Bulldogs Fall to Bethel in Home Opener

Photo by Natalia Ahrens
Article by Quincy Williams
 
McPherson, Kan. - The McPherson College Bulldogs suffered a setback in their game against the Bethel College Threshers Saturday night, losing 55-21 in their home opener.
 
The Bulldogs couldn't stop a potent Thresher offensive attack. The loss moved them to 1-1 on the season. The Bulldogs offense was largely ineffective in the first half. The Bulldogs punted the first five times they possessed the ball. This was in stark contrast to the Thresher offensive attack, as they scored the first four times they had the ball.
 
The Threshers ran the ball often, well, and almost exclusively; out of 77 offensive plays, 71 were runs. They racked up 433 yards on the ground. Their leading rusher was Rudy Juarez III, who had six carries for 91 yards and reached pay dirt twice. Their quarterback Zach Esau made his two completions of the night count as both went for touchdowns. The Threshers led 27 to 0 at the half.

One of the highlights of the night was the halftime presentation of the Blake Reed Scholarship Winner. Given each year in honor of Blake Reed, who was a student assistant coach for the Bulldogs from 2006-10, who died in 2010 from muscular dystrophy. This year Kollin Goering (Jr. McPherson, Kan.), was chosen to receive the award.
 
On the field, the struggles continued for the Bulldogs into the third quarter as the Threshers added three touchdowns to stretch the lead to 48-0. The Bulldogs finally gave the scoreboard operator a chance use the other side of the board in the fourth quarter on when Josh Pisik (Jr. San Diego, Calif.) connected with Melvin Reid (Jr. Winslow, N.J.) on a 12-yard pass. Pisik would throw two more touchdowns to Tevin Nash (Sr. Mansfield, Texas) and Dewayne Lykes (Sr. Cleveland, Ohio) to bring the final score to 55-21.
 
The Bulldogs finished the night with 139 passing yards, 27 yards on the ground. La Meshio Hill (Sr. Rialto, Calif.) was the Bulldogs' leading rusher with 5 carries for 29 yards, and Nash was the top receiver with three catches for 37 yards and a TD.
 
Defensively, the Bulldogs' leading tackler was Zane Hickey (So. Decatur, Texas) with 12. Kaden Tichenor (RS-So. Holcomb, Kan.), came up with the only turnover for the Bulldogs, an interception late in the fourth quarter that set up the MC's second touchdown.
 
The Bulldogs will attempt to regain their positive momentum next Saturday on the road against the Tabor College Bluejays. Kick-off is slated for 1:00 pm.