The Lowdown: (RV) Friends University at Bethel College

Location: North Newton, Kan.

Kickoff: Oct. 28, 1:00 pm

Live Stream: https://kcacnetwork.com/friends/

Live Stats: https://bethelthreshers.com/sidearmstats/football/summary

Flying with the Falcons: The Friends University Falcons are now 6-2 overall and 1-1 in the KCAC Kessinger Division following a tough 20-11 setback at now No. 12-ranked Evangel University last Saturday (Oct. 21). The Falcons are the No. 26-ranked team in the latest NAIA Top 25 Coach's poll as the top vote-getter.

Leading the charge is quarterback K'Vonte Baker, who is tops in the NAIA in rushing touchdowns (17) and second in the KCAC in rushing yards per game (117.8). Elias Pino is tied for fourth in the KCAC in rushing touchdowns (seven) along with 539 yards on the season. The Falcons have also got solid contributions on the ground from Zach Dressler (449 yards), Laken Clowdus (408 yards) and Jett Cheatham (405 yards).

Defensively, the Falcons are led by Nolan Ewing (6.8 tackles per game) and Ja'coby Smith (5.9 tackles per game), with Marco Torres and Andrew Arnold each recording team-highs of six tackles and Torres leading the team with 2.5 sacks on the season.

Scouting the Threshers: The Bethel College Threshers are 5-3 and have won both games in the Kessinger Division after winning 20-13 last Saturday at then No. 14-ranked Southwestern College.

Quarterback DJ Ciers fuels the Thresher offensive attack, rushing for a KCAC-leading 122.8 yards per game and 982 total rushing yards. Ciers has also rushed for 11 touchdowns and passed for 13 more scores. Trevon Madison is Bethel's top receiving threat with team-highs of 393 receiving yards and seven touchdowns.

Kade Miller leads the Threshers with 8.4 tackles per game, while Jairo Castillo Jr. has a team-leading four sacks.  

The Series: The Threshers have won four straight in the series, with the Falcons holding a 12-6 edge overall since 2004. Friends is 6-3 on the road during that stretch, but have dropped three straight in North Newton, Kan.   

Ticket Information: Tickets for the matchup at Bethel are available at the link below.

https://bethelthreshers.com/sports/2021/6/9/6147_132677263328766727.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! Click HERE for more info on Walk-On's, including their menu and rewards program. 

Cox YurView: Friends University Falcon home football games will now air LIVE on Cox YurView Kansas! Check local listings for stations in your area.

Irresistible Force meets the Immovable Object: The old cliché of the irresistible force meeting the immovable object plays out perfect in this showdown between the Falcons and Threshers. Friends is the NAIA's top rushing team at over four hundred yards per game (404.1), while Bethel is fourth in the nation in stopping the run by limiting opposing offenses to just 56.5 yards per game on the ground.

Cut from the same cloth: Both quarterbacks in the matchup between the Falcons and Threshers go about playing the position in similar, effective fashion.  The Falcons' K'Vonte Baker leads the NAIA in rushing touchdowns (17) and is second in the KCAC in rushing per game (117.8), second only to his counterpart DJ Ciers, who has rushed for a conference-high 122.8 rushing yards per game that is also good for fourth in the NAIA.

Rank and File: With the Falcons victories over then No. 18-ranked Avila University and then No. 6-ranked Southwestern College, the Falcons now have two ranked wins in the same season for the first time since at least 2010, the furthest back the NAIA weekly ratings calendar shows.

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 (3233), rushing yards per game (404.1), yards per attempt (7.0) and rushing touchdowns (37).  Individually, Baker leads the NAIA in rushing scores (17) and is second in the KCAC in rushing yards per game (117.8).

Falcons by the Numbers:

Overall: 6-2

KCAC Kessinger Division: 1-1

Home: 4-0

Away: 2-2

The Falcons record when …

Scoring 0-6 points: 0-0

Scoring 7-13 points: 0-1

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: 5-1

Allowing 21-27 points: 0-0

Allowing 28 points+: 0-1

Scoring first: 5-0

Opponent scores first: 1-2

Leading at halftime: 6-0

Trailing at halftime: 0-1

Tied at halftime: 0-1

Committing fewer turnovers: 2-0

Committing more turnovers: 3-2

Turnovers are even: 1-0

Leading in total offense: 6-2

Trailing in total offense: 0-0

Winning time of possession: 4-1

Losing time of possession: 2-1

The Coaches:

Terry Harrison is entering 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. 

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.

A.B. Stokes is in his second season as head coach of the Bethel College football program. In his first season at the helm, Stokes led the Threshers to a 9-1 overall record, with an identical mark in the KCAC.

Before returning to his alma mater, Stokes was an assistant football coach and head wrestling coach at Lincoln Christian School in Tulsa, Okla.

In his first coaching stint for the Threshers, Stokes served as the offensive coordinator and associate head coach/director of recruiting on current Friends University head coach Terry Harrison's staff.

Prior to his initial coaching tenure at Bethel, Stokes was head football and track & field coach at Larned High School. At Larned, Stokes helped the program end a 28-year playoff drought and win consecutive first-round playoff games for the first time in school history.    

Up Next: The Falcons will be "Ready for Riverfront", as they'll host McPherson College Saturday afternoon (Nov. 4) at Riverfront Stadium. Kickoff will be at 1 pm and GA tickets for that game are available at the link below.  Premium seating in the Fidelity box is also available for $60 that includes a free buffet. Fans interested in seating in the Fidelity bleachers should contact Dr. Rob Ramseyer at rob_ramseyer@friends.edu or Dale Faber at faberd@friends.edu. Fans are also able to purchase an entire suite for $1500.

https://mlb.tickets.com/?agency=MILB_MPV&orgid=56869&pid=9308802#/event/9308802/seatmap/?selectBuyers=false&minPrice=15&maxPrice=15&quantity=2&sort=price_desc&ada=false&seatSelection=true&onlyCoupon=true&onlyVoucher=false