Salina, Kan. – The McPherson College football team went on the road for the second week in a row, playing in Salina, Kansas on Saturday against Kansas Wesleyan University. After winning at Friends University last week, this week, the Bulldogs came out on the short end of a 45-17 decision against the KWU Coyotes.
The Coyotes got on the board first with a touch down at the 7:04 mark of the first quarter. They Bulldogs put points up on a 31 yard field goal by Caden Bush with just 39 seconds left in the open period. From there the Bulldogs would be held scoreless by the Coyote defense for the next two quarters while the their offense put up 24.
Trailing 31 to 3, the Bulldog offense found their way into the endzone for the first time on a three yard TD pass from Tristan Szabo to Melvin Reed. The Coyotes answered with a touchdown of their own to make it 38-10. The Bulldogs scored their second touchdown of the game on their next drive when Szabo and Reed hooked up again, this time on a 40 yard strike. The Coyotes finished the scoring, adding a 6th touchdown late in the quarter to make the final score 45-17.
For the game, the Bulldogs finished with 325 yards of total offense, 55 on the ground and 270 through the air. The Bulldog defense was responsible for allowing 472 yards to the Coyote offense.
Individually, Szabo threw the ball 53 times, connecting on 34 of his attempts for 270 yards. Szabo's top target was Reed, who caught 8 passes for 101 yards, and two touchdowns. Jonathan White was the top ball carrier for the Bulldog ground attack, carrying the ball 10 times for 65 yards. On defense, the Bulldogs were paced by Drew Labertew, and Bailey Sites who each finished with 7 tackles. Labertew was also credited with a pair of sacks.
The loss drops the Bulldogs to 3-3 on the season. They will be back at home next Saturday, taking on intra-county rival Bethany College. Kickoff with the Swedes is slated for 1:00 pm.
