:00 AM
Game 10: McPherson College (3-6, 3-4 KCAC) vs. Kansas Wesleyan University (4-5, 4-3 KCAC)
Saturday, Nov. 5, 2011 | McPherson Stadium | McPherson, Kan. | 1:30 p.m. (CT)
Game Notes (PDF)
Live Video
Live Audio
Live Stats
The Matchup
McPherson, Kan. - The Bulldogs return to McPherson Stadium for the first time in two weeks, as the McPherson College football team takes on Kansas Wesleyan University in a Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference matchup. Kickoff of the 88th meeting between the schools is set for 1:30 p.m. (CT) in McPherson, with video stream coverage provided by McPherson College in conjunction with the KCAC Broadcast Network.
Additional radio coverage will be provided in the McPherson area by 96.7 FM KBBE MidKansas Radio and live stats are available through DakStats.
The Bulldogs (3-6, 3-4 KCAC) enter the contest seeking a bounce back victory following a disappointing 34-31 loss at the University of Saint Mary last Saturday. Trailing by three late in the fourth quarter, McPherson drove to the Spire two-yard line, but failed to score. On the bright side, the Bulldog defense held the nation’s third ranked pass offense to only 156 yard – 177.3 yards below their season average – while junior quarterback
Jake Snodgrass (Derby, Kan.) threw for a career-high 301 yards and two touchdowns.
On the season, Snodgrass is completing 54 percent (135-of-249) of his passes for 1,681 yards, including 16 touchdowns. He currently ranks fifth in the KCAC with a 186.8 passing yards per game average.
The loss dropped the Bulldogs to seventh in the current KCAC standings.
Kansas Wesleyan (4-5, 4-3 KCAC) picked up their third win in their last four with a 45-35 victory against Southwestern College on Saturday. The Coyotes forced five turnovers and blocked a punt en route to the victory.
After Kansas Wesleyan, McPherson wraps up the 2011 season with a home game against Sterling College. The Warriors are currently 4-5 overall and 4-3 in conference play. Kickoff is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. (CT) at McPherson Stadium.
Game 9 Bullets...
McPherson 31, Saint Mary 34
» McPherson’s 34-31 loss on Saturday drops the Bulldogs to 8-4-0 all-time against the Spires along with snapping a two-game win streak. It additionally kept MC from posting back-to-back victories for the second time this season.
» McPherson finished the contest with a season-high 476 yards of total offense, marking the fifth time in nine games this season MC has eclipsed the 400-yard mark.
» Defensively, the Bulldogs held the NAIA’s second ranked total passing offense and third ranked pass offense per game to a season-low 156 yards passing – 177.3 yards below their season average.
» Junior quarterback Jake Snodgrass continues to develop at the starting position for the Bulldogs. Against the Spires, Snodgrass completed 25-of-41 attempts for a career-high 301 yards and two touchdowns. The performance moves him into fifth in the KCAC in passing at just under a 200 yard per game average. He is leading the team with 1,681 passing yards and is completing 54 percent of passes. Additionally, Snodgrass rushed for 52 yards on 13 attempts, including a long of 12 yards. He is second on the team with 337 rushing yards on 82 attempts.
» Senior running back Travon Jones rushed for a game-high 96 yards on 17 carries, including touchdowns of 25 yards and 12 yards, marking the sixth time in nine games that he has scored at least two touchdowns.
» Senior wide receiver Andy Skinner had a season-high eight receptions for 75 yards on Saturday, while fellow senior Joe Middleton posted a season-high 98 yards receiving on seven catches. Skinner and Middleton were the only MC receivers with more than two catches against the Spires.
» Senior linebacker Darrick Johnson record a team-high nine tackles, and pushed himself past fellow senior J.L. Gomez for MC’s top spot with 72 total tackles on the season. Johnson set a season-high with 10 stops against Ottawa and has six games of at least eight tackles.
» Senior defensive end Charles Ryan set a career-high at McPherson with seven tackles, including four solo stops.
Scouting Kansas Wesleyan
Kansas Wesleyan won back-to-back games for the first time this season with a 45-35 victory against Southwestern College last Saturday. The victory improves the Coyotes to 4-5 overall and 4-3 in conference play. Similarly to McPherson, Kansas Wesleyan opened the season ranked in the NAIA Preseason Coaches’ Top 25 Poll, but fell from the rankings following a 1-4 start, including losses at Southern Nazarene (Okla.), at Ottawa, against Bethany and at Friends. KWU’s lone victory during the stretch came against Sterling, 24-21.
Despite the slow start, KWU has won three of their last four with their lone loss during the stretch coming at NCAA D-II Lindenwood University (Mo.).
In their last game against Southwestern, the Coyotes, who never trailed in the contest, gained 388 total yards of offense, while the defense forced five Moundbuilder turnovers. Running back Brett Giesen led the offense with a season-high 177 rushing yards on 32 attempts with four touchdowns. In addition to Giesen, quarterback Trey Dallas completed 15-of-29 attempts for 197 yards.
Offensively on the season, Kansas Wesleyan is averaging 28.3 points per game. The Coyotes feature a balanced offense that averages 171.0 rushing yards per game and 194.8 passing. Giesen is the primary back for KWU, averaging 103.3 rushing yards per game, which ranks seventh in the NAIA. He also ranks sixth in total rushing with 930 yards and seventh in all purpose yards (1,336). Giesen owns four games of more than 100 yards rushing this season.
Dallas is the Coyotes leading passer with 1,436 yards and 12 touchdowns. He currently is third in the KCAC in passing (205.1 yards per game) and third in total offense (224.6 yards per game).
Defensively, Kansas Wesleyan has allowed at least 21 points seven times this season, including two games of at least 60 points. The Coyotes allow 35.9 points per game and surrender an average of 218.3 rushing per game and 230.8 passing yards per contest. Individually, linebacker Adrian Thomas leads the team with 57 tackles, while fellow linebacker Brady Harwell is second with 35. Harwell leads the team with 14.5 tackles for loss.
Opponents have outscored Kansas Wesleyan 211-158 in the first half, including 122-77 in the second quarter.
Kansas Wesleyan Head Coach Dave Dallas
Head coach Dave Dallas is in his 15th season as the head coach of the Coyotes and owns a 79-61 record at KWU, including a pair of KCAC championships in 2001 and 2002.
Bulldogs in the National Rankings
Below is a breakdown of categories that McPherson ranks amongst the top nationally:
Team (Top 35)
1st - Pat Kicking (1.000)
16th - Pass Defense per Game (156.900)
25th - 4th Down Conv. (52.400)
27th - Total Rushing Offense (1429)
32nd - Total Pass Offense (1762)
33rd - Rushing Offense per Game (158.800)
33rd - 3rd Down Conv. (35.600)
35th - Pass Offense per Game (195.800)
35th - Pass Efficiency (121.200)
Individual (Top 25)
Kouth -1st- Pat Kicking Pct (1.000)
Jones -7th- Total Scoring (TDs) (78)
Jones -7th- Total Scoring (78)
Jones -11th- Scoring per Game (8.700)
Jones -11th- Scoring (TDs) per Game (8.7)
Jones -14th- Total Rushing (830)
Snodgrass -18th- Total Total Offense (2018)
Jones -19th- Rushing Yds per Game (92.2)
Record -19th- Punt Return Yds/Att (10.5)
Snodgrass -21st- Total Passing (1681)
Snodgrass -22nd- Total Offense Yds/G (224.2)
