Sterling, Kan. – After nearly a month of practice, the McPherson College football team finally got to square off against someone else in a different uniform. The Bulldogs opened the 2020 season on Saturday, on the road at Sterling College against the Sterling College Warriors, who were picked 4th in the KCAC preseason poll.
It was a high octane affair with a ton of points put up by both team, but not without its share of sloppiness. The Bulldogs had 12 penalties for 141 yards, committed four turnovers, and missed on four PATs and one two-point conversion. But those were the only real negatives, the rest were all positives.
The offense put up 611 yards of total offense, rushing for 161, and passing for 450 more and scored nine touchdowns. Josh Pisik (Jr. San Diego, Calif.), the Bulldogs new signal caller, connected on 31 of his 39 pass attempts for 432 yards. He accounted for five touchdown, four through the air, and one on the ground in his first game in a Bulldog Uniform.
On the ground, the Bulldogs used a running back by committee approach, with four back getting the ball at least once. LaMeshio Hill (Sr. Rialto, Calif.) got the bulk of the work load, rushing 10 times for 70 yards and two touchdowns.
Five receivers caught passes from Pisik with Ben Nikkel (Jr. McPherson, Kan.) leading the way with 10 catches for 123 yards. Joining Nikkel in the century club was Melvin Reid (Jr. Winslow, N.J.), who hauled in five balls for 106 yards and a pair of touchdowns. He also added a special teams touchdown on a kick return to give him three for the night.
Defensively, other than the penalties, the Bulldogs were solid. They held the Warrior offense to just 451 yards of total offense, 223 on the ground and 228 through the air. Kaden Tichenor (R-So. Holcomb, Kan.) led the team in tackles with six, all of the solo variety.
All in all, it was a great start to a season that has been anything but normal thus far. Coach Fiscus, in his second year at the helm, commented, "I was proud of our effort. There's a lot of things to fix from an execution stand point. It was nice to see the kids play fast, be explosive, stay together, have fun, and finish." He also added, "It was darn good to our kids play football."
Next week, the Bulldogs will get another big test when they host the Bethel College Threshers at McPherson Stadium / Paul Family Field for a 7:00 pm match-up. The Threshers were picked to finish second in the conference this year in both the media and coaches polls.
