Football | 10/15/2013 4:53:00 PM
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McPherson, Kan. – It has been a rough October for the Bulldog football team as they've lost their past two games by a combined 68-10 score line. MC is hoping to rebound on Saturday against a 3-3 University of Saint Mary team; kickoff for the October 19
th game is set for 6:00 p.m. (CT) at Leavenworth High School's Pioneer Stadium in Leavenworth.
Most recently, McPherson dropped a 34-3 contest to No. 17 Friends University. The 'Dogs had a good start to the game as they intercepted the Falcons on their opening possession but unfortunately for Mac, they were unable to produce points from that drive and Friends got the ball right back.
The Bulldog offense had difficulties moving the ball in the opening half, having a number of three-and-outs. Friends took advantage of MC's lack of movement and saw themselves ahead 21-0 late in the second quarter.
After a 52-yard pass play, with 15 more tacked on thanks to a facemask penalty, McPherson finally got on the board as Mike Phillips nailed a 40-yard field goal as time was winding down in the first half. The FG gave Phillips eight for the year, tying the MC record for most field goals in a season.
McPherson continued to struggle in the second half, failing to move the ball. The Falcons put up a couple more touchdowns in the final two quarters to give them a 34-3 victory.
The ground game was not working well for McPherson as they netted -13 total yards with -45 being credited to Hoffman on his five sacks. Gerald Hardridge took the ball five times and gained 24 yards. Hoffman completed 11-of-26 for 95 yards and three interceptions. Robinson snagged two balls for 90 yards while Hardridge had a pair himself for 41.
Defensively, Dominique Henderson had a heck of a game with 17 total stops including 13 solo tackles and 3.5 for a loss of 14.5 yards. Safety Trea Lott and Grant Narcisse each tallied seven tackles for McPherson. Chris Ellison and Cole Long teamed up to take down Friends' quarterback for MC's lone sack; Long also had a fumble recovery on the day. Trent Forester, Phillip Wilson and David Anderson each recorded an interception in the loss.
Phillips is now ranked 4th in the NAIA in total field goals for the season with his eight; he is also 10th in field goal percentage at 88.9 and 11th in total scoring with his 41 points. Ellison is seventh in the Nation in sacks per game (1.0) and 12th in total sacks (5).
The Bulldog D ranks 2nd in the KCAC in rush yardage allowed at 134.7 per contest and is fourth in scoring defense as they've allowed 25.5 points a game. Paul Rotering and the MC punt team is first in the conference in net punting with an average of 40.5 yards per boot.
Mac's month doesn't get any easier after Saint Mary as they host No. 13 Tabor College on October 26th. The 1:30 p.m. game will be played at McPherson Stadium.
Scouting Saint Mary
The Spires sit alongside McPherson in the conference standings at 3-3 overall and 2-2 against KCAC opponents. They traveled to Ottawa University last week and were overtaken by the Braves 63-17; USM threw six interceptions and had -1 yard rushing in the contest.
OU scored the first 25 points of the contest, getting the rout started. After scoring a touchdown on a kickoff return in the second quarter, Saint Mary allowed another 24 points before getting on the scoreboard again. A long touchdown pass brought the score to 49-14 Ottawa but two TDs for the Braves gave them a 63-14 victory.
Three Spire athletes tried running in the game, netting -1 yard. Their aerial assault still performed as they totaled 363 passing yards between two quarterbacks; six interceptions did not help USM's cause however. On their 11 kickoff returns, they tallied 325 yards including the 94 yard touchdown.
True freshman Josh Ervin threw for the majority of the team's yardage, putting up 212 on a 21-of-47 day; he had four of the six interceptions. Thomas Grossman also quarterbacked for USM, posting 151 yards, going 12-of-22 with two picks and one touchdown. Nine different receivers caught a pass on Saturday with Ronnie Cooper leading the way with his 12 for 67 yards. Jerrell Young and Alex Gomes-Coelho both outdid Cooper in yardage with 91 and 83, respectively; Young got his yards on five receptions while Gomes-Coelho grabbed four.
Defensively, Saint Mary gave up 461 total yards to Ottawa with 386 coming on the ground; OU logged 75 passing yards for the four quarters. They had one takeaway but were not able to recover any of the three Brave fumbles.
Dwain Taylor, a linebacker for USM, had a team-high 13 stops, 12 of which were solo tackles; he had 1.5 sacks and two other tackles were for a loss. Kenny Nez recorded a forced fumble to go along with his 12 tackles while Ukpono Udi was next in line with 10.
A pass-happy team, USM ranks first in the KCAC in yards throwing a game with 347.7 which is fourth in the country. However, they rank last in running the ball, totaling less than 100 yards a contest. The squad averages a conference fourth 33.2 points per game.
This season, Ervin has been a passing machine, totaling 1801 yards through the air, 1804 of total offense and 300.2 passing yards per game, all three are the sixth best in the NAIA. His favorite target thus far has been Young who has a NAIA eighth best 38 receptions, averaging 6.3 a contest. Cooper and Gomes-Coelho are right on his heels as they have 36 and 35 catches, respectively; both place in the top-20 of the Nation in grabs this season. Running has not been a priority for Saint Mary as their two leading rushers have 268 yards combined.
The defensive players get a lot of practice defending the pass at practice and as such allow the fewest passing yardage in the KCAC, 129.2 a game. They do allow an eighth best 274.5 yards on the ground every time they're out. The team also ranks towards the bottom of the conference in average points allowed at 38.5.
Taylor leads the team in total tackles for 2013 with 62, 3.5 are sacks and 9.5 have gone for a loss. Udi is second on the squad with 52 and also has two interceptions this season. Nez, Ryan Lopez and Eli Amador all have at least 40 stops for the Spires. Bernard Bolden has logged a team-high three picks.
Saint Mary has another home game following their battle with Mac; the Spires will face Sterling College on October 26th.
