Football | 9/29/2023 9:47:00 AM
McPherson College (4-1) vs. Kansas Wesleyan University (3-2)
Saturday, Sep. 30, 2023 | 1:00 PM | Graves Sports Complex, Salina, Kan.
WATCH | Tickets | Stats
The McPherson College Bulldogs travel to Salina, Kan. to wrap up non-divisional play with a showdown against Kansas Wesleyan.
A LOOK AT THE DOGS
The Bulldogs have won back-to-back games for the second time this season, starting the year 2-0 with wins over Tabor and Sterling. MC's last two wins were in dominant fashion, knocking off Ottawa 60-17 on the road before returning home to take down Avila 42-21.
Tristan Szabo leads the Bulldogs with 1,407 passing yards, 17 passing touchdowns, and just two interceptions. He is also tied for the most carries on the team, rushing for 179 yards and three scores. Brysen Kerby paces the Bulldog backfield with 290 yards and a team-high four rushing touchdowns. Hayden Fry comes in second with 193 yards and a pair of scores. Traven Lewis-Johnson has caught the most passes for the Bulldogs (19) for 389 yards and four touchdowns, while Alex Hill also has found the end zone four times.
Defensively, Marquis Willoughby leads all Bulldog defenders with 49.0 tackles and 6.5 tackles for loss. He has also forced a pair of fumbles and has one interception. Nehemiah Figueroa is tops on the team with four interceptions, all four coming in the first three games. Cameron Fouts has a team-high two sacks.
SCOUTING THE COYOTES
Kansas Wesleyan enters the contest with a 3-2 record, but are fresh off a win on the road at Bethel last Saturday.
Richard Lara has been the Coyotes top passer, throwing for 461 yards and four touchdowns. The Coyotes have a pair of runners who have rushed for over 200 yards in Nick Allsman (239) and Tyler Boston (207). Rhadarious Lomax-Spivey has eight catches for 125 yards and a touchdown, while Luke Armstrong has caught seven passes for 109 yards and a score.
Defensively, the Coyotes rank eighth in the country in pass defense, allowing just 129.8 passing yards per game. They have also forced 11 turnovers, including six fumble recoveries. Shaylan Lewis leads the Coyotes with 40 total tackles and a pair of forced fumbles, while Muhamad Abusharkh leads the way with two interceptions. Josh King-Bradley is tops on the squad with three sacks.
THE SERIES VS. KANSAS WESLEYAN
The Coyotes have dominated the series over the last ten years, holding a 2-8 record, including wins in each of the last eight meetings.
LAST MEETING
The Bulldogs held a 12-7 lead late in the game, but Kansas Wesleyan intercepted Tristan Szabo to set up a seven-play 32-yard scoring drive to come away with a 14-12 victory. Jonathan White finished with 121 yards and a touchdown, while Szabo finished 18-for-35 for 169 yards passing, but threw two interceptions.
Defensively, the Bulldogs finished with four sacks resulting in 32 yards, and held the Coyotes to just 4-for-16 on third down.
BULLDOGS BY THE NUMBERS
Home: 2-1
Away: 2-0
When scoring:
0-6 points: 0-0
7-13 points: 0-0
14-20 points: 0-0
21-27 points: 0-0
28+ points: 4-1
When allowing:
0-6 points: 0-0
7-13 points: 0-0
14-20 points: 2-0
21-27 points: 1-0
28+ points: 1-1
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When scoring first: 3-0
When opponent scores first: 1-1
When leading at halftime: 4-1
When trailing at halftime: 0-0
When tied at halftime: 0-0
When winning time of possession: 3-0
When losing time of possession: 1-1
When winning turnover battle: 3-0
When losing turnover battle: 1-1
When turnovers are even: 0-0
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DEFENSE
The Bulldogs defense has forced 15 takeaways so far this season, including eight interceptions, which puts them tied for eighth in the NAIA. Nehemiah Figueroa is second in the country with four interceptions so far this season, including two picks to seal the Bulldogs 34-31 win over Sterling.
OFFENSIVE EXPLOSION
Tristan Szabo has been on an offensive tear this season, ranking tied for second in the NAIA with 17 touchdown passes. He also leads the KCAC with 281.4 passing yards per game, which ranks him eighth in the country. Szabo has also been effective in the running game for the Bulldogs, rushing for 179 yards and three touchdowns. He also had one catch for an eight-yard touchdown in the Bulldogs 34-31 win over Sterling. Szabo is on pace to throw 37 touchdowns (which would be a new single-season school-record) and over 3,000 yards this season.
A BULLDOG WIN WOULD...
... snap an eight-game losing streak against Kansas Wesleyan
... be their first win in Salina since 2013
... improve them to 1-4 against the Coyotes under Coach Fiscus
... improve them to 12-9 on the road under Coach Fiscus
... move Coach Fiscus into a tie for 2nd most coaching wins in McPherson history
UP NEXT
The Bulldogs will get a bye week before beginning Kessinger Division play on Oct. 14 on the road at Bethel. Kickoff is scheduled for 6:00 p.m.
KESSINGER DIVISION UPDATE
Two teams in the Kessinger division remain unbeaten. Evangel slipped past Ottawa 27-21 to improve to 5-0, while Southwestern routed Sterling 48-10. Friends got back in the win column after dropping its first contest, knocking off Tabor 36-13, while Bethel fell to 3-2 with a 24-14 loss at home against Kanas Wesleyan.
COACH FISCUS
Jeremiah Fiscus enters his fifth year as the head coach of the McPherson College Football team in 2023.Â
The 2022 season proved to be a promising one, as Fiscus led the Bulldogs to a 5-5 record, but four of those five setbacks came to the top teams in the KCAC by a combined five points.Â
In his four years at McPherson, Fiscus has coached 46 All-KCAC players, including five first-team selections and nine players landing on the All-KCAC second team. He was also instrumental in the success of the 2020 KCAC Special Teams Player of the Year, Melvin Reed, and 2022 KCAC Player of the Year, Jonathan White, both securing NAIA All-American honors.Â
Coach Fiscus is a former Bulldog who played for the college from 2006 – 2007 under coaches Dave Cunningham and Brian Ward.
Upon graduation from McPherson, he was hired as a graduate assistant at Northwestern State University in Natchitoches, Louisiana, where he was the running backs coach. After earning a master's degree in sports administration from Northwestern State in 2010, Coach Fiscus was hired as a graduate assistant at Texas Christian University in Fort Worth. While at TCU, he earned another master's degree, this one in educational administration, and worked for head coach Gary Patterson as assistant offensive line coach and recruiting assistant.
In his two seasons at TCU, the Horned Frogs won two Mountain West Conference championships, in addition to winning the Rose Bowl and the Poinsettia Bowl. He coached two All-Conference offensive linemen and the MWC offensive player of the year, Andy Dalton.
After two years with the Horned Frogs, Coach Fiscus was hired by Henderson State University in Arkadelphia, Arkansas. He spent six seasons with the Reddies in a multitude of positions. He worked as director of equipment operations, team travel coordinator, NFL liaison, OL/TE/FB coach, recruiting coordinator, and offensive coordinator. During his time there, the Reddies won three GAC championships, had three NCAA D2 playoff appearances, and twice were #1 in scoring offense in NCAA DII football.
Coach Fiscus is a 2003 graduate of Stafford High School in Kansas and was a multi-sport standout, lettering in track and field and football. After high school, he attended Dodge City Community College, playing for the Conquistadors from 2003-2005. After getting his associate degree at DCCC, Coach Fiscus transferred to McPherson College, where he played for two seasons and finished his education, graduating in 2008 with a Bachelor of Science in education.
Coach Fiscus is married to Jessie, and they have two daughters, Lennox (2016), and Laiken (2019), and a son Leonard (2021).
