McPHERSON, Kan. – McPherson College kicks off its 2017 football season Saturday against Texas Wesleyan University as part of the KCAC-GPAC Challenge. Kickoff from McPherson Stadium is slated for 3 p.m. The Rams, members of the Central States Football League, were invited to participate in the challenge due to the unequal number of teams representing the KCAC (10) and GPAC (nine).
The Series
This is the first meeting between the schools on the gridiron. Texas Wesleyan is reviving its program this season after a 76-year absence.
Black Out for Bush
Saturday's game will be played in honor and memory of Braden Bush. Fans are asked to wear black to the contest to celebrate Braden's life and support his family. Bush, a three-year letterwinner at defensive back for the Bulldogs, passed away June 16 in McPherson. In 24 games over three seasons, the Blanchard, Oklahoma native accumulated 158 tackles - including 97 solo stops - with eight interceptions, eight pass break-ups, one forced fumble and two fumble recoveries. As a sophomore in 2015, he picked off six passes - returning two for touchdowns - while ranking second in the NAIA in interceptions per game and fourth in total interceptions. He had three interceptions for 114 yards and a 75-yard return for a touchdown against Kansas Wesleyan alone that season. Last fall, he returned a fumble 79 yards to the house against Ottawa.
New Home, Familiar Voice for Bulldog Football 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, sports editor at the McPherson Sentinel, 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.
About the 2017 Bulldogs
The rebuilding process currently being undertaken by third-year McPherson College Head Football Coach Paul Mierkiewicz could be characterized as more of a marathon than a sprint.
The Bulldogs welcomed 50 players, including 35 letterwinners, from last year's squad in camp this fall. Another 45 newcomers were added to the mix and – for the first time in his McPherson tenure – Mierkiewicz should lead a team on to the field on Saturdays that has a measure of both experience and depth.
McPherson should have a great measure of stability on the offensive side of the ball where nine starters return. Junior
Ed Crouch (Miami Gardens, Fla., Coffeyville CC), a true double threat from the quarterback position, ranked second in the KCAC in total offense at 277.0 yards per game after throwing for 2198 yards and 20 touchdowns and running for another 849 yards and eight scores on the ground. He was one of two players – joining Sterling quarterback Cedrick Phillips – to rank in the top 10 in the league in both passing (third) and rushing (eighth). Crouch was not the team's leading rusher, however. That honor went to
Tyrone Campbell (Oakland, Calif., Laney CC), who returns for his senior season after running for 943 yards and four touchdowns a year ago. Campbell ranked fifth in the league in rushing. Both were all-KCAC second teamers last season.
Four of Crouch's top receiving targets are also back. Junior tight end
Brandt Wolters (Osborne, Kan., Osborne HS) – an all-KCAC honorable mention pick last year who is also a two-time all-American in the javelin throw for the McPherson track and field team – caught a team-high 40 passes for 531 yards and four touchdowns, while fellow junior
Jackson Goodmiller (St. George, Kan., Rock Creek HS) ranked second with 34 catches for 387 yards and four scores. Campbell was third with 23 catches for 234 yards and four touchdowns, while
Eman McNeal (Aurora, Colo., Hinkley HS) caught 13 passes for 229 yards in just six games.
Up front, McPherson returns all five starting linemen. After starting last season at center, senior
David Deramee (Denton, Texas, Denton HS) shifts to left guard while fellow all-KCAC honorable mention pick
Jaelon Barnes (McPherson, Kan., Highland CC) moves from right guard to right tackle.
Orlando Guzman (Edinburg, Texas, Robert Vela HS), who took over for an injured Deramee the final half of the season will start the year at center.
Logan Anderson (Golden, Colo., Columbine HS) begins his third campaign as the starting left tackle.
Defensively, the Bulldogs return just six starters and will need to account for the loss of five of their top six tacklers from last season - including the top four.
In the trenches, though, all three down lineman are back from a unit that sported six freshmen in the two-deep at some points during the year. Sophomore
Chandler Tisby (Houston, Texas, Dobie HS) picked up all-KCAC honorable mention honors from the coaches and will anchor the middle. Flanking him will be brother
Charles Tisby (Houston, Texas, Dobie HS) and
Joey Hale (Hutchinson, Kan.), both juniors. Chandler Tisby had 44 tackles, including 10.0 tackles for loss and a team-high 4.5 sacks, while Hale added 35 stops.
Isaiah Hill (Santa Maria, Calif., Allan Hancock CC) returns to provide depth after being injured in last year's season opener.
At linebacker,
Dominic DeLuca (Hutchinson, Kan., Trinity Catholic HS) is the lone returning starter. He is also the team's top returning tackler, ranking fifth a year ago with 54 tackles, including 30 solo stops and an interception in nine games.
Greg Elvin (Marquette, Kan., Smoky Valley HS) (nine tackles) and
Patrick Calip (Tulsa, Okla., Jenks HS) (eight tackles) also made cameos in the lineup last season. The losses of all-league players Travis Steenson and Dalton Whitfield - who each surpassed 100 tackles last season - will be felt early on.
The Bulldogs will also work to fill the gaps left by the losses of Michael Rabara, Braden Bush and Kavoderic McIntyre in the defensive backfield. They ranked third, fourth and sixth, respectively, in tackles and accounted for seven of the team's 12 interceptions. The return of
Ashton Serpas (Saucir, Miss., Mississippi Valley College) should pay immediate dividends in the rebuilt unit, though. Despite being limited to just four games before suffering a season-ending injury, Serpas still ended up ninth on the team with 34 tackles. He also blocked a pair of kicks.
Isaac Murphy (Houston, Texas, Cypress Creek HS) made 20 stops, picked off a pass and recovered a fumble from his cornerback position, while
Cole Calkins (Rowlett, Texas, Sachse HS) added 17 tackles and
Ben Padilla (Wichita, Kan., Wichita South HS) 14 in place of Serpas.
On special teams, Goodmiller was also the Bulldogs' top returner last season, averaging 21.6 yards per kickoff return and 4.0 yards per punt return. McPherson returns an experienced punter in sophomore
RJ Garza (McAllen, Texas, Roma HS), who punted 50 times last season for a 36.3-yard average with a long of 52 yards, while freshman
Jack Reid (Frisco, Texas, Frisco HS) will handle all placekicking duties.
2017 Captains
Mierkiewicz also announced the team's four senior captains for the 2017 season: Barnes, Campbell, Hill and Serpas.
The Rest of the Schedule
Last season closed on a bit of a sour note as Bethany hit a game-winning field goal as time expired to prevail, 18-15, in the 2016 season finale. With the KCAC slate making its biannual adjustment this fall, however, McPherson will not have to wait long for a chance to erase that memory. The Swedes and Bulldogs face each other on Saturday, Sept. 16, in Lindsborg to open KCAC play. Both teams will be coming off bye weeks.
The annual Blake Reed Memorial Game will be Saturday, Sept. 30 against Bethel, with a Homecoming matchup against Ottawa to follow two weeks later (Oct. 14). The Bulldogs finish the 2017 slate with home games against Tabor (Nov. 4) and Sterling (Nov. 11).
