The Lowdown: No. 25 Friends University at No. 13 Evangel University
Location: Springfield, Mo.
Kickoff: Oct. 21, 3:00 pm
Live Stream: https://kcacnetwork.com/friends/
Live Stats: https://stats.statbroadcast.com/broadcast/?id=468456
Flying with the Falcons: The Friends University Falcons won their first-ever KCAC Kessinger Division game in convincing fashion, defeating the then No. 6-ranked and previously undefeated Southwestern College Moundbuilders 35-20 last Saturday (Oct. 14) at Adair-Austin Stadium.
Friends outgained Southwestern 372-277 in total offense, led by 122 yards rushing and a career-best 119 yards passing by K'Vonte Baker. The Wichita Heights product also scored twice on the ground and twice through the air for the Falcons. Elias Pino added 50 yards rushing on three attempts for a robust 16.7 yards per attempt.
The Falcon defensive unit held Braden Howell to just 204 yards passing, 49 yards below his average. He was also intercepted twice, once by Trey Palmer and once by Nolan Ewing.
Ewing also led the Falcons (6-1, 1-0 KCAC) with seven tackles, with Demarieo Sims recording one sack and 1.5 tackles for loss.
Leading the charge this season is Baker, who is tops in the NAIA in rushing touchdowns (16) and second in the KCAC in rushing yards per game (113.0). In addition to Baker, the Falcons have six other players that have for at least 100 yards this season in Pino (495 yards), Zach Dressler (426 yards), Laken Clowdus (393 yards), Jett Cheatham (374 yards), Kaden Rigsby (254 yards) and Kerrion Hadnot (129 yards).
Defensively, the Falcons are led by Ewing (6.1 tackles per game) and Ja'coby Smith (5.7 tackles per game), with Marco Torres recording team-highs of six tackles for loss and 2.5 sacks on the season. Andrew Arnold and Bryson Wade have also each made five stops behind the line of scrimmage. Â
Scouting the Valor: The newcomers to the KCAC this season, the No. 13-ranked Evangel University Valor are still undefeated this season at 7-0 and 1-0 in KCAC Kessinger play following a 34-11 win at Bethany College last Saturday (Oct. 14).
Quarterback RJ Wakley is third in the KCAC in both passing yards (229.0) and passing touchdowns (17), while Eric Williams ranks third in the league in rushing touchdowns (eight) and fourth in rushing yards per game (86.4). Evangel's top target in the passing game, Dillon Hester, is tops in the conference in receiving yards per game (94.3) and second in receiving touchdowns (eight).
The duo of Bradley Myers and Zach Myers pace the Valor defensive unit, with Bradley Myers leading the KCAC in tackles per game (11.7) and Zach Myers ranking tied for second with 5.5 sacks.
The Series: Even though this is the Valor's first year in the KCAC, Friends and Evangel have met once before on record. In 2012, Evangel knocked off the Falcons 27-14 in Springfield, Mo. Â Â
Ticket Information: Tickets for the matchup at Evangel are available at the link below.
https://evangelathletics.com/sports/2023/4/25/TICKETS.aspx
Walk-On's Sports Bistreaux: We are proud to have Walk-On's Sports Bistreaux as a sponsor of our Football Falcons this season! Walk-On's is also now the host of weekly football coach's show and is the place to be for all Falcon post-game gatherings this season! You can also catch our weekly Football Coach's Show live every Monday night at 5 pm while then listening to the broadcast on Tuesday's at 6 pm on ESPN Radio Wichita. Click HERE for more info on Walk-On's, including their menu and rewards program.Â
Cox YurView: All Falcon home games will now air LIVE on Cox YurView Kansas! The next game available will be the Falcons' Nov. 4 tilt vs. McPherson College at Riverfront Stadium. Check local listings for stations in your area. Cox YurView-122 has a vast market that includes the cities of Wichita, Topeka, Dodge City, Manhattan, Hutchinson, Pittsburg and Salina.
Top 25 recognition: Following Saturday's convincing victory over then No. 6-ranked Southwestern College, the Friends University Falcons have entered the NAIA Football Coach's Top 25 for the first time since 2015. The Falcons are the 25th ranked team in the country and are one of three KCAC teams currently ranked (Evangel University 13th & Southwestern College 14th).
Scoring Frenzy: The Falcons offense, bolstered by the nation's leading rushing unit, has averaged a robust 45.9 points per game thus far this season. The 321 total points is the second most in the NAIA and the Falcons have also scored an NAIA-leading 45 touchdowns in 2023.
Rank and File: With last Saturday's win over No. 6 Southwestern, the Falcons now have two ranked victories for the first time since at least 2010, the furthest back the NAIA weekly ratings calendar shows. Friends also defeated then No. 18-ranked Avila University back on Sept. 9 in Wichita.
Hometown Hero: A Wichita Heights HS product, K'Vonte Baker is still a Falcon and is giving the local fans a lot to cheer about in his first season on the field. Baker is a major facilitator of the Falcons' flexbone offense that is tops in the NAIA in rushing yards (2944), rushing yards per game (420.6), yards per attempt (7.2) and rushing touchdowns (36). Individually, Baker leads the NAIA in rushing scores (16) and is second in the KCAC in rushing yards per game (113.0).
Historic Start: Under head coach Terry Harrison, the Falcons are 6-1 on the season, marking the program's most wins since 2014 and best start since the 2010 campaign.
Falcons by the Numbers:
Overall: 6-1
KCAC: 1-0
Home: 4-0
Away: 2-1
The Falcons record when …
Scoring 0-6 points: 0-0
Scoring 7-13 points: 0-0
Scoring 14-20 points: 0-0
Scoring 21-27 points: 0-0
Scoring 28 points+: 6-1
Allowing 0-6 points: 0-0
Allowing 7-13 points: 1-0
Allowing 14-20 points: 5-0
Allowing 21-27 points: 0-0
Allowing 28 points+: 0-1
Scoring first: 5-0
Opponent scores first: 1-1
Leading at halftime: 6-0
Trailing at halftime: 0-0
Tied at halftime: 0-1
Committing fewer turnovers: 2-0
Committing more turnovers: 3-1
Turnovers are even: 1-0
Leading in total offense: 6-1
Trailing in total offense: 0-0
Winning time of possession: 4-1
Losing time of possession: 2-0
The Coaches:
Terry Harrison is in his second season as the Friends University head football coach.
Harrison appeared to be the perfect choice to lead the Falcon program, and did nothing to change that perception in his debut season.Â
Last season, Harrison oversaw the top rushing offense in the NAIA in both total yards (3026) and yards per game (275.1).
Harrison arrived on campus after transforming fellow KCAC member Bethel College into a conference and national power.
After taking over a Bethel program in 2018 that was 1-9 and at the bottom of the league the previous season, Harrison's impact was felt immediately as he installed the flexbone offense and guided the team to finish third in the NAIA in rushing offense (274.4) per game.
The following season, Harrison would begin to affect the wins column by leading the Threshers to a second-place showing in the KCAC with an 8-3 overall record. Bethel continued to climb the leaderboard nationally, finishing tops in the NAIA in total rushing offense (4,084) and rushing offense per game (371.3) while ranking third in passing efficiency (180.3).
The best was yet to come as the next season, Harrison and the Threshers captured a Co-KCAC regular season championship and an NAIA national playoff berth to wind up No. 13 in the final NAIA FirstDown PlayBook Top 25 poll. The conference championship was the Threshers' first since 2007 and the national playoff appearance represented the first since the 2006 campaign and only the third in school history.
Once again, Harrison's squad set the standard nationally in rushing, leading the country in both total rushing offense (3828) and rushing offense per game (348.0) for the second consecutive season.
Harrison had the Threshers rolling again this year with a 9-2 overall record and a 9-1 league mark that netted the squad their second consecutive co-KCAC regular season title along with a final NAIA national ranking of 17th.
Harrison is embarking on his second go-round as a head coach of the Falcons in Wichita, as he spent five seasons as the head coach of the Wichita Heights High School Falcons. At Heights, Harrison guided the team to four Kansas 5A regional titles, a district championship and a Greater-Area Wichita-League title along with a 38-16 overall record. In 2016, Harrison was named the City-League Coach of the Year.
He has also received the opportunity to speak at multiple coaching clinics, with the most recent engagement being the Tulsa Glazier Mega Clinic in 2016.
Harrison was a three-year captain at Sterling College and graduated in 2004 with a Bachelor of Sciences in Physical Education and Health. He then earned his Masters of Science in School Leadership from Baker University in 2011.
Chuck Hepola is in his ninth season as head coach of the Evangel University Valor after returning to his alma mater in 2015.
Hepola has brought Evangel to national prominence and earned the Heart South Division Coach of the Year in 2018.
He also guided the Valor to Top 10 NAIA rankings during the 2018 and 2019 seasons.
Hepola's coaching career includes assistant coaching stops at the University of Tulsa and East Central University while also serving as the Director of Football Operations at Louisiana-Monroe and an associate head coach position at Nicholls State University, an NCAA FCS school in the Southland Conference.
Up Next: The Falcons will continue a critical stretch of divisional play at Bethel College next Saturday (Oct. 28) at 1 pm in North Newton, Kan. Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â
