Photo by Karrie Rathbone
McPherson, Kan. – The McPherson College football team fell to 5-5 on the season and 5-4 in the KCAC with a loss on Senior Day to the Bethany College Swedes, 33-32.
For the Bulldogs, it was a game marred by mental miscues that led to penalties that ultimately helped to stall several offensive drives and on the defensive side of the ball, gave new life to the Swedes on a couple of their drives. In the end, the Bulldogs gifted the Swedes with eight first downs via penalties.
The Bulldogs got off to a hot start, scoring a touchdown on their opening drive, capped off by a 13 yard run by
Quashad Washington (So. Tucson, Ariz.). After 15 minutes of action, the Bulldogs led the Swedes 7-0. Midway through the second quarter,
Ed Crouch (Sr. Miami Gardens, Fla.) found
Eman McNeal (Sr. Aurora, Colo.) on a quick slant for 13 yards to put the Bulldogs up 14-0. The Swedes finally got on the board with 3:46 remaining in the half with a touchdown to cut the Bulldog lead in half heading into the halftime intermission.
Out of the break, the Swedes scored back to back touchdowns, taking the lead, but missed on one of the extra point tries so they only led by six, 20-4. The Bulldogs responded with another touchdown, this one a 53 yard scramble by Crouch, on a broken play. Mac missed on the extra point try as well so the score stayed tied at 20. Early in the fourth quarter,
LaMeshio Hill (Jr. Rialto, Calif.) gave the lead back to the Bulldogs when he rumbled into the end zone from three yards out. The kicking woes continued for the Bulldogs as the point after attempt was blocked by the Swedes leaving Mac with a six point lead 26-20.
Midway through the final period, the Bulldogs were knocking on the door again, but on 4
th down from the Bethany 7 yard line, they elected to go for it rather than attempt a 24 yard field goal. Crouch's pass was nearly picked off in the end zone and the Bulldogs turned the ball over on downs. A couple of possessions later, With 1:05 left on the clock, the Swedes capped off an eight play, 74 yard, drive with a touchdown, tying the game again at 26. The extra point would have given them the lead, but the Swedes' kicker missed wide right.
The next Bulldog possession stalled just past midfield, and the Bulldogs chose to try a 52 yard field goal to win the game. The field goal was blocked and scooped up by the Swedes. The Bulldogs' kicker,
Cole Schroeder (Fr. Russell, Kan.) ended up making the tackle, keeping Bethany from scoring, sending the game into overtime.
Crouch was injured late in the fourth quarter, and
Nicholaus Santini (So. Roanoke, Texas) took his place at quarterback for the overtime session. After an incomplete pass on first down, he hooked up with
Ben Nikkel (So. McPherson, Kan.), on second down for a 25 yard touchdown to put the Bulldogs back on top. Again the Bulldogs elected not to kick the ball, instead trying for the two point conversion. The Swedes had the play well covered and Santini's pass to
Tanner Williams (Sr. Fairhope, Ala.) fell incomplete.
Next is was Bethany's turn from the 25 yard line. On their fourth play from scrimmage, quarterback Austin Denson rolled out to his right and found Trey Mendoza for the touchdown. Bethany kicker, Wyatt Townsend, who missed a game winning PAT at the end of the fourth quarter, didn't miss his second chance. He split the uprights, giving the Swedes the 33-32 win.
Statistically, the Bulldogs dominated the ground game with 322 yards, led by Crouch with 109 and Hill with 84, but the Swedes dominated through the air, finishing with 416 yards, half of those to one receiver, Rodney Molette. Crouch finished with 211 yards passing on 19 completions with one TD, and one interception. Santini wound up 5 of 7 in the game with 75 yards and a touchdown. Nikkel was the Bulldogs' leading receiver with five catches for 102 yards.
On the defensive side of the ball, the Bulldogs were led by
Bailey Sites (So. Spearville, Kan.), who had seven solo tackles and an interception. The Swedes dropped back to pass, 65 times, but the Bulldogs were only able to get the quarterback on the ground just one time, a sack recorded by
Broderick Bankston (Fr. Folsom, La.) and
Charles Tisby (Sr. Houston, Texas).
Bulldog head coach
Jeremiah Fiscus summed up the day by saying, "We played hard but had too many penalties and too many mental errors to win a football game."
Next week, the Bulldogs will close out the season, on the road against the Avila University Eagles. Kickoff is slated for 12 p.m. in Kansas City, Missouri.
