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McPherson, Kan. – The 2015 football season begins for McPherson College on Saturday, September 5 as they host the No. 22 Doane College Tigers at 7:00 p.m. (CT) at McPherson Stadium. The game is part of the KCAC-GPAC Challenge.
The Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference and the Great Plains Athletic Conference entered a two-year agreement that would pair teams based on their conference finishes in 2013 & 2014 for 2015 & 2016 challenges. KCAC teams will host the first set of non-conference games on September 5, 2015 with the GPAC representatives playing host the following season.
The Bulldogs were picked No. 8 in the KCAC preseason coaches' poll after finishing the 2014 season with a 5-6 overall record, 4-5 in the conference. McPherson won three of their last five games, including Southwestern 10-7 in the season finale.
Three Bulldogs were named to the KCAC preseason football team, highlighted by senior wide receiver Ste'fon Walker. The Mendenhall, Miss., native compiled 343 total yards in 22 receptions, including two touchdowns in 10 games last season. Dalton Whitfield was chosen as a utility player by the KCAC coaches after seeing action as a running back (101 total yards, one touchdown), wide receiver (23 yards, three receptions) and linebacker (47 total tackles, 6.5 tackles for loss, two sacks). Offensive lineman Collin French was also selected to the preseason team after being selected to the 2014 All-KCAC Second Team.
Youth will be a common trait that many of the MC starters share. The team is starting a freshman at quarterback in RJ Garza, a freshman at running back in Zac Boyd, a freshman fullback in Ryan Lakso, a freshman tight end in Lakoda Di Mouro, and three freshman offensive linemen.
Defensively, leading the list of returners are Whitfield, Kavoderic McIntyre, and Bradley Campbell. McIntyre is the lone returning defensive back while Whitfield and Campbell are a pair of linebackers for Mac. Hawaiian Michael Rabara will look to make waves from his strong safety position. Another transfer, Joseph Mooney, will be a major impact player for the defensive line.
The 'Dogs will take a week off after their contest with Doane. The next outing for MC is slated for September 19th at Southwestern College; game time is scheduled for 2:00 p.m.
Scouting Doane
Doane is ranked 22nd in the NAIA poll, finishing the 2014 season with a 7-3 overall record and a 7-2 GPAC record.
2014 starting quarterback Brandon Stuart will most likely take the snaps for the Tigers after an impressive junior campaign. Stuart passed for 1815 total yards (181.5 yards per game) and threw for 17 touchdowns in 10 games during the 2014 season. Running back Nate Meier also returns for Doane, coming off of a 2014 season where he led the Tigers with 596 total yards and six rushing touchdowns in nine games.
Other key returners for the Tigers include wide receiver Jacob Cornelius who pulled down 17 receptions for 176 yards as a sophomore. Defensively DC has four of the top five tackle getters from 2014. Leading the charge is linebacker Garrett Borcher who racked up 96 stops in his junior season. Fellow linebacker Colten Mach stands next to Borcher and was second on the team in tackles a year ago. Aaron Hanlin and Ben Muff return at the defensive line and cornerback positions, respectively.
Doane will host Midland for their first home game of the season on September 12th.
