HILLSBORO, Kan. --- McPherson College was outgained, 455-255, and quarterback
Ed Crouch (Miami Gardens, Fla.) was sacked six times as the Bulldogs fell to rival Tabor College in Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference (KCAC) football action Saturday at Joel H. Wiens Stadium.
Both teams had two possessions in a scoreless first quarter. Tabor (6-2, 6-1 KCAC) twice drove inside McPherson's 20-yard line before being stopped by a chop block penalty on its first effort and an interception by
Braden Bush (Blanchard, Okla.) on its second. The Bulldogs (1-8, 1-6 KCAC) went just 24 yards on seven plays on its first drive, then lost a fumble inside its own 30 on the final play of the quarter.
Set up at the McPherson 14 after the fumble to start the second quarter, the Bluejays wasted little time cashing in on the opportunity. Jonah McKee scored from three yards out on the third play of the drive. A Jared Slavens PAT made it 7-0 Tabor just 1:08 in the second quarter.
Tabor added two more scores on a 4-yard run by Keith Thomas and a 2-yard run by Cooper to extend the lead to 20-0 before McPherson was able to get on the board. Cooper's score was set up by a 55-yard punt return by Charles Beale that put the Bluejays at the 1-yard line.
McPherson notched its first score with just 55 seconds to play in the first half as Crouch found
Justin Fagan (Harper, Kan.) from nine yards out to cap a 10-play, 75-yard drive.
Zach Johnson's 34-yard return on the ensuing kickoff gave Tabor one final chance before the break. Aided by a facemask penalty that moved the start of the drive to the McPherson 33, the Bluejays cashed in as Drevion Cooper scored on a 24-yard run with 20 seconds remaining.
After forcing McPherson into a three-and-out on its first drive of the second half, Tabor drove 83 yards on 10 plays to extend the lead to 33-7 after a successful PAT by Slavens. The Bulldogs responded with a 12-play, 56-yard drive but could not find the end zone. A Tabor personal foul gave McPherson a first-and-goal and the 6-yard line. After a 3-yard gain by
Tyrone Campbell (Oakland, Calif.) on first down, Crouch was sacked by Tabor's Evan Sprayberry and then threw a pair of incomplete passes to turn the ball over on downs.
Both teams scored touchdowns on their first two drives of the fourth quarter as Crouch found
Jackson Goodmiller (St. George, Kan.) for a 30-yard touchdown strike and Campbell scored on a 1-yard run for McPherson, while Joseph Donnell and Curry Parham scored on short TD runs for Tabor.
The Tabor defense limited McPherson to just 255 total yards of offense. The Bulldogs rushed for 152 yards on 40 carries, led by 94 yards on 19 carries from Crouch. He amassed 147 gross but lost 45 yards on six sacks and another eight yards on a scramble. Campbell added 67 yards on 17 carries.
Crouch struggled to just 8-of-24 passing for 103 yards in blustery conditions, but did have a pair of touchdown passes. Goodmiller, Fagan and
Brandt Wolters (Osborne, Kan.) each finished with two catches to lead the Bulldogs.
Tabor racked up 365 yards on the ground, led by Drevion Cooper with 74 yards on six carries. Keith Thomas (nine carries, 66 yards), Jonah McKee (nine carries, 60 yards) and Joseph Donnell (12 carries, 58 yards) also surpassed 50 yards on the ground for the Bluejays. Curry Parham was 7-of-9 through the air for 84 yards and an interception and also had six carries for 40 yards.
Skylar Valencia hauled in a game-high three catches for 43 yards, while McKee and Johnson had two catches each.
Defensively,
Travis Steenson (McPherson, Kan.) finished with a game-high 19 tackles, while
Dalton Whitfield (Cleveland, Ga.) added 12 and
Michael Rabara (Kona, Hawaii) and
Thomas Langtree (Magnsa, Utah) had 10 apiece. In addition to his interception, Bush had nine tackles and broke up another pass.
Evan Sprayberry was dominant for the Bluejays, finishing with seven solo tackles, including five sacks. He also broke up three passes. Alex Neuschafer had a team-high 10 tackles, with five solo stops, 2.0 tackles for loss, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery. Maurice Payne added five tackles, including a sack.
"Tabor showed us why they are probably the best team in the KCAC," said head coach Paul Mierkiewicz. "They have a lot of team speed and have certainly set a high bar for us as we continue our process. Our guys continue to work hard every week. It'll be interesting to see how we close out the year."
The Bulldogs take to the road for the final time in the 2016 season with a trip to Sterling College on Saturday, Nov. 5. Kickoff is slated for 1:30 p.m. at Smisor Stadium in Sterling.
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