Football | 9/6/2014 10:24:00 PM
Box Score Muskogee, Okla. – It was an ugly game for both teams in McPherson's first contest of 2014 as the 'Dogs lost 24-7 to Bacone College on Saturday.
This was not the way Coach Fox saw his first game as a head coach going, losing by 17 in a game where his defense was fantastic before they were too gassed in the final quarter.
"I'm proud of all our guys," said Fox. "We have the first game under our belts and we definitely know our strengths and areas we need to improve on. I'm looking foward to the strides we make going into game two."
The MC offense started the game off strong, taking their second possession in for a score on a 28-yard wide receiver screen pass from Jordan Hoffman to Michael Ramos. Bacone answered with a touchdown drive of their own but then the two defenses had their way with the opposing offenses as neither team was able to move the ball up and down the field. The Warriors would get a few yards here and a few there but the Mac D held their ground, making sure BC didn't get too close; Bacone did have a couple field goal opportunities but one was blocked (by Charles Boosa) and the other went wide.
After 30 minutes of play, the two teams went into halftime deadlocked at 7-7.
In the third quarter, it was again a defensive showcase with the Warriors moving the ball a bit more than McPherson but the 'Dogs continued to stay tough when it mattered leaving the score tied heading into the fourth.
All the time on the field for McPherson's defense finally caught up with them as they could no longer hold BC from getting points as the Warriors went up 10-7 just a few minutes into the final quarter. Bacone recovered the ensuing kickoff and drove to the five-yard line but that stingy Bulldog defense forced a takeaway to keep it a three-point game. BC punched it into the endzone for the second time in the game with 4:22 remaining to go up 17-7 and a pick-6 in the closing minutes gave Bacone their 24-7 victory.
McPherson racked up 193 total yards with 75 coming on the ground; they had five total turnovers and forced just one from BC. The Warriors won the time of possession battle by nearly eight minutes.
Hoffman ended the night going 7-of-27 for 118 yards, one touchdown and four interceptions. His favorite target was Ramos who had three receptions for 59 yards and the TD. Back from his 2013 injury, Terrance Jones got the majority of the carries, rushing for 44 yards on 20 carries; Miles Balthazor had six carries for 13 yards.
Mac's defense allowed 421 yards, 251 rushing and 170 passing. They were led in tackling by Jimmy Wilson who was a thorn in Bacone's side all night as he totaled 13 tackles, 12 solo; three of his stops where for a loss. Ryan Duggan logged double-digit tackles as well with his 10 solo and one assisted. Sophomore standout Grant Narcisse tied Wilson in tackles for a loss and had five total stops on the night. Ben Kimbrough recovered the Warrior's lone fumble and returned it for 22 yards.
It's road game number two for the Bulldogs on September 13th as they travel to Olathe, Kansas where they'll face MidAmerica Nazarene University in their game of the HAAC-KCAC challenge; kickoff will be at 6:00 p.m. (CT)
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McPherson College is a Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference member school and a part of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics
