McPHERSON, Kan. (macbulldogs.com) --- The McPherson College football team hung close with No. 19 Tabor College for three quarters, but the high-powered Bluejay offense put up 17 unanswered fourth-quarter points to score a 46-29 Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference (KCAC) win Saturday afternoon at McPherson Stadium.
After the teams traded punts on their initial offensive series, the Bulldogs (3-6, 2-6 KCAC) went for broke on the first play of their second offensive series as
Jake Tiernan (Solomon, Kan., Solomon HS) tried to hit
Desmond Anderson (Fort Worth, Texas, Crowley HS) on a post route, but the ball ricocheted off Anderson's hands and helmet before being picked off by Sean Kelly who returned it out to the Tabor 33. On the very next play,
Oluwaseyi Johnson (Olathe, Kan., Olathe North HS) forced a fumble that was recovered by
Dominic DeLuca (Hutchinson, Kan., Trinity Catholic HS) at the Bluejay 30-yard line.
McPherson gambled on a fourth-and-3 after being held to seven yards on the first three plays of the ensuing drive, and it paid off as Tiernan found
Jackson Goodmiller (St. George, Kan., Rock Creek HS) down the seam for a 23-yard touchdown.
Tabor (7-2, 7-1 KCAC) responded on its next drive, driving 49 yards on 11 plays before Logan Vach scored on a 1-yard TD dive. Austin Smith's point-after attempt hit the upright to leave McPherson with a 7-6 lead.
Daniel Mendenhall (Oklahoma City, Okla., Bishop McGuiness HS) broke a long return and nearly scored on the ensuing kickoff, setting the Bulldogs up at the Tabor 34. Tiernan found
Brandt Wolters (Osborne, Kan., Osborne HS) for a 23-yard gain on first down, but the drive stalled out in the red zone and McPherson came away empty-handed as a 21-yard field goal attempt sailed wide left.
The Bluejays wasted little time moving down the field after the missed field goal as Curry Parham hit Zach Johnson for a 42-yard gain on the second play of the drive, then found Johnson again for a 33-yard touchdown two plays later to put Tabor up 13-7 after one quarter.
A 23-yard field goal by Smith made it 16-7 Tabor with 8:25 to play in the half. McPherson responded with a touchdown on its ensuing drive. After breaking a 55-yard run to get the ball inside the Tabor 20,
Tyrone Campbell (Oakland, Calif., Laney CC) finished off the drive with a 5-yard TD run.
The Bluejays extended the lead to 15 with touchdowns on its next two drives. Parham first hooked up with Austin Conway for a 25-yard touchdown, then hit Johnson for a 31-yard TD pass.
McPherson cut the lead back to seven in the final minute of the first half as
Ashton Serpas (Saucir, Miss., Holmes CC) returned an interception 40 yards for a touchdown. The Bluejays had attempted a double pass, hoping to catch the Bulldogs' defense sleeping before the break, but Parham's lateral out to Charles Beale was muffed. Trying to salvage the now-broken play, Beale threw the ball directly into the arms of Serpas, who raced down the sideline for the score. Tiernan scored on a naked bootleg to the left for the two-point conversion.
While Tabor was able to move the ball effectively in the third quarter they weren't able to find the end zone. Their first drive of the second half ended with a fourth-and-1 carry by Cooper being stuffed for no gain at the McPherson 9-yard line. Pinned deep in their own end, McPherson was only able to manage to get the ball out to their own 22 before punting. Taking the short field, the Bluejays again drove into the red zone where the drive stalled. Smith was called on to attempt a 35-yard field goal, which was blocked by Serpas.
Taking over after the block, McPherson kept to the air, driving 74 yards on seven plays before Tiernan found a leaping Anderson in the end zone for a 39-yard touchdown. Reid made the PAT to tie the game at 29-29 with 1:30 to play in the third quarter.
On the final play of the quarter, Parham hooked up with Treydonte Hill for a 51-yard completion down to the McPherson 1-yard line.
Alwin Crawford (Roanoke, Texas, Byron Nelson HS) was with Hill stride-for-stride down the sideline, but Hill was able to make the correction for the slightly underthrown ball from Parham. Parham scored on a keeper on the first play following the quarter break to put Tabor up 36-29. He later connected with Johnson for a 44-yard score, giving the Bluejays a two-touchdown lead.
Smith added a 19-yard field goal with 5:06 to play to conclude the scoring.
All told, the Bluejays racked up 658 yards of total offense. Parham accounted for over 400 yards on his own, throwing for 370 yards and four touchdowns and rushing for 71 yards and another score. The majority of those yards through the air were gained courtesy of Johnson, who caught eight balls for 230 yards and three touchdowns. On the ground, Drevion Cooper rolled up 166 yards on 13 carries - an average of 12.8 yards per carry.
Tiernan performed admirably in his third start, completing 18 of 31 passes for 184 yards and two touchdowns. He also threw two interceptions and was sacked once. Goodmiller hauled in five passes for 40 yards and a touchdown, while Anderson and Wolters had four catches apiece. Campbell topped the 100-yard mark for the second time this season, finishing with 116 yards and a touchdown on 15 carries. He also caught two passes for 26 yards.
"Our guys up front really did a nice job and opened some seams and [Campbell] really ran well. It was something we definitely needed because it sustained some drives for us," said head coach
Paul Mierkeiwicz. "We were really trying to slow the game down. If we tried to get into a scoring contest - which is kind of what happened in the fourth quarter - that was not going to put us in the best situation to be successful. His yardage was big and our guys in the run game were very solid and sound."
Defensively, Adrian Rodriguez had 10 tackles to lead Tabor. Brad Kistner added eight tackles and a pass break-up, while Evan Sprayberry had the lone sack.
Thomas Lanktree (Magnsa, Utah, Cypress HS) led McPherson with 12 tackles, while Serpas and
Chandler Tisby (Houston, Texas, Dobie HS) added 10 apiece. Tisby also had a pair of tackles for loss.
"I feel really good about our effort today," added Mierkiewicz. "If I know anything about this football team, I think we've recruited the right kind of young men to come in; that we know are going to work all week and are going to give a maximum effort. In a couple of spots talent-wise, [Tabor] is a little better than we are. Sometimes that wears down after a while. We knew their defensive line is as good as your going to find in our league, if not the country. They gave us fits and it changed a lot of things we needed to get done, but our guys' effort was excellent."
The Bulldogs conclude the 2017 season next Saturday with a Senior Day matchup with Sterling College (8-2, 7-1 KCAC). The Warriors are ranked 18th nationally and - having already beaten Tabor - control their own destiny in regards to the KCAC title and the league's automatic berth to the NAIA Football Championship Series. Kickoff from McPherson Stadium is slated for 1:00 p.m.
"You can't treat the first week differently than the last week," concluded Mierkiewicz. "The game of football doesn't care and your opponent doesn't care. Sterling is coming in here [next week] to win a conference championship - no if's, and's or but's about it. It gives you a little bit of an edge in your preparation, in what you're trying to get done. Hopefully, we'll play well. We've played well at home all year long."
