McPHERSON, Kan. – McPherson College hits the road for the final time in the 2017 season Saturday with a trip to Leavenworth to face the University of Saint Mary in another KCAC football matchup. Kickoff from Charles Berkel Memorial Stadium is slated for 1:30 p.m. The 3-5 Spires are coming off a 38-24 loss to Ottawa last weekend.
Game Broadcasts
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.
The Series
McPherson holds a slim 9-8 advantage in the all-time series with the Spires, which dates back USM's entrance into the KCAC in 2000. Saint Mary has won five of the last six, including the last two. The home team has usually had the upper hand in the series. The Bulldogs are 7-2 in games played but just 2-6 in games played at Leavenworth - the site of this year's contest.
Last Meeting
McPherson outgained Saint Mary, 284-272, overall but was limited to just 52 yards rushing as the Spires escaped with a 17-7 victory at McPherson Stadium. All of the scoring came in the first half as USM's Aiden Pirrin hit a 39-yard field goal and quarterback Drew Cortez threw TD passes to Anthony Piscitelli and Isai Fernandez. The Bulldogs' lone score came midway through the first quarter when
Ed Crouch (Miami Gardens, Fla., Coffeyville CC) scored on a 3-yard run.
Crouch finished 21-of-39 through the air for 232 yards and a late interception but was limited to just three net yards on seven carries.
Tyrone Campbell (Oakland, Calif., Laney CC) had 64 yards on 16 carries to lead McPherson. The Bulldogs spread the ball around as seven different receivers caught passes, led by six each for
Brandt Wolters (Osborne, Kan., Osborne HS) and
Jackson Goodmiller (St. George, Kan., Rock Creek HS).
Defensively, Dalton Whitfield finished with a game-high 17 tackles (three solo) for McPherson, while Travis Steenson added 16 stops (seven solo) with 3.0 tackles for loss. KyRandall Smith led Saint Mary with 13 tackles with half a sack and 1.5 tackles for loss.
Last Week
McPherson was held to just 256 yards of total offense in a 14-7 loss at Friends Sunday afternoon in a game that was started Saturday afternoon, then suspended at halftime due to severe weather.
Friends scored first, marching 65 yards in eight plays on their second drive of the second half. Dan Dawdy capped the drive with a 19-yard touchdown pass to Sam Camp.
The Bulldogs tied the game early in the fourth quarter when Crouch found Goodmiller for a 6-yard touchdown. McPherson started the drive at its own 46-yard line after
Ashton Serpas (Saucir, Miss., Holmes CC) recovered a Friends fumble. The drive was aided by a 20-yard Crouch-to-
Cullen Grabast (Osborne, Kan., Osborne HS) completion and a pass interference penalty on the Falcons.
Friends responded with a seven-play, 64-yard drive on its next possession capped by a 1-yard touchdown pass from Folsom to Clayton Stuart.
Crouch was 14-of-32 through the air for 153 yards, a touchdown and a pair of interceptions. He also ran for 33 yards. Campbell led the Bulldogs with 54 yards on 18 carries and caught two passes for 15 yards. Goodmiller led all McPherson receivers with seven catches for 92 yards and a TD.
Defensively,
Isaiah Hill (Santa Maria, Calif., Alan Hancock CC) had 10 tackles, including 3.5 tackles for loss and 1.5 sacks. Serpas added nine tackles, a tackle for loss, a fumble recovery and two pass break-ups, while
Alwin Crawford (Roanoke, Texas, Byron Nelson HS) had eight tackles, including a team-best seven solo stops.
Looking at the Bulldogs
After beginning the season with a relatively balanced offense, McPherson's numbers are beginning to favor the pass more and more in recent weeks. The Bulldogs are averaging 378.9 yards overall – 202.1 through the air and 176.7 on the ground – to rank fourth in the KCAC in rushing offense and fifth in both total offense and pass offense.
McPherson currently has three players averaging at least 56 yards rushing per game. Ed Crouch is the team leader in per-game average (62.3), yardage (436) and touchdowns (6), while Tyrone Campbell ranks second on the team at 59.4 yards per game and four touchdowns. Freshman
Corey Davis (Houston, Texas, Dekaney HS) is second on the team in total yards (336).
Through the air, Crouch is 83-of-167 for 1,152 yards, 12 touchdowns and and three interceptions. He still ranks fourth among KCAC players in total offense and passing per game, but now sits eighth in rushing average.
Jake Tiernan (Solomon, Kan., Solomon HS) played solidly two weeks ago against Ottawa and is 22-of-40 for 263 yards, three TDs and an interception.
Goodmiller continues to lead the team in receiving with 35, ranking fourth among KCAC receivers. He averages 56.0 yards per game with six scores. Goodmiller's six TDs also rank him in top-10 in the KCAC in scoring.
Eman McNeal (Aurora, Colo., Hinkley HS) has hauled in 20 passes for 230 yards, while
Desmond Anderson (Fort Worth, Texas, Crowley HS) remains at 16 catches for 337 yards and three scores after being held without a catch last week.
Defensively,
Thomas Lanktree (Magnsa, Utah, Cypress HS) has 66 tackles, including 2.0 tackles for loss and 0.5 sacks, to rank fourth among KCAC players and 14th nationally. He also has one forced fumble and has two interceptions. In the trenches, Isaiah Hill continues to be an intimidating force. He has 38 tackles overall with 10.0 for loss and 6.0 sacks. Hill has also recovered a pair of fumbles.
Charles Tisby (Houston, Texas, Dobie HS) adds 9.0 tackles for loss and four sacks to the mix. Crawford was held without a pick for the first time in four weeks, but still ranks fifth nationally in interceptions per game (0.7) and 12th in total interceptions (4).
About the Spires
Offensively, Saint Mary ranks as one of the top passing teams in the NAIA. The Spires average a KCAC-best 322.6 yards through the air, but have struggled to put forth a complementary running game. USM ranks last in the league in rushing at 86.5 yards per game. Only Bethel – which has played one fewer game than Saint Mary – has rushed for fewer yards. The Spires have also struggled – relatively speaking – when it comes to finding the end zone. USM ranks just sixth in the KCAC in scoring offense at 24.3 points per game.
The offense will go as quarterback Drew Cortez goes. Cortez ranks in the top 10 nationally in passing (seventh - 317.5 ypg) and total offense (10th - 313.9 ypg). He is 187-of-334 for a KCAC-best 2,540 yards through eight games and has thrown 16 touchdowns. Cortez has four of the league's top seven passing performances this season, including a league-best 473 yards against Bethany on Oct. 7. He has been prone to interceptions, however, and currently leads the KCAC with 12.
Cortez also pulls double-duty as the Spires' punter, ranking second in the KCAC at 39.3 yards per kick.
As expected, Cortez has spread the ball around in the passing game as 20 different players have caught a pass this season with seven reaching double-digits. Tae Turner leads the way with 36 catches for 619 yards and seven scores. Most of that total came during the Bethany game on Oct. 7 when he hauled in eight passes for 212 yards and two scores.
Bryan Barnhart has added 30 catches for 387 yards and two scores, while Kyle Dougherty has 20 catches.
On the ground, Saint Mary has rushed for just 692 yards. Rhyler Estenbaum leads the team in yardage with 184 on 27 carries, but nearly one-third of that (56) came on a single run. Zach Hilliard has carried the ball a team-high 40 times for 118 yards and three scores, while Josh Smith has 37 carries for 111.
Defensively, Chandler Cocklin leads the Spires with 51 tackles, including 40 solo stops. Joseph Rodriguez (45 tackles, 3.0 TFL, 1.0 sack) and Joshua Green (42 tackles, 2.5 TFL) also top the Saint Mary defensive chart, while Yaw Osei-Baffour has a team-high 6.0 tackles for loss. Saint Mary has struggled getting pressure on opposing quarterbacks this season, ranking next-to-last in the KCAC with six sacks.
Tale of the Tape
Despite being held to just seven points against Friends, McPherson still ranks second in the KCAC in scoring offense at 33.9 points per game. Saint Mary is tied for sixth at 24.3 points per game.
As they are in any game, turnovers will be key. McPherson currently ranks second in the KCAC in turnover margin (+1.1), while Saint Mary is 10th (-1.5).
The Spires' pass-happy offense has also given up a league-high 26 sacks, but some of that can be seen as the price of doing business when you're throwing the ball over 40 times per game. McPherson has been one of the more aggressive teams when it comes to pressuring the quarterback, ranking fourth among KCAC schools in sacks with 16.5. The three schools with more sacks – Kansas Wesleyan (21.0), Friends (20.5) and Ottawa (17.0) – have all had the benefit of facing Saint Mary already this season. The three teams accounted for 13 sacks against the Spires, including eight alone by Ottawa last week.
Given the Spires' proclivity to pass, the Bulldogs should remain atop the KCAC in rushing defense for another week. McPherson allows only 95.3 yards per game on the ground. Saint Mary is allowing 191.0 to rank seventh in the league, which means their should be some yardage to be gained there for the visitors.
The McPherson pass defense will receive a stiff test, though. The Bulldogs rank 10th in the KCAC, allowing 261.6 yards per game through the air. McPherson has picked off a league-high 11 passes, while Saint Mary has a league-low four interceptions.
Sustaining drives will be also be key as McPherson ranks sixth in the conference in third-down conversion percentage at 37.3 percent. Saint Mary ranks second to Ottawa in opponents' third-down conversion percentage at 33.6 percent. The Spires convert at a 41.1-percent clip – only Tabor at 44.8 percent is better in the KCAC, while the Bulldogs' opponents have converted nearly half (53-of-115; 46.1 percent) of their opportunities.
Next Week
McPherson returns home to face rival Tabor College on Saturday, Nov. 4. Kickoff is scheduled for 1 p.m. at McPherson Stadium.
