Ottawa, Kan. – McPherson Football made a late comeback against No. 23 Ottawa University on Saturday to force overtime. In the OT, both teams scored a touchdown which forced a second. After an OU field goal, the Bulldogs missed theirs on fourth and long, giving Ottawa a nail-biting 41-38 win.
"I'm proud of our effort in all three phases of the game," said Coach Fox. "We have become the team that I said we would in the preseason; the team that gives every opponent all they can handle and the team people don't look forward to playing against."
The Bulldogs trailed from the beginning after a TD pass by Ottawa gave them an early first quarter lead. Mac evened up the score with a Cody Groff to Ste'fon Walker 13-yard strike late in the opening period. The Braves put a 23-yard field goal up which was matched by MC's Christian Guerra-Barbosa with just 22 seconds left in the half. A short kick was returned by Ottawa to the 50 and two plays later the Braves scored again to take a 17-10 lead into the locker room.
In the third quarter McPherson tied it again as Groff found Kelly Cordova for a 51-yarder. OU scored the final points of the period on the next possession and led 24-17 heading into the fourth. The Bulldogs converted on field goals of 24 yards and 39 yards to pull within a point with eight minutes to play. Ottawa's star running back had a 74 yard touchdown run with 2:16 showing on the clock which seemingly put things to bed but Groff had different plans. The redshirt freshman led the team down the field in 10 plays spanning 67 yards in under two minutes; the quarterback found Cordova again for the TD and Michael Ramos for the two-point try, tying the game at 31-31 with 24 seconds remaining in regulation. OU had their last-second heave intercepted by Trea Lott to force overtime.
In the opening OT, the Bulldogs had the ball first and scored on six plays to take their first lead of the night. The Braves answered with a 17-yard touchdown pass to force the second overtime. Ottawa was held to a field goal, giving MC the chance they needed. Mac went the wrong way however, having to attempt a 48-yard field goal try from the freshman Guerra-Barbosa to extend the game. The try went wide left and OU snuck away with the victory.
Groff had a career-night as he led the team in total yardage with 352; he ran the ball 19 times for 100 yards and a score. He went 21-of-44 passing the ball for 252 yards and three touchdowns. Miles Balthazor backed up his game last week with 44 yards rushing on 26 attempts; he also had two catches for 14 yards. Cordova had his best night as a Bulldog as the freshman caught seven balls for a team-high 123 yards and two TDs. Walker came close to the century mark with his six grabs for 92 yards and a touchdown. Andrew Johnston brought in five for 39 yards.
The Bulldog D forced four turnovers on the night while allowing 404 total yards with 158 coming on the ground and 246 through the air. The team had nine tackles for a loss for 30 yards and a pair of sacks. Jimmy Wilson and Trent Forrester each tallied nine total tackles including a sack apiece; Wilson led the team in solo stops with five. Defensive lineman Grant Narcisse joined Lott in the interception club.
McPherson starts their two-game home stand next weekend as they play Friends University on October 11th; the Saturday game is scheduled to start at 1:30 p.m. (CT)
Make sure to follow Bulldog Nation on Facebook (MCathletics) and Twitter (@MAC_Bulldogs)
McPherson College is a Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference member school and a part of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics
