Bulldogs Fall Short in Shootout with Threshers

By Drew Brunecz
 
Despite a big day from Ed Crouch (R-Jr. Miami Gardens, Fla.) it wasn't enough to bring home a win for the Bulldogs. McPherson handed Bethel their first win of the season, falling to the Threshers 56-42. Crouch had 373 yards passing with four touchdowns through the air, and he added 52 yards and a touchdown on the ground.
 
The Bulldogs started the scoring early, a 75-yard drive out of the gate that ended with a touchdown pass from Crouch to Jackson Goodmiller (Sr. Saint George, Kan.) with not even two minutes ran off the clock. But only 30 seconds later Bethel returned the favor with a 19-yard touchdown run to tie the game at seven.
 
The scoring stalled a bit in the second quarter for McPherson due to inclement weather, which made it difficult to throw the ball through the air. For a team that has a mainly passing offense, this served as a huge disadvantage. The defense did their job to contain Bethel as much as they could, until they went ahead by two scores in the second half and never looked back.
 
Despite being down by multiple scores, it never seemed as if the Bulldogs were truly out of the game, anf they never stopped fighting, even kicking an onside kick late in the game. They recovered the onside kick, but due to a controversial call on an overturned touchdown catch by Ben Nikkel (Fr. McPherson, Kan.) the Bulldogs ran out of time. Even with winning the turnover battle and recording more first downs, the Bulldogs were unable to overcome the Threshers on their home field.
 
Next Saturday, October 6th, the Bulldogs (3-2) travel to Ottawa to take on the Braves at 1:00 Pm.