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McPherson, Kan. – Bulldog football has now won two-straight games and will look to make it three on November 1st as they take on the 4-4 Sterling College Warriors in Sterling, Kansas starting at 1:30 p.m. (CT)
Last week's bout with then-No. 18 Tabor College was a nail-bitter throughout. McPherson's Ashton Serpas blocked his first field goal of the day after the Bluejays' first drive stalled out. On their next possession, TC had another field goal attempt stuffed by Serpas, leaving the scoreboard blank. The 'Dogs scored the game's first points on a Christian Guerra-Barbosa field goal in the waning minutes of the first quarter. In the second period, Tabor scored the lone points with just 18 seconds left to play in the half; the 'Jays headed into their locker room ahead 7-3. TC again scored seven in the third quarter and led 14-3 with 15-minutes to play.
The final period belonged to the 'Dogs as, following a shanked punt by Tabor, put Mac just 34 yards away from the end zone; a seven-play drive led to McPherson's first touchdown but a failed 2-point conversion put the score at 14-9. Serpas recorded his second pick of the day on TC's next possession to give the Bulldogs great field position again. While eating up as much clock as possible, the offense went the 40 yards and Kelly Cordova punched in his second score of the quarter; another failed 2-point conversion gave Mac a one-point, 15-14, advantage with 2:33 left in the contest. Tabor is built to run the ball and had trouble getting down the field in a hurry and after four plays gave the ball back to McPherson. Three kneel downs by Cordova gave Mac the upset victory.
The Bulldog offense totaled just 211 yards but made the most of good situations and moved the ball when they needed to. Miles Balthazor made his return known as the freshman ran for 76 yards on 19 carries. Cordova rushed for 73 yards on 20 tries while throwing the ball for 49 on 9-of-26; the wide receiver turned quarterback recorded McPherson's two touchdowns, both were two-yard runs. Although just nine balls were completed, five different players recorded a reception.
On defense, the team held the run-heavy Bluejays to just 95 yards on the ground, their lowest of the season. The D forced three fumbles, recovered one, and tallied three interceptions. Serpas had a great game as the junior transfer intercepted two balls, blocked two field goals and logged two batted balls to go with his seven tackles. Jimmy Wilson led the team in tackles with 13; he had 2.5 tackles for a loss and a total of eight solo stops along with one forced fumble. Trea Lott was responsible for the fourth TC turnover with his interception.
McPherson in the NAIA Rankings: The team sits fifth in opponent third down conversion at 27 percent. Wilson ranks sixth in fumbles forced per game, 0.4, 10th in total tackles for a loss, 14.5, and 13th in tackles for loss per game, 1.8. Guerra-Barbosa is 15th in field goals per game and 16th in total field goals with seven.
The Bulldogs end the season with a two-game home stand which starts with Kids Day against the Bethany College Swedes on November 8th; kickoff is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. (CT). More details for Kids Day will be available next week.
Scouting Sterling
The Warriors have amassed a 4-4 record on the year but are 4-2 against the KCAC which puts them in third, one game behind No. 15 Ottawa and No. 20 Friends in the league standings. After starting the year off with two close losses to non-conference opponents, SC has gone 4-2 in their matchups with the KCAC. Their losses have been against Tabor and Ottawa; they have wins over Friends, Bethany, Bethel, and most recently Saint Mary, 34-24.
In their matchup with USM, Sterling scored first but then back-to-back scores by Saint Mary put the Warriors down 10-7; a field goal late in the second quarter evened things up at 10-10 at the break. SC came out of halftime and scored two TDs before the Spires could get on the board. Heading into the final quarter Sterling was on top 24-17. Another field goal by SC gave them a 27-17 advantage with less than four minutes to play. A late touchdown by Saint Mary gave them a chance but a failed onside kick and missed tackle on defense allowed the Warriors one more score, putting the final total at 34-24.
Sterling racked up 387 yards of offense with 253 coming on the ground, mostly on the legs of KCAC Player of the Week Antonio Bray who had 146 on 18 carries. Through the air, Reggie Langford threw for 134 yards and a touchdown on 10-of-19 passing. Bray was also the leading receiver with his four grabs for 69 yards and the score. The SC defense allowed 488 yards to USM including 410 passing yardage; the D did record an unbelievable nine interceptions with defensive back Chris Williams being responsible for four. Dezmond Howard led the team in tackles with eight total.
This season, the offense averages 319 yards per game with the bulk being rushing yards at 1564; they have scored 28 touchdowns, 19 coming on the ground. Bray has gained 707 net yards on 124 carries; he has 11 rushing TDs and two receiving. Quarterback Langford has passed for all 990 yards and has nine scores throwing the ball and four running; he has totaled 480 rush yards on the year. Denton Hudspeth is the team's leading receiver with his 34 receptions for 391 yards and five touchdowns; the next non-running back is Nathan Frame with eight for 89 yards.
The D gives up a lot of yards, averaging 416.1 a contest; they have also allowed 27 offensive touchdowns. Ray Whitfield is the team's leading tackler and interceptor with 52 (27 solo and 25 assisted) and five, respectively. Mar E Whitson is next on the team in tackles with 45; the linebacker leads the team in both tackles for a loss, 11.0, and sacks, 6.0.
SC has their final away game of the season on November 8th when they travel to Southwestern College.
