LINDSBORG, Kan. (macbulldogs.com) --- Mother Nature's fireworks display may have postponed the annual McPherson County between McPherson College and Bethany College for a day, but it was fireworks of a different sort that the fans who returned to Anderson Stadium Sunday afternoon were treated to as the Swedes outlasted the Bulldogs, 57-43, in the Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference (KCAC) opener for both schools.
The teams combined for 1,091 yards of total offense, including 835 through and 11 touchdowns the air. McPherson signal-caller Ed Crouch (Miami Gardens, Fla., Coffeyville CC) won the yardage battle with 425 to 410 for Isaiah Salazar for Bethany, but Salazar finished with what is believed to be a school-record seven touchdown passes. Crouch finished with four.
After a three-and-out on their first drive and getting the ball back after a missed field goal by James Augusta, the Bulldogs (1-1, 0-1 KCAC) posted the game's first score on an 80-yard pitch-and-catch from Crouch to Desmond Anderson (Fort Worth, Texas, Crowley HS) down the right sideline with 8:27 left in the first quarter.
The Swedes (2-0, 1-0 KCAC) bounced back on their next drive, knotting the score with an 18-yard touchdown pass from Isaiah Salazar to Dalton Goodwin. The drive was set up by a 48-yard kickoff return by Javan Moore.
Bethany grabbed a 14-7 lead early in the second quarter, immediately turning a McPherson fumble into a 26-yard TD strike from Salazar to Rodney Molette.
The Bulldogs responded on their next drive as
Corey Davis (Houston, Texas, Dekaney HS) scored on a dive from one yard out. Davis had reached paydirt two plays earlier, but McPherson was flagged for holding downfield and was only credited for a 29-yard gain. Crouch then found
Eman McNeal (Aurora, Colo., Hinkley HS) for 38 yards down the left sideline. McNeal nearly scored as well but was tackled at the Bethany 1 to set up Davis' score.
The Swedes quickly regained the lead, marching downfield aided by a pair of Bulldog personal fouls and a 40-yard hookup between Salazar and Molette before Salazar found Michael Milbourne from six yards out midway through the quarter.
Bethany forced McPherson into another couple of three-and-outs then tacked on another score just before halftime as Salazar found Wimberly on an 21-yard scoring strike with 23 seconds left to head to the locker rooms with a 28-14 edge.
The Swedes opened the second half with a huge 86-yard kickoff return by Moore down to the McPherson 2-yard line. Bethany cashed in three plays later as Salazar found Wimberly again - this time from one yard out - to go up 35-14.
McPherson followed with a 32-yard
Jack Reid (Frisco, Texas, Frisco HS) field goal and a pair of Crouch TD passes - one to Anderson for 45 yards and another to McNeal from five yards out - to cut the deficit to six points as the game entered the final quarter.
The teams traded scores to open the fourth quarter as Salazar found Jafar Thomas out of the backfield for a 28-yard score and Crouch scored on a 12-yard scamper to push the score to 43-36.
An Aaron Knox 1-yard score again gave Bethany a two-score lead at 50-36 with 6:47 to play. The teams traded punts on the next two drives, but McPherson gained in the field position battle as a 16-yard Augusta punt set the Bulldogs up at their own 42-yard line. Four plays later - on fourth-and-10 - Crouch found
Tevin Nash (Arlington, Texas, Mansfield Summit HS) for a 33-yard gain down to the Bethany 25. Nash fumbled on the play, but
Jackson Goodmiller (St. George, Kan., Rock Creek HS) was there to pounce on the ball. An unsportsmanlike conduct penalty on the play moved the ball inside the red zone and, two plays later, Crouch found McNeal for another 3-yard score.
The Swedes recovered the ensuing onside kick. Three plays later, Salazar found Molette for a 50-yard touchdown to put the game out of reach.
Crouch finished 23-of-38 for 425 yards and four touchdowns to lead the Bulldogs, becoming the first McPherson player to throw for over 400 yards since Shane Mascarenas hit the mark on the nose against the Swedes in 2010. He also had 49 yards and a score on the ground. Anderson was Crouch's top target, making seven catches for 188 yards and two touchdowns.
Brandt Wolters (Osborne, Kan., Osborne HS) and McNeal each had four catches.
On the ground, Davis made an impact in his first collegiate start, rushing for 92 yards and a touchdown on 15 carries.
Salazar put the ball up 48 times, completing 30, for 410 yards and what is believed to be a school-record seven touchdowns. Five different receivers had TD catches for the Swedes, led by Molette, who had nine catches for 199 yards and two scores. Wimberly added eight catches for 86 and two TDs, while Michael Milbourne hauled in seven passes for 48 yards and a score.
Thomas led Bethany on the ground with 64 yards on 17 carries. Knox added 32 yards and a TD on 13 carries.
Bethany was also very efficient on third down, converting on 14 of 21 opportunities to McPherson's 3-for-12 effort. The Bulldogs did convert on three of four fourth-down chances, however.
The Swedes also had a commanding edge in the return game, averaging 34.0 yards per kickoff return and 15.3 yards per punt return. Moore did the most damage there, returning three kickoffs for 162 yards. The Bulldogs did not have a punt return and averaged just 18.6 yards on seven kickoff returns.
"The one thing we asked our guys to do is to compete and stay together, and I think were able to do that all day," said head coach
Paul Mierkiewicz. "We just couldn't get a stop when we needed it. There were a couple of drives in the first half where we shot ourselves in the foot. You go way back into the first quarter and we had some holding calls [on outside receivers downfield] on some long runs - one for a touchdown. Offensively, though, we just felt like we could do what we wanted to on the outside. We did a little bit better job of protecting [our quarterbacks] in the first three quarters and kind of got loose in the fourth. We still have a lot of work to do."
Due to the postponement, McPherson will have a shortened week of preparation for their next outing - a trip to Winfield to face Southwestern College next Saturday. The Bulldogs defeated the Moundbuilders, 27-20, last season for their lone win of the 2016 campaign.
