Football | 9/18/2014 2:46:00 PM
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McPherson, Kan. – After two disappointing losses in their non-conference schedule, the McPherson College football team will look to get things going on Saturday as they travel to North Newton, Kansas to take on the Threshers of Bethel College for their first KCAC contest of the year; game time is 7:00 p.m. (CT) on the 20th.
Mac will be coming off a near come from behind victory against the Pioneers of MidAmerica Nazarene this past Saturday as they lost 34-28. After getting down 31-7 at the break, the Bulldogs started clicking and would score 21 of the next 24 points. McPherson fell just short as they failed to stop MNU on a fourth and one enabling the Pioneers to run out the rest of the clock, preserving their 34-28 win.
There were plenty of bright spots for MC as JT Levenseller had a big night in his McPherson debut. The quarterback threw a 65-yard touchdown pass on his first throw of the game and ended the night going 10-of-26 for 221 yards with two touchdowns and an interception; he also rushed for a net 57 yards on 12 attempts. Leading the team on the ground was Terrance Jones who ran for 64 yards and two scores. Andrew Johnston, a sophomore wideout, brought in a team-high four receptions for 79 yards and a touchdown. Ste'fon Walker led the 'Dogs in receiving yards with his 86 on just two grabs.
After rebounding in the second half, McPherson ended the night giving up 467 total yards with 235 coming on the ground and 232 through the air. Trent Forrester recorded a team leading 12 tackles with nine being solo stops. Charles Boosa racked up nine tackles and Jimmy Wilson followed up his brilliant first week performance with five stops including two tackles for a loss, a sack, and a forced fumble.
Bulldogs in the National Rankings: McPherson has a couple top-20 stats as they sit first in PAT kicking, they're 5-of-5 on the year, and rank 16th in opponent third down percentage at 29%; the 'Dogs held MidAmerica to just 2-of-12 on third down. Individually, freshman Christian Guerra-Barbosa ranks number one in PAT percentage and Jimmy Wilson is sixth in the NAIA in tackles for a loss per game with 2.5; the linebacker also sits 14th in total tackles for a loss (5.0) and 20th in forced fumbles a game (0.5).
The first home game of the season is slated for September 27th as the Bulldogs host Kansas Wesleyan University and new head coach Matt Drinkall at 7:00 p.m. at McPherson Stadium. It is the annual Blake Reed Memorial Game for McPherson. Blake Reed was an inspirational leader and manager for four years at McPherson High School before committing his time to the McPherson College football program. Blake had a tremendous love for the game of football and it showed in his devotion to his teams. Whether practice was at 5 a.m. or 10 p.m., hot or cold, rain or shine, Blake was there.
In Blake's honor, a special committee established the Blake Reed Mac2Mac Football Scholarship with the intention of benefitting a McPherson High School Bullpup football player or a McPherson College football player who exemplifies the character of Blake Reed and is pursuing a degree from McPherson College. In a special event at halftime of Saturday's game, the committee will present the scholarship to a member of the McPherson football family.
Additionally, scholarship donations will be accepted at the gate and throughout the game, t-shirts will also be sold. All proceeds of t-shirt sales go directly into the scholarship fund.
For additional information about the scholarship, please contact the McPherson College Advancement office at 620-242-0400.
Scouting Bethel
The Threshers started 2014 off with a commanding 37-6 victory over Haskell Indian Nations University in August but after a week of rest and preparation, BC lost 41-24 to Avila University in the KCAC-HAAC Challenge this past weekend.
Bethel scored the first and last points of the night but in between it was all Avila. BC got a field goal in the early goings of the second quarter but then gave up 41-straigh points to the Eagles and found themselves trailing by 38 with just one quarter to play. The Threshers scored three times in the final period but could not muster up enough to get back to even with AU, falling 41-24.
It's never a good thing when your punting yards are near identical to your rushing and passing totals. The Threshers recorded 188 yards on the ground using Robert Smith (124yds) and Brandon Steed (57yds) to carry most of the load. In the air, Steed went a 13-of-39 for 190 yards, two touchdowns and a pair of picks. Gregory Parham and Ridge Foster were the top two targets pulling down 4-for-66 and 3-for-32, respectively.
The team is netting 316 yards per game with 171 being passing yardage. They average 4.8 yards per rush en route to their 145 rushing average. Defensively, they allow 336.5 yards a night, giving up the majority through the air. The team is converting on 48.3% of their third down tries and has a -2 turnover margin for the season.
Smith has racked up 208 net yards on 37 carries; the running back has two scores running and has caught two balls for 24 yards. Steed started his first game of the year this past Saturday, replacing week one starter David Bronson. The two quarterbacks have thrown for 342 yards on the year and four touchdowns. Parham leads the team in receptions and receiving yards as he's hauled in eight for 100 yards.
The Threshers stay at home for their next contest as they host No. 16 Ottawa University on the 27th.
