Hillsboro, Kan. – The McPherson College football team moved to 1-1 on the season with a bounce back win on Saturday, on the road at Tabor College, 42-9.
This night was all about the ground game, and defense / special teams. The Bulldogs 193 yards of rushing and four touchdowns, and the defense came up with three sacks and had a blocked punt and a block field goal, both of which resulted in touchdowns. Through the air, the Bulldog quarterbacks put up 113 yards giving them 302 yards of total offense for the game.
The Bluejays got on the board first with a field goal on their first drive of the game after picking off a Josh Pisik pass. The Bulldogs responded two drives later with a touchdown on a 47 yard run by Braylon Moody, his first of two rushing touchdowns in the game. At the end of the first quarter, the Bulldogs led 7-3.
Early in the second quarter, the Bulldogs went up 14-3 on a five yard touchdown run by Jonathan White. Tabor drove the ball deep into Bulldog territory on their next drive, but the defense made a goal line stand, and forced the Bluejays into another field goal try. This time, the Bulldogs' Quinton Powell came flying in from the right side of the Bulldog line, and blocked the kick. Aaron Cyrus scooped up the ball and went 96 yard for the score.
The Bulldogs forced the Bluejays to punt on their next possession, and gave the ball back to the offense with just under a minute to play. They marched the ball down the field and on 1 and 10 from the Bluejay 39, Pisik was flushed from the pocket. He completed a pass to J'Kobi Reddick, who ran 39 yards to the end zone. However, a Bulldog penalty negated the touchdown run. Making matters worse, Pisik was hurt on the play and didn't return.
The Bulldogs turned to freshman Tristan Szabo in Pisik's absence. On his first play, he threw and interception, which ended the first half. He played the entire second half, finishing with 7 completions on 12 attempts for 47 yards. He got plenty of help from his running backs, and from the defense.
The first drives for both teams after the halftime intermission resulted in punts. On their second possession of the half, the Bulldogs went up 28-3 when White took the ball 58 yards from scrimmage and into the end zone for his second touchdown of the game.
Tabor cut the Bulldog lead to 28-9 on a 53 yard run by Andre Renteria, their first and only touchdown of the game. A failed two point conversion by the Bluejays would keep the Bulldogs up by 19 as the team headed into the final 15 minutes of play.
On the Bulldogs' second drive of the final quarter, Moody found pay dirt for the second time, this time on a 1 yard run to put his team up 35-9. The Bluejays went three and out on their next possession and were forced to punt. With the Bluejays pinned deep in their own end, the Bulldogs went after the kick. Freshman Jacob Maston came around the end and blocked the kick. The ball rolled into the endzone where Maston jumped on it for the touchdown. With PAT good, the Bulldogs found themselves up 42-9 which would end up being the final score.
Bulldog Leaders:
Passing: Josh Pisik (10-15, 64 yds, 1 INT)
Rushing: Jonathan White (8 carries, 83 yds, 2 TDs)
Receiving: J'Kobi Reddick (4 catches, 51 yds)
Tackles: Kollin Goering (7 solo tackles, 2 TFL)
Sacks: Drew Labertew, Kaleb Hamblin, Alfred Llamas (1)
Coach Quote:
"It was a really good team win, especially being on the road. It was a pretty complete game, the offense drove the ball well, the defense gave up just nine points and special teams was impactful with a couple of good returns, and two blocked kicks that went for touchdowns. To go on the road, and bounce back after last week with a complete game in terms of playing well rounded team football and scoring in all three phases, is pretty rare and a good deal. Really proud of the kids and the way they responded. Hopefully we can keep that trend up as we head into next week." – Jeremiah Fiscus
Next Up:
The Bulldogs will be back at home next Saturday, hosting the Ottawa University Braves, who opened the season with a 42-7 non-conference win over Panhandle State University, but dropped their first two KCAC games to Southwestern College and Avila University. They will come to McPherson at 1-2 overall.
