McPHERSON, Kan. (macbulldogs.com) --- Sophomore quarterback
Ed Crouch (Miami Gardens, Fla.) threw for 209 yards and four touchdowns and ran for 148 yards as McPherson College topped Southwestern College, 27-20, on Saturday night at McPherson Stadium.
The game --- featured as the KCAC Network Game of the Week --- was the league opener for both schools and snapped a 12-game losing streak for the Bulldogs. It also gave McPherson head coach Paul Mierkiewicz his first win at McPherson.
McPherson (1-2, 1-0 KCAC) wasted little time finding the end zone as Crouch found
Jackson Goodmiller (St. George, Kan.) from 15 yards out after less than three minutes ticked off the clock. Southwestern (0-2, 0-1 KCAC) responded with 20 straight points over the next 12:08 as Christian Gordon found Tanner Spencer for a 21-yard touchdown pass and Jacob Sigmon on a 48-yard scoring strike before Brady Keith scored on a 2-yard plunge with just five seconds left in the quarter. A botched hold scuttled the Moundbuilders' initial PAT attempt, but Mario Esparza was able to connect on two ensuing tries.
In the second quarter, the Bulldogs added two more scores as Crouch found
Justin Fagan (Harper, Kan.) from 10 yards out and
Tyrone Campbell (Oakland, Calif.) on a 23-yard pitch-and-catch.
Caleb Contreras (Dallas, Texas) made the PAT on the first score but missed the second. He also missed a 49-yard field goal as time expired in the quarter to leave the score tied at 20 headed into the locker rooms for halftime.
Southwestern took the ball to start the second half, embarking on a 10-play, 53-yard drive keyed by a 28-yard pass from Gordon to Terrence Franklin that set the Moundbuilders up with first-and-goal at the 2-yard line. After three rushing attempts moved the ball only to the 1, Southwestern attempted to throw for the score on fourth down only to see Gordon's pass to Spencer fall incomplete and the ball turnover to McPherson on downs behind the goal-line stand.
The Bulldog offense gave the ball right back on their first play, however, as Campbell was stripped by Joey Scelza on his first-down carry. Scelza fell on the ball at the 2, again giving the Moundbuilders prime field position. After a loss of a yard on first down, Gordon's passes on second and third down fell incomplete to set up a chip-shot field goal by Esparza. Esparza made the attempt, but was roughed on the play. Southwestern opted to take the points off the board in favor of the fresh set of downs, despite a deadball unsportsmanlike conduct call that moved the ball back to the 17. A second unsportsmanlike conduct call on Southwestern two plays hampererd the Moundbuilders' efforts in the drive which resulted in a missed 32-yard field goal attempt by Esparza.
A determined McPherson offense drove down the field, marching 48 yards on 10 plays before the drive stalled at the Southwestern 32. A 49-yard field goal attempt by Contreras fell short, but the Bulldogs got the ball back two plays later as
Chandler Tisby (Houston, Texas) stripped Gordon at the Southwestern 43 and fell on the ball for the fumble recovery. McPherson wasted no time cashing in as Crouch hooked up with
Brandt Wolters (Osborne, Kan.) for a 43-yard scoring strike to take a 27-20 lead with 2:36 to play in the third.
The teams traded punts to end the third quarter before Southwestern mounted an extended drive to start the fourth. Set up a their own 43 after nearly fumbling away an
RJ Garza (McAllen, Texas) punt, the Moundbuilders drove to the McPherson 25 but looked to be settling for another field goal attempt but a pass interference call on third-and-16 gave Southwestern a fresh set of downs and a first-and-goal at the 7. Three straight carries by Gordon resulted in a net loss of nine yards and another Esparza field goal attempt sailed wide right.
Southwestern continue to apply pressure on offense. After regaining the ball after a McPherson punt, the Moundbuilders drove to their own 42 where their offense seemed to stall. Faced with a fourth-and-2, Brady Keith busted through the line for a sure first down and very nearly a touchdown but was caught by
Braden Bush (Blanchard, Okla.), who stripped the ball and recovered the fumble at the McPherson 15-yard line.
The McPherson offense gained one first down on its final drive but was forced to punt, leaving Southwestern 2:24 to work with. The Moundbuilders nearly made it pay off after converting on fourth-and-10 when Gordon found Spence for a 14-yard gain down to the McPherson 32. Two plays later, Gordon attempted to go back to Spence but
Devontae Emory (Garland, Texas) jumped the route and got the interception to seal the victory.
Crouch finished 17-of-33 overall for 208 yards, four scores and an interception. He also had 19 carries for 148 yards. Tyrone Campbell added 89 yards on 21 carries, while Jackson Goodmiller was the top receiver with six catches for 51 yards and a touchdown. Wolters finished with four catches for 63 yards, the bulk coming on the 43-yard TD.
Zack Melius (Wakefield, Kan.) added three catches for 31 yards.
Christian Gordon finished 19-of-41 for 273 yards, two touchdowns and an interception in addition to 18 carries for 60 yards. Brady Keith added 58 yards on the ground on just seven carries, while Hunter Sconce was limited to 28 yards on 11 carries. Tanner Spencer led all Moundbuilder receivers with nine catches for 126 yards and a touchdown. Terrence Franklin added eight catches for 90 yards and Jacob Sigmon had a pair of catches for 57 yards and a score.
Travis Steenson (McPherson, Kan.) led the Bulldogs defensively with 12 tackles, including seven solo stops and 2.0 tackles for loss.
Michael Rabara (Kona, Hawaii) added 10 tackles. Dave Matthews had 13 tackles for Southwestern, while David Ashilonu added 10.
"I'm really happy for our guys," said head coach
Paul Mierkiewicz. "They've worked so hard, and there's still plenty to work on, but this gives us a big boost moving forward."
The game also served as the seventh annual Blake Reed Memorial Football Game. At halftime, senior defensive back
Kavoderic McIntyre (Dallas, Texas) was recognized as this year's recipient of the Blake Reed Mac2Mac Football Scholarship.
The Bulldogs travel to North Newton, Kansas next Saturday for a 7 p.m. matchup with Bethel, while Southwestern visits Kansas Wesleyan for a 1 p.m. homecoming game.
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