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McPherson, Kan. – Coming off a very emotional victory this past Saturday, Bulldog football will look to take down No. 23 Ottawa University on October 4th in Ottawa, Kansas; kickoff is scheduled for 6:00 p.m. (CT). The Braves are 0-2 at home and 2-0 on the road this season, a trend the Bulldogs hope holds true this weekend.
In the Blake Reed Memorial game against the Coyotes of Kansas Wesleyan, the Bulldogs were quickly put on their heels as the pass heavy 'Yotes drove the field twice in the opening quarter to go up 10-0. Mac responded with an 11-yard touchdown pass and catch pulling within a score. KWU then got a field goal in before McPherson scored the final points of the half with a 16-yard touchdown rumble by Miles Balthazor.
Following a Coyote TD, MC caught a break as a fumbled punt led to a 22-yard field goal for the Bulldogs. McPherson blocked a Kansas Wesleyan punt to get good field position again and evened the score at 24-24 with a one-yard keeper by Cody Groff. With 2:34 left on the clock, Balthazor again bullied his way into the endzone to give Mac a 30-24 lead as the extra point was missed. Back-to-back picks by the 'Dogs ended the contest in McPherson's favor, giving Coach Fox his first win as a collegiate head coach.
Balthazor stepped up big for McPherson as the freshman tallied 116 yards rushing on 22 carries. Groff threw for 157 yards on 18-of-38 and also added in 52 yards on the ground. Andrew Johnston pulled in six balls for 39 yards and Ste'fon Walker led the 'Dogs in yardage with 50 on his three catches. The offensive unit totaled 325 yards with 168 coming on the ground; the team had 21 first downs and 76 plays.
Trent Forrester was an absolute beast for MC. The senior racked up 24 total tackles, 14 solo; 4.5 of his stops were for a loss and he also recorded 1.5 sacks and a pass breakup. Ashton Serpas had a great night for the Bulldogs as well; he tabulated 12 tackles from his defensive back position and also had two pass deflections. Jimmy Wilson continued being a terror, logging nine total tackles with one being a de-cleating hit in the backfield. McPherson's defense allowed 424 yards to a team that was averaging close to 500 yards a game. The 'Dogs gave up 95 yards rushing and 329 through the air.
Ranked 'Dogs: Wilson is sixth in the NAIA in forced fumbles per game at 0.5, seventh in tackles for a loss per game at 2.3 and 10th in total tackles for a loss with nine. Forrester moved way up in the National rankings with his monster Saturday night; he is now eighth in tackles per game with 11.8. As a team, the Bulldogs sit second in opponents third down conversion percentage at 24.2%
Following the contest with the ranked Braves, McPherson will have a pair of home games with the first coming against Friends University on October 11th; that game is scheduled for 1:30 p.m.
Scouting Ottawa
After starting the year with a tough 20-12 loss to one of the top teams in the NAIA, Baker University, Ottawa bounced back with a 59-47 victory over Benedictine College. The conference season didn't start well as the Braves lost 34-24 to a Bethany College squad that lost last week to one of the bottom teams in the conference. But OU again bounced back and defeated Bethel College 38-31.
In the team's win over Bethel, it was a very eventful first half as the score at the buzzer was 24-10; one of OU's scores came on a 69-yard fumble return. In the second half, both team scored a touchdown in the third and Ottawa was able to hold off Bethel just long enough to claim the 38-31 victory.
Based on statistics, the Threshers should have been the victor of Saturday as they recorded 28 first downs compared to Ottawa's 19. BC also had 511 yards of offense while the Braves racked up just 397, 264 coming through the air. OU did win the turnover battle as they gave it up zero times and took away three from Bethel. The Braves went 6-of-12 on third down and converted their lone fourth down try.
Star running back Luke Lundy accounted for 84 of the team's 133 rushing yards and also caught four passes for 18 yards. Senior quarterback Michael Behr went 21-of-29 for 264 yards and a touchdown; he also ran the ball seven times for 33 yards and a score. Joshua Stangby, who won the KCAC's Offensive Player of the Week award, brought in eight passes for 154 yards and two TDs.
Defensively, Matt Sandgren led the game in tackles with 13; Anthony Curtis Jr. was second on the team with nine total stops. Deron Bruce tallied seven tackles and was the Brave that ran the fumble back for a touchdown.
This season, the Ottawa offense is averaging 377 yards a night and do a good job of evenly gaining their yardage; they have 712 total rushing and 796 total passing yards. Lundy has 94 carries on the year for 507 yards and four touchdowns. Behr has run the ball for 126 yards while throwing the ball with a completion percentage of 60%; he is 65-of-108 for 796 yards and seven touchdowns. Stangby has amassed an incredible 30 receptions for 487 yards and five scores; the senior is fifth in the NAIA in receiving yards and 12th in total receptions. The next highest on the team is Lundy with his eight grabs for 40 yards.
OU is allowing over 400 yards per game with most coming through the air; their opponents have scored 18 total touchdowns with 10 being passing TDs. Tim Farris is tied with Sandgren for total tackles with 33; Farris also has four tackles for a loss and one interception. Curtis Jr. and Bruce are the team leaders in stops behind the line with 4.5 and 6.0, respectively. The Braves are not big sack producers as they've totaled just two on the year.
Ottawa will travel to the University of Saint Mary for their next contest.
