Football | 10/26/2012 10:45:00 AM
McPherson, Kan. – The final home game of the 2012 season for McPherson football will be this Saturday, the 27th of October, as the Bulldogs square off against the University of Saint Mary Spires. The “Senior Day” kickoff is at 1:30 p.m. (CT) at McPherson Stadium.
The game will be broadcasted live on the KCAC Digital Network and at macbulldogs.com. You can also listen live to Nick Gosnell and McPherson College senior Langston Rhymes on 96.7 KBBE MidKansas Radio and at macbulldogs.com.
Coming off their second bye week of the year, MC will look to do better than they did in their first game after their week six bye. That contest, coincidently, was the Bulldogs most recent game where they turned the ball over four times, giving Ottawa University too many short fields which led the Braves to an easy 38-14 victory.
In the game against OU, McPherson had no problem gaining yardage with their 13th ranked offense, putting up 492 yards. Quarterback Jake Snodgrass threw for 279 yards and rushed for another 92 to lead the team in total yards from scrimmage. Junior tight end Paul Rotering caught five of those passes for 111 yards and a touchdown while the KCAC’s top receiver Julius Record pulled in 11 catches for 92 yards and a score; Record is currently first in the NAIA in receptions per game with 9.3.
On the ground, Havelock Pomele racked up 98 yards on just 10 carries, topping the list of rushers for the Bulldogs. Terrance Jones added 26 yards on his six attempts.
Defensively, the NAIA’s sixth ranked defense held the high-powered offense of Ottawa to 363 yards which was 100 yards more than the Bulldog D’s average for the season. Linebacker Tyler Bruton, who is second in the Nation in tackles for a loss per game at 2.2, tallied nine total tackles including four for a loss and 1.5 sacks. Junior Micah Roehl racked up nine tackles as well, one of which was a sack.
McPherson will take to the road for their final two games of the regular season. They will first travel to Salina, Kansas for an I-135 battle against the Coyotes of Kansas Wesleyan University. That game is scheduled for November 3rd at 1:30 p.m. (CT)
Scouting University of Saint Mary
The 3-5 Spires are coming off of a 38-point blowout of Southwestern College where 569 yards of total offense by USM gave the Moundbuilders no chance of staying in the game. The victory for Saint Mary also continued a three-game winning streak against KCAC opponents; the Spires lost to William Penn University two weeks ago.
USM put up 343 yards on the ground in their win over SWC, 125 of it came from running back Evan Hearn’s 13 carries. Torion Amos and Will Ryan each rushed nine times for 89 and 53 yards, respectively; Amos had one touchdown.
Mike Keese, the Spires’ quarterback, threw for 190 yards and two scores against the Builders. His top target was Jarrell Young who pulled in seven receptions for 112 yards and two touchdowns. Eight other Saint Mary players tallied catches in the game.
Defensively, Cris Basch led the team in tackles with 11 including 2.5 for a loss. He was followed by David Harley who had six total tackles and made up the other .5 tackle for a loss.
Passing has been the name of the game for Saint Mary this season as they are averaging a KCAC leading 293 yards per game which also ranks them seventh in the country. With those kind of numbers, Keese is sitting fifth in the NAIA in total passing and sixth in passing yards per game. Young sits third in the Nation in total receptions at 63 and is fourth in receiving yards, 845.
The defense of Saint Mary gets a lot of training defending the pass during the Spire practices and it has allowed them to improve on their skills as they allow a NAIA seventh ranked 140.9 yards a game average. Basch is the team leader in tackles, having 63 for the season and averaging 7.9 a contest.
The Spires will be on the road again next week as they travel to Bethel, Kansas to take on the Threshers of Bethel College on November 3rd at 1:30 p.m. (CT)
