Football | 10/20/2013 1:45:00 AM
Box Score
McPherson, Kan. – It was a near comeback for McPherson football as they fell 27-25 to the Spires of Saint Mary despite scoring 22 points in the final quarter. The 'Dogs are now 3-4 for the season and 2-3 against conference opponents.
Following a three-and-out by MC, the Bulldogs picked off Saint Mary on their first play from scrimmage. Mac turned those into three points as
Mike Phillips (Spring Branch, Texas) launched himself into the McPherson College record books with his ninth field goal of the season.
The 3-0 lead for the 'Dogs didn't last long as USM took the ball and drove down to score a touchdown on their next possession; a fake punt on fourth down helped extend the Spire drive that put Saint Mary up 7-3.
Both teams went scoreless for the rest of the first quarter but shortly into the second, a fumble by McPherson gave a short field to USM who took it the 28 yards for a touchdown, getting a lead of 14-3 which they took into the locker room.
Things were looking up for MC as they forced a punt from Saint Mary to start the second half and then drove the field. Unable to punch it in from the five, Phillips looked to extend his field goal record but had it blocked and returned 90 yards by the Spires instead giving USM a 21-3 advantage.
McPherson didn't let the score deter them as they put together a couple long possessions but fumbles deep in the Saint Mary territory thwarted both attempts. The fourth quarter came and with it a glimmer of hope for the Bulldogs as
Jordan Hoffman (McCordsville, Ind.) found his tight end
Paul Rotering (Colorado Springs, Colo.) for a 10-yard touchdown, pulling the team within 11. The next time they got the ball, Mac took it back down and this time
Scott Thibodeaux (Tonopah, Nev.) punched one in from seven out and a two-point conversion brought the score to 21-18 USM.
On the ensuing kickoff, the Spires ran it back 88 yards for a back-breaking touchdown with 6:38 remaining.
Unwilling to give up, MC came right down and scored for a third-straight possession as Hoffman snuck one in from a yard out, pulling the score to 27-25 with 2:53 showing on the clock.
After a failed onside kick by the Bulldogs, Saint Mary needed just one first down to seal the deal as Mac had just one timeout remaining; on third and one, the Spires got the one yard needed, closing out their 27-25 victory.
If one just looked at the stats, it would be assumed that McPherson got the W as they out did the Spires in first downs (24-to-10), total plays (75-to-51), total yards (358-to-136), and time of possession (35:53-to-23:57); sadly for Mac, the only statistic that matters is the score and USM topped the Bulldogs in that category.
The read-option worked well for MC as they netted 192 yards on the ground with
Isaiah Franklin (Wichita, Kan.) and
Gerald Hardridge (Tulsa, Okla.) doing the brunt of the damage with 100 and 70 yards, respectively. Hoffman threw for 166 yards and a touchdown on his 21-of-27 night. Rotering grabbed six balls for 44 yards while
Tremon Robinson (Dallas, Texas) snatched five for 35.
McPherson's defense once again played well, allowing just 136 total yards, 71 through the air, to a team that is averaging close to 300 passing yards per contest.
Dominique Henderson (Wichita, Kan.) was the defensive leader in terms of tackles with seven solo and one assisted; he had two sacks and three tackles for a loss of 25 yards.
Tyler Bruton (McPherson, Kan.) recorded seven tackles and a blocked extra point.
The 'Dogs now have back-to-back home contests starting with an October 26
th matchup with Tabor College; kickoff is 1:30 p.m. (CT). The 26
th is also Cancer Awareness day for McPherson College Athletics, click
here for more information.
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