Sterling, Kan. – It was a sloppy game between McPherson College and Sterling College on Saturday as the two teams threw a combined three interceptions and fumbled the ball seven times. The Bulldogs were responsible for all three picks and four fumbles, three of which were lost; the TOs did not cause the 31-28 loss for MC but they definitely didn't do the Bulldogs any good. Mac moves to 3-6 on the year and 3-4 against the conference with two contests to go in the season.
The game couldn't have started any better for McPherson as they drove the field on their opening possession and went up 7-0 after a 15-yard Kelly Cordova touchdown run. The Bulldog D forced a three-and-out from the Warriors and Mac got the ball right back. The 'Dogs, however, fumbled the ball on the first play of that drive, giving SC a short field which they took advantage of, tying the game at 7-7. After a stalled drive by the Bulldogs, Sterling again was forced to punt. This time, Kavoderic McIntyre blocked the punt, putting MC in terrific field position. Cordova had his pass intercepted to give the ball right back to SC. This, unfortunately, was the trend for McPherson's offense in the opening half as they turned the ball over four times in the first two quarters.
Mac scored midway through the second on a Miles Balthazor run after the defense forced a fumble on Sterling's 10-yard line. The Bulldogs got back on the board after a second blocked punt; this one was blocked, recovered, and returned by Trenton Forrester 37 yards for a touchdown, putting MC ahead 21-7 with 2:33 left in the second. McPherson, to this point in the game, had held SC to less than 30 yards of offense. The Warriors took the ball from their 28-yard line all the way to the McPherson eight in under two minutes and were able to get a field goal in right before the break.
Holding a 21-10 lead, MC was not satisfied scored their fourth, and final, touchdown as Balthazor ran in for his second TD of the day on the second play of the third quarter. McPherson took just 14 more offensive snaps for the remainder of the game as Sterling's offense finally got going. The Warriors scored on each of their two third quarter possession to pull the score to 28-23 with 15 minutes to play.
Trailing by five, SC forced their third interception of Cordova to give them the ball in MC territory with five minutes to play. The McPherson defense, once again, stepped up and forced a punt. The return was muffed and recovered by Sterling, bringing them closer to the end zone. Eight plays later and the Warriors held their first lead of the game; a successful 2-point conversion put them ahead 31-28 with 17 seconds left on the clock. The Bulldogs got the ball to the SC 37 with time for a field goal try that would send the game into overtime. The 54 yarder was blocked by Sterling, ending the game at 31-28 in favor of the home team.
The Bulldog offense totaled 338 yards with 298 coming on the ground and 238 on the shoulders of the running back Balthazor; the true freshman had 24 carries, averaging 9.9 yards an attempt. Cordova ran for 62 on 15 attempts; he also went 4-of-11 for 40 yards passing the ball. Ste'fon Walker pulled down two passes for 25 yards to lead the team.
After holding Sterling around 100 yards in the opening half, McPherson's defense ended the night giving up 302 total with 182 being rush yardage; Grant Narcisse and his fellow linemen kept the middle clogged all game long. The D forced three fumbles and recovered two. Forrester, in his first game back from injury, led the team in tackles with nine including two for a loss of nine yards. Ben Kimbrough recorded the team's lone sack and ended the day with eight tackles.
MC has two home games to close out the year. They will host Bethany College on November 8th at McPherson Stadium with kickoff set for 1:30 p.m. (CT). It will be Kids Day for the Bulldogs – be looking for more information about Kids Day early next week.
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McPherson College is a Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference member school and a part of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics
