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McPherson, Kan. – Coach Mierkiewicz and the Mac football team will begin their 2015 KCAC campaign this weekend as they travel to Winfield, Kansas to take on the Moundbuilders of Southwestern College. Kickoff is scheduled for 6:00 p.m. (CT) on the 19th.
MC heads into the contest coming off a two-week break; the 'Dogs played their first game of the season on September 5th as they hosted Doane College in the KCAC-GPAC Challenge.
There were a few bright spots for McPherson in their opener as freshman running back Zach Boyd rushed for 98 yards on 21 carries. The defense, which was on the field for over 30 minutes in the contest, looked sharp at times and were led in tackles by Preseason All-KCAC athlete Dalton Whitfield who racked up 16 total stops including two for a loss.
The Bulldogs have made a couple changes in their offensive lineup from week one. They've moved junior offensive lineman Jaelon Barnes from the right tackle spot to right guard, making room for 2014 All-KCAC selection Calon Bibbs. MC will have a new quarterback under center as Chris Linnin steps into the starting role. This will be the freshman's first time as the signal caller this season; he punted the ball eight times for Mac in the matchup against Doane.
The 'Dogs will continue to take on KCAC opponents next week as they host Bethel College on September 26th; the 7:00 p.m. contest will be the annual Blake Reed Memorial game.
Blake Reed served four years as Football Manager for the McPherson High Bullpups and then another four years for the Bulldogs. Blake loved football – high school, college or professional. He also loved people – always saw the good in everyone, and encouraged them to be their best, on and off the field. Thinking like a coach, Blake always wanted McPherson High School Bullpup football players to join the McPherson College Bulldogs. He was a constant recruiter for his Bulldog team.
After a life-long battle with Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy, Blake passed away on August 3, 2010, at the age of 22. To create a legacy for Blake's commitment to Bulldog football, his family has established the Blake Reed Mac2Mac Football Scholarship.
Scouting Southwestern
The Moundbuilders are under the direction of first-year head coach Brad Griffin; Griffin was previously the defensive coordinator of William Penn University for 10 seasons. The Builders, much like Mac, are a very young team. Between the two squads, there will be over 20 underclassmen starting and only 14 seniors.
SWC enters the game with a 0-2 record as they lost to Wayland Baptist on August 29th and then Concordia College in the KCAC-GPAC Challenge on September 5th. In their game against Concordia, the Moundbuilders led 10-0 in the first quarter but then gave up 31 unanswered to drop the contest.
This season, Southwestern is using a running back by committee approach; they've already utilized three running backs on the year. Anthony Sims leads the team in yardage with 35 and has a long of 16 yards. Brady Keith tops the carry list with his 14 for 18 yards; one of those carries went for nine yards meaning that his other 13 have gone for a total of nine yards.
Freshman Christian Gordan is the starting quarterback for the Builders. In his two games this season, the Texas native has completed 13 passes for 89 yards; he has one interception on the year and is hitting his mark just 27.7% of the time.
Matt Mose leads the wide receiver staff with his 38 yards on three catches. Also tabbing three catches thus far is Dalton Swindale although his have only gone for eight total yards. There are three other players that have a pair of grabs this season.
Defensively, the Builders return Preseason All-KCAC athlete Eric Walker at middle linebacker. Thus far in the season, he has 16 total tackles including 12 unassisted. Also hitting double-digits in stops is Jessup Blieven and Justin Owens with 13 and 10, respectively. Robert Hernandez has racked up three sacks for SWC through the team's two games.
Southwestern will continue their three-game home stand on September 26th as they host RV Kansas Wesleyan University.
