McPherson, Kan. – A pair of scores late were not enough for Bulldog football as they fell to Bethel College 28-14 on Saturday night at the Blake Reed Memorial Game in McPherson. MC is now 0-3 on the year and 0-2 against the conference.
"It's a process," said Coach Mierkiewicz. "You can get better and still lose games. We have some things to work on but our guys played with a lot of effort and that's all you can ask."
The night started about as good as possible for Mac as they held Bethel to a three-and-out and then took the ball from their own 16 to the BC 28-yard line. The drive did not end well for the 'Dogs as a Chris Linnin pass was picked off in the end zone as the QB was looking for Ste'fon Walker for the team's first score. The clubs traded possessions the rest of the quarter with the clock hitting zeros with the score still at 0-0.
McPherson started the second quarter off with a Michael Rabara interception that was returned to the Bethel 18. After three plays and six yards, Mac attempted a field goal but it went wide, leaving the game scoreless. BC took their next two possessions 80+ yards and ended them with a pair of touchdowns, heading into the break up 14-0.
Following the Blake Reed MAC2MAC Scholarship presentation at halftime, the 'Dogs came out inspired and took the first possession of the third quarter 10 plays and all the way to the Thresher four-yard line. Four-straight in completions thwarted McPherson's scoring opportunity, however. Bethel then went on a 96-yard touchdown drive for the second time in the game, bringing the score to 21-0.
In their first possession of the final quarter, Linnin had three completions in a row to put Mac on the BC two-yard line. Ryan Lakso pounded his way into the end zone, putting points on the board for the Bulldogs and providing some life. Bethel quickly silenced the crowd as they put together a clock-killing TD drive. After a three-and-out, MC intercepted the Bethel QB for the second time in the game, this time it was Braden Bush who took the pick down to the BC 22. Six plays later and Lakso had himself another touchdown and the score sat at 28-14. Unfortunately the clock read 1:02 and following an unsuccessful onside kick, the Bulldogs had to let Bethel kneel out the clock.
The offensive numbers were a huge improvement for McPherson as they tallied 264 total yards on 56 plays. The team had 79 rush yards on 28 attempts; DeAvonte Doucet led the way with his 68 on 18 carries. Linnin threw the ball 28 times, completing 12 for 185 yards; he also had five rush attempts for five yards. Walker gobbled up five receptions for 89 yards with a long of 35. Michael Ramos, the 2015 Blake Reed MAC2MAC Scholarship Award Winner, had four grabs for 63 yards.
The MC defense allowed 377 total yards including 298 on the ground; they did force four turnovers. Dalton Whitfield racked up 16 total tackles with seven being solo stops and 1.5 went for a loss. Rabara had 10 tackles on the night with six coming by himself. Both Greg Elvin and Bush tallied nine stops in the game.
McPherson will travel to Kansas Wesleyan University on October 3rd for their next game. The Saturday night contest will be the Coyotes' Homecoming and unveiling of their new stadium. Start time is set for 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.
