McPHERSON, Kan. – McPherson College makes the trip to Wichita Saturday afternoon for a KCAC matchup with Friends University. The 2-5 Falcons are coming off a 26-13 loss at No. 25 Kansas Wesleyan. Both squads will be looking to even their KCAC records at 3-3 with a victory.
Due to the potential of inclement weather later in the day, kickoff from Austin-Adair Stadium is now slated for 1:00 p.m. (Updated Oct. 20, 3:45 p.m.)
Game Broadcasts ~ KCAC Game of the Week
After a number of years riding the terrestrial airwaves, all McPherson College athletics broadcasts have moved online for the 2017-18 academic year. Broadcasts can now be found on the Bulldogs' Game Central portal powered by Stretch Internet at http://www.macbulldogs.com/gamecast. Matt Cole returns as the play-by-play voice for Bulldog athletics to broadcast a full slate of 10 football games, virtually all McPherson home basketball games and select road basketball contests. Pregame for Saturday's audio-only broadcast will start at approximately 1:15 p.m.
This week's game has also been selected as the KCAC Radio Network Game of the Week. The KCAC will be providing the video feed for this week's game (which can also be found at www.macbulldogs.com/gamecast) as well as a separate audio feed that can be heard over the air on radio stations throughout central and western Kansas.
The Series
Friends holds a 42-32-1 advantage in the all-time series, which dates back to 1924 and has been an annual affair since 1950. The Falcons have won five in a row with the last McPherson win coming in 2011 – a 31-17 victory at Adair-Austin Stadium.
Last Meeting
McPherson scored 19 fourth-quarter points and recovered a late onside kick but could not complete the comeback in a 21-19 loss at McPherson Stadium. Friends dominated the time of possession, holding the ball for nearly 41 minutes and running 83 plays to McPherson's 54. Jalen Rogers rushed for 182 yards to lead Friends. McPherson was led by Ed Crouch, who was just 9-of-26 for 147 yards through the air and just 34 yards on the ground. Tyrone Campbell rushed for 123 yards on 13 carries and had three catches for a team-best 75 yards and a score.
Travis Steenson led the Bulldogs defensively with 24 tackles, including seven solo stops and a tackle for loss. Braden Bush added 16 tackles, shared a tackle for loss and broke up a pair of passes, while Dalton Whitfield has 15 stops.
Last Week
McPherson jumped out to a 21-0 lead after just 10 minutes against Ottawa, only to see the Braves tie the game at 30-30 in the third quarter. Two Jake Tiernan-to-Jackson Goodmiller TD passes down the stretch helped the Bulldogs pull away for the win on Homecoming.
McPherson racked up 385 yards of total offense on just 59 plays compared to 354 yards on 88 plays for Ottawa. Campbell finished with 127 yards on the ground, while Tiernan – a sophomore making his first career start – was an efficient 14-of-19 for 215 yards and three touchdowns. Goodmiller caught six passes for 91 yards and two scores, while Desmond Anderson added four catches for 76 yards and a TD.
Junior defensive lineman Charles Tisby had a great game inside against the Braves. In addition to a team-high-tying 10 tackles (six solo), he posted three of the team's six sacks and had four tackles behind the line of scrimmage for a net loss of 37 yards. Tisby also helped lead a defensive front that limited the Braves to 31 yards on 40 carries. Isaac Murphy matched Tisby with 10 tackles, primarily downfield, although he did have one tackle for loss. Dominic DeLuca and Isaiah Hill each added nine stops, including 1.5 tackles for loss. Hill also finished with 1.5 sacks. Alwin Crawford intercepted Ottawa QB James Valentine on the final play of the game to pick up his team-leading fourth interception of the year.
The Bulldogs also scored on special teams as – for the second time in three weeks – Rinaldo Gagiano blocked a punt and recovered it in the end zone for a touchdown.
Tiernan, Tisby Named KCAC Players of the Week
For their efforts against Ottawa, Tiernan and Tisby were honored Monday as the KCAC's Footbball Offensive and Defensive Players of the Week, respectively.
Looking at the Bulldogs
McPherson continues to be relatively balanced on offense with the numbers favoring the pass slightly. The Bulldogs are averaging 399.3 yards overall – 210.3 through the air and 189.0 on the ground – to rank third in the KCAC in rushing offense and fifth in both total offense and pass offense.
Depending upon the health of quarterback Ed Crouch, McPherson could have three players averaging at least 56 yards rushing per game on the field Saturday. Crouch is the team leader in per-game average (67.2), yardage (403) and touchdowns (6), while Tyrone Campbell - after a solid outing against Ottawa - now ranks second on the team at 60.8 yards per game and four touchdowns. Freshman Corey Davis is second on the team in total yards (375).
Through the air, Crouch is 69-of-135 for 999 yards, 11 touchdowns and an interception after completing his only pass attempt against Ottawa for a 9-yard touchdown. He still ranks fourth among KCAC players in total offense and passing per game, but has slipped to seventh in rushing average. Tiernan played solidly against the Braves and is 22-of-40 for 263 yards, three TDs and an interception.
Goodmiller leads the team in receptions with 28, good enough to rank sixth among KCAC receivers. He averages averaging 50.0 yards per game with five scores. Eman McNeal has hauled in 18 passes for 213 yards, including three touchdowns, while Desmond Anderson has caught 16 passes for three touchdowns and a team-best 56.17 yards per game.
Defensively, Lanktree has 59 tackles, including 2.0 tackles for loss and 0.5 sacks, to rank third among KCAC players. He also has one forced fumble and has two interceptions. In the trenches, Charles Tisby has 7.5 tackles for loss and 4.0 sacks, while Isaiah Hill has 6.5 tackles for loss and a team-best 4.5 sacks. Alwin Crawford has intercepted a league-high four passes – all in the last three weeks – and ranks third nationally in interceptions per game and seventh in total interceptions.
Confabulation About the Falcons
Offensively, Friends averages 152.6 yards on the ground, with the majority of that total coming on the legs of freshman tailback Noah Diaz. Diaz, who is the KCAC's leading rusher, averages 126 yards per game and has six of the Falcons' eight rushing scores. Diaz also ranks in the top 10 nationally in all-purpose yards (fifth) and rushing yards (eighth) per game.
A question for Friends will be at quarterback. The Falcons have used three different signal-callers the last three weeks. Senior Brennan Whitaker has thrown for 857 yards and six scores but has been out since being injured Sept. 30 against Sterling. His absense gave way to freshman Dan Dawdy, who has started the last two games and thrown for 434 yards and two scores. After throwing two picks in last week's game against Kansas Wesleyan, he was replaced by another freshman, Kevin Folsom. Folsom has thrown for 104 yards in each of his two outings, but has not found the end zone.
Whoever is behind center, the Falcons have a host of capable receivers. Sam Camp has the most catches (26) and most yards (341), but it's Jacob Cron with the most TDs (6). Blair Perry has 22 catches, while Diaz has added 21 catches out of the backfield.
Defensively, Flozell Nipper leads the Falcons with 51 tackles, including 28 solo stops. Josh Lewis (50 tackles, 4.0 TFL, 2.0 sacks) and Kelechi Chukwuka (37 tackles, 8.0 TFL, 5.5 sacks) also top Friends' defensive chart, while Tim Hamilton ranks third nationally in sacks (7.5) and 18th in tackles for loss (10.5).
The Falcons also have a pair of dangerous kick returners in Diaz and Blake Crandall. Diaz has averaged 25.2 yards over five returns, while Crandall carries a 19.6-yard-per-return average.
Tale of the Tape
McPherson (first, 38.3 ppg) and Friends (ninth, 21.3 ppg) rank at opposite ends of the spectrum in the KCAC in scoring offense, but both rank near the middle of the league in total offense. The strength of the 2017 Falcon squad appears to be in its defense, which allows a KCAC-low 308.0 yards per game. McPherson's defense is second at 342.3 yards per game. While both have been stingy against the run – McPherson ranks sixth nationally (87.2 ypg) and Friends 16th (124.7 ypg), teams have had opportunities against McPherson in the passing game. the Bulldogs rank 10th in the KCAC against the pass, allowing 255.2 yards per game through the air.
The Falcons have fared better than the Bulldogs in keeping teams out of the end zone so far this season, giving up just 24.0 points per game to McPherson's 33.7.
Sustaining drives will be also be key as McPherson ranks eighth in the conference in third-down conversion percentage at 36.6 percent. Friends ranks second to Ottawa in opponents' third-down conversion percentage at 35.5 percent. The Falcons convert at a 37.9-percent clip, while the Bulldogs' opponents have converted nearly half (46-of-98) of their opportunities.
Next Week
McPherson makes the trek to Leavenworth next Saturday to face University of Saint Mary in the final road game of the 2017 season. Kickoff scheduled for 1:30 p.m. at Berkel Memorial Stadium.
