Football | 11/10/2012 10:48:00 PM
Box Score
Sterling, Kan. – In the final regular season game for the KCAC schools, Sterling College gets a win, taking down McPherson 23-21. The Bulldogs finish the year 4-5 overall and 4-4 in the conference, putting them sixth; MC was picked seventh by the coaches and ninth by the media in the preseason poll.
On their first drive of the game, the Warriors took it 76 yards for a score; they got a large chunk of their yardage from a 40-yard run with a facemask penalty tacked on to the end of it. On their next possession, Sterling took it 71 yards to make the score 14-0 with just over one-minute remaining in the first quarter; a big 35-yard pass was the largest gain on that drive.
In the second period, McPherson finally got some traction and took the ball deep into Sterling territory but lost the ball after they were unable to convert on fourth down. SC took over at their 26 and were marching the ball down the field until
Trea Lott (Sterling, Kan.) picked off a Warrior pass at the McPherson 8-yard line. A couple three-and-outs and two interceptions thrown by MC’s
Jake Snodgrass (Derby, Kan.) led to a 14-0 halftime score.
The second half started much like quarter number two ended, with neither team moving the ball more than 25 yards until McPherson took over at the 50-yard line and four-straight completions by Snodgrass ended with an 18-yard touchdown reception by tight end
Paul Rotering (Colorado Springs, Colo.), bringing the score to 14-7.
Another touchdown for the Bulldogs came in the opening seconds of the fourth quarter coming from Snodgrass to
Byron O'Rourke (Holcomb, Kan.) from seven-yards out. Sterling, after being held scoreless for the past quarter, took their next opportunity and punched it into the end zone, re-capturing the lead at 21-14 with just under 13 minutes to play. A safety on McPherson was how the next points were put on the scoreboard, brining the score to 23-14. The Bulldogs bounced back as Snodgrass found Rotering again for another TD with nearly 6:30 remaining. MC took over again with four minutes left in the game but was unable to move the ball and had to give it back to Sterling after an incompletion on fourth down. The Bulldogs would get the ball back again but with just three seconds remaining in the season and 86 yards between them and a touchdown; the final play of the game was a Snodgrass incompletion.
Sterling only attempted six passes on Saturday but that’s all they had to as their run game was rolling, racking up 252 yards on 63 attempts. MC ended the game with 57 yards on the ground and 229 through the air.
The Bulldogs split their carries nearly evenly with Snodgrass having the most attempts with nine which he took for 21 yards.
Havelock Pomele (San Jose, Calif.) ran the ball eight times for 27 yards while
Terrance Jones (Wichita, Kan.) rushed six times for just seven yards.
Snodgrass went 19-of-38 in the passing game for 229 yards and three touchdowns; he also had two interceptions in his final game as a Bulldog. Fellow senior
Julius Record (Detroit, Mich.) was the top receiver for MC, hauling in 13 passes for 133 yards; Record’s 83 receptions in just nine games this season set a McPherson College school record for most passes caught in one year, a record that was 13 years old. Rotering may have only caught the ball twice in MC’s loss to Sterling but they were both for touchdowns and added up to 50 yards.
The Bulldog D gave up the most yards on the ground that they have all season but held Sterling to just 68 yards passing for 320 total yards which is close to 50 yards more than their average for the year.
Micah Roehl (Dighton, Kan.) had nine tackles for the day, two for a loss and one sack, leading the team in all categories; two other Bulldogs had sacks.
Jimmy Wilson (Oakland, Calif.) totaled eight tackles in the game, six solo, putting him second on the team.
Football season is now over for McPherson. Coach Pete Sterbick will now begin to fill his first complete recruiting class and start getting the team ready for spring ball and the 2013 season.
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