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McPherson, Kan. – It's that time of the year again for McPherson College, Homecoming. A time for alumni to return to their alma-matter, see old friends and professors, and most importantly to cheer on their Bulldogs! MC football will be taking on the University of Saint Mary at 6:00 p.m. (CT) at McPherson Stadium on October 18th.
The Bulldogs head into Saturday on a two-game losing streak with last week's 45-17 defeat to Friends University still lingering. McPherson scored the first points of the game with the Falcons as Christian Guerra-Barbosa put up a field goal for the lone points in the opening quarter. It was a Friends controlled second period as the Falcons scored three times to take a 17-3 lead into the break.
After half, Mac once again put the first points of the quarter up on a 13-yard touchdown pass. With the Bulldogs gaining, Friends posted two quick touchdowns to increase their lead to 31-10 after three quarters of play. The Falcons scored two more times in the fourth but it was McPherson who scored last as Tyler Stone ran it in from 10 yards out, bringing the final score to 45-17.
McPherson out-rushed Friends 215-to-210 and ended the contest with 357 yards of total offense; the team netted 22 first downs and went 9-of-20 on third down. Miles Balthazor ran for 104 yards on 19 tries before having to come out in the fourth due to injury. Terrance Jones had a good game back from his injury, rushing for 32 yards on seven carries but he too had to call it a day in the final quarter due to injury. Stone ran in the place of Balthazor and Jones and ended the day with 52 yards on seven attempts. Quarterback Groff ran for 27 total yards while throwing the ball for 125 on 11-of-26 with a pair of interceptions and the touchdown. Cordova led the team in receptions with five for 60 yards. Next on the list was Ste'fon Walker who tallied 45 on his three grabs.
The Falcons totaled 477 total yards of offense with 267 coming through the air, 72 coming on one pass. McPherson was without Trent Forrester in the middle as he's recovering from an injury. Matt Wagner stepped in nicely as he recorded nine total tackles with four being by himself and logged a forced fumble and fumble recovery as well. Ryan Duggan also tabbed nine tackles and led the team in solo stops with five; Ashton Serpas and David Anderson also had five solo tackles apiece.
Bulldogs in the National Rankings: The MC defense is 11th in opponent third down conversion percentage at 27.5%. Forrester is ninth in the NAIA in tackles per game at 11.2. Wilson ranks 16th in three different categories - fumbles forced per game at 0.3, total tackles for a loss, 11, and tackles for loss per game at 1.8. Guerra-Barbosa sits 17th in field goals made on the year with five.
McPherson will play back-to-back road games to finish out October starting when they travel to No. 10 Tabor College on October 25th; start time for the game in Hillsboro is slated for 1:30 p.m.
Scouting Saint Mary
The Spires are currently 2-4 with their two wins coming against two KCAC teams in Bethany College, 43-19, and Bethel College, 25-18. USM is coming off a 24-14 loss to Ottawa University this past weekend.
Saint Mary did a nice job of holding the Brave offense in check most of the first half but were unable to score themselves and trailed 14-0 at the break. After pulling within a touchdown early in the third quarter, USM gave up 10 points midway through the fourth and could only get one score in before the final whistle blew, losing 24-14. The Spires out-gained Ottawa 428-263 in yards and 28-18 in first downs. Turnovers were the issue for Saint Mary as they gave the ball away three times via interceptions; going 1-of-5 on fourth down didn't help either.
On the year, the team is averaging close to 80 plays a game and 382 total yards. They are a pass heavy team as they net over 250 a night but also tally 120 yards on the ground. The Spires are an often penalized unit that is giving up close to 100 yards in penalties every time they hit the field.
Josh Ervin leads the team in passing as he's thrown for 538 yards on 147-of-273 with 11 interceptions and eight touchdowns. Will Ryan has totaled 376 yards rushing in his five games; he averages 75.2 yards a contest and has 60 attempts on the year. Next in yards is Torion Amos with 168 on 32 carries; he is surpassed in attempts by Marcus Meta who has ran 45 times for 107 yards and four scores. Cole Williams has a team-high 32 receptions on the year for 279 yards but zero TDs. Alex Gomes-Coelho is second in catches (30) but first in yards and touchdowns with 478 and five, respectively.
Defensively, Saint Mary allows close to 450 yards of offense to their opponents with most coming on the ground. They've been outscored 215-140. Dwain Taylor has 70 tackles on the year including 6.5 for a loss and 2.5 sacks. Kenny Nez has tabulated 51 stops including a team-high 28 by himself; the strong safety also leads the Spires in interceptions with six which is second best in the NAIA. The sack leader is Blade Wise-Perry who has three this season.
USM stays on the road for their next contest as they travel to Sterling College on October 25th.
