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McPherson, Kan. – The final home game of the year is this Saturday for MC football as the Bulldogs celebrate Senior Day on the 7th. The 'Dogs are set to take on Sterling College at 1:00 p.m. (CT) in McPherson Stadium.
Mac has seven seniors on the roster: Kavoderic McIntyre, Ste'fon Walker, Jake Weigel, Tim Jones, Daniel May, Daniel Musika, and Michael Ramos.
McIntyre has started the past two season for the Bulldogs at cornerback; he got in for a few plays during the 2013 season. In his career, the Dallas native has 86 total tackles and five interceptions. McIntyre's senior season has easily been his best as he has 38 tackles thus far along with four pass breakups and a pair of picks.
Walker is a two-year player for MC at wide receiver. For his career as a Bulldog, Walker has 35 receptions for 527 yards and a pair of touchdowns. Originally from Mississippi, Walker has been an impact player from day one with Mac; the speedster has also spent time on the track roster in his tenure at McPherson.
Weigel is a former soccer player who made the transition to the other football this past year. He has hit on two field goals this season with a long of 36 yards. A native of Berryton, Kansas, Weigel is currently tied for first in the NAIA in Points After Touchdown percentage at 100%.
Jones is another wide receiver and is from Dunnellon, Florida. He has nine career receptions for 77 yards with a long of 19 yards.
A native of Carcas, Venezuela, May came to McPherson College to give American football a shot. The defensive back has five career tackles, all unassisted.
Musika came to McPherson last year and has been an instant starter on the offensive line for the Bulldogs. The Milpitas, California native leads the Bulldogs in snaps played this season.
Ramos ventured to McPherson College back in 2011 and has been hard to get rid of! The Texas native has 99 career receptions for 1044 yards and four scores; he completed his first collegiate pass this season, a 28 yarder. Ramos has also spent plenty of time returning kicks and punts; his total all-purpose yardage sits at 1648 heading into Saturday's contest.
After their outing with the Warriors, McPherson will close out the season at Bethany College in a battle of McPherson County; start time is set for 1:30 p.m. in Lindsborg.
Scouting Sterling
The Warriors are 5-3 this season and 5-2 in the KCAC. They started the year getting drilled by then-No. 3 Morningside College 77-17. Since then, the games have been fairly tight for SC. They lost their KCAC opener to KWU 28-21 and have gone 5-1 since with their other loss coming to nationally ranked Tabor College. The team's most recent win came at the University of Saint Mary this past weekend, 44-25.
The first half was a back-and-forth battle with the team's trading points. After pulling the score to 17-13 with just two seconds left in the second quarter, Saint Mary was in good shape. However, the ensuing kickoff was returned 60 yards for a touchdown, moving the halftime score to 24-13 in favor of Sterling. In the second half, the Spires tried to claw back in but the running attack of SC was too much as the Warriors won 44-25.
Sterling tallied 336 total yards with 253 coming on the ground; they averaged 5.4 yards per rush. TJ Brown led the running back squad with his 104 yards on six carries; his long was 63 yards which went for the game's first touchdown. Cedrick Phillips was next on the list as the workhorse took the ball 30 times for 95 net yardage. Mike Lopez had six carries for 52 yards; he was also the one who took the kickoff to the house. Phillips is the team's quarterback and went 5-of-9 for 83 yards with two touchdowns and an interception. Brown caught three balls for 49 yards and a score while Nathan Frame had the other two for 34 yards and a TD.
Defensively, SC allowed 340 yards to Saint Mary with 257 being through the air. They did intercept one pass and recover three fumbles. USM went 5-of-16 on third downs but was a perfect 3-of-3 on fourth. Defensive backs Kenya Edner and Tyus Williams led the team in tackles with 10 apiece, seven solo and three assisted. Wayne Schoenecker was next with four assisted and four solo for eight total stops; he pulled the Spire QB down twice for 1.5 sacks. Fellow linebacker Johnathan Harris tabbed seven with 1.5 for a loss.
This season, Sterling has rushed for close to 2000 yards on 377 carries for an average of 4.5 yards per carry. Phillips tops the yardage and attempt list with 1013 and 189, respectively; he has 10 touchdowns rushing and another eight throwing. Brown is second on the rushing list with 327 yards on 39 carries with three TDs. Lopez is close to the 300-yard mark with 275 on 48 rushes. Phillips is 44-of-89 for 644 yards passing the ball; he has four picks on the year and a long of 56 yards. Brown tops the receiving list with 25 grabs for 332 yards and five scores. The only other Warrior to make it over 10 catches is Chad Bennett who has 13 for 180 yards.
Kenya Edner has racked up a team-high 57 tackles on the year with 36 coming by himself; 2.5 have been for a loss. There is a two-way tie for most solo stops by Ray Winfield and Tyus Williams who each have 38; both players also have a pair of picks and over two tackles for a loss this season. DeAndre Benson is the sack leader for SC as the lineman has 3.5 for a loss of 18.7 yards; he has 10.5 additional tackles for a loss in his seven games.
Sterling ends the season at home as they host Southwestern College on November 14th.
