Photo by Christie Betker
Wichita, Kan. – The McPherson College football team, under the direction of first year head coach, and Bulldog Alum,
Jeremiah Fiscus, opened up 2019 with a dramatic 21-20 loss to the Langston University Lions in the inaugural "Heartland Classic" at Cessna Stadium in Wichita, Kansas.
Things couldn't have started much worse for the Bulldogs as they spotted the Lions 21 points in the opening quarter, thanks to a pair of costly fumbles inside the 10 yard line. However, from there the Bulldogs settled in, and over the next three periods, out played their counterparts from the Sooner state.
Trailing 21-0 at the intermission, and with only 75 yards of total offense through the first 30 minutes of action, the Bulldogs got things to start clicking in the third quarter. They finally got on the board with 4:44 left in the third when
Quashad Washington (So. Tucson, Ariz.) broke through the Langston line, and scampered down the Bulldog sideline for a 70 yard TD, the first as a Bulldog.
On the first Langston drive of the fourth quarter,
Brett Sykes (Sr. Cold Spring, Texas) made an incredible play in the end zone to intercept a pass from the Lions' quarterback. From there, the Bulldogs went on an eight play 80 yard drive that culminated with the fist career touchdown by
LaMeshio Hill (Jr. Rialto, Calif.). The Bulldog defense, which had been superb all game long, came up with a huge stop on the next Lion possession, forcing them to punt and turning the ball back over to the Bulldogs with 3:37 remaining.
Ed Crouch (Sr. Miami Gardens, Fla.) marched his team down the field, and on the last play of regulation, found
Ben Nikkel (So. McPherson, Kan.), to his left. The pass was caught short of the end zone, but Nikkel stretched out and extended the ball across the plain of the goal line brining the Bulldogs to within one. After a timeout to discuss the situation, Coach Fiscus elected to go for the win and go for two, rather than try and tie the game with an extra point and force overtime.
Langston sent the house against Crouch, pushing the senior quarterback back about 15 yards. He fired a pass, again looking for Nikkel in the end whezone, but the pass was short of the target. The pass went through the hands of a Langston DB, band almost fell into the hands of a Bulldog receiver.
Coach Fiscus summed game one by saying, "I thought the guys fought hard for four quarters. Early on we didn't execute very well, and gave up 14 easy points, but the best part of coaching this team is that they will never give up. They believe in this program and will fight for each other. I believe the program took a step forward tonight."
The Bulldogs finished the night with 303 total yards of offense, 99 on the ground, and 204 through the air. The defense held the Lions to 279 yard, while coming away with three turnovers. Statistical leaders included:
Crouch – 204 yards passing, and a TD
Washington – 70 yards and 1 TD
Nikkel – 7 catches for 102 yards and 1 TD
Defense:
Patrick Calip (Sr. Tulsa, Okla.) - 9 tackles, 1 for a loss, and 1 sack.
Rinaldo Gagiano (Sr. North Turramurra, Aus.) – 7 tackles, 2 for a loss, 1 sack, and 1 interception.
Next week, the Bulldogs will play their home opener out at McPherson Stadium. They will host the Sterling College Warriors at 7 p.m. in the KCAC Network Radio Game of the Week.
