The Lowdown: McPherson College at (RV) Friends University

Location: Riverfront Stadium, Wichita, Kan.  

Kickoff: Nov. 4, 1:00 pm

TV Broadcast: Cox YurView - 122

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

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

Flying with the Falcons: The Friends University Falcons improved to 7-2 overall and 2-1 in the KCAC Kessinger Division with a 43-0 shellacking of the Bethel College Threshers last Saturday (Oct. 28) in a rain-soaked North Newton, Kan. The seven victories are also the most for Friends since winning eight games in 2014.

The Falcons received votes again this week in the NAIA Top 25 Coach's poll as the No. 27-ranked team overall.

Following a scoreless opening quarter, it was the Falcon defense with the first statement of the game when Ethan Grimett corralled Kayden Christiansen for just one yard on fourth and three at the 18-yard line to set the offense up in solid field position.

It didn't take long for the offense to capitalize, as quarterback K'Vonte Baker, the NAIA's leader in rushing touchdowns, added another to his total with a 12-yard touchdown for the first score of the game with 6:09 left in the first half.

From that moment, it was all Falcons and the defense proceeded to force a turnover on the Threshers' first play of their next drive at the 17-yard line.

Baker then put in another touchdown from one yard out for a 13-0 lead at the 3:11 mark of the second quarter.

After the Falcon defense forced a punt, it was Jett Cheatham time as the junior speedster got free for a 59-yard touchdown run down the sidelines to stretch the lead up to 19-0 at the half.

The Falcon offense continued to be relentless in the third quarter and broke the game open on a 54-yard scoring burst from Laken Clowdus to make the score 27-0 following a two-point conversion run by Cheatham.

Baker added two more rushing scores for good measure, first another one-yard touchdown and then a 44-yard dart to the end zone that saw the Wichita product break completely free from the defense thanks to powerful blocking through the middle.

Clowdus (76 yard) and Cheatham (63 yards) paced the Falcon ground attack, with Baker rushing for 48 more yards along with four touchdowns.

Leading the charge this season is quarterback K'Vonte Baker, who is tops in the NAIA in rushing touchdowns (21) and now leads the KCAC in rushing yards per game (110.0). Elias Pino is tied for fifth in the KCAC in rushing touchdowns (seven) along with 564 yards on the season. The Falcons have also got solid contributions on the ground from Laken Clowdus (484 yards, four TD's), Zach Dressler (477 yards, 1 TD), Jett Cheatham (468 yards, six TD's) and Kaden Rigsby (311 yards, two TD's).  

Cheatham has also caught four passes for 118 yards and one score, with Kevin Green suppling three receptions for 108 yards and a pair of touchdowns.

Defensively, the Falcons are led by Nolan Ewing (6.8 tackles per game) and Ja'coby Smith (5.4 tackles per game), with Marco Torres leading the team with seven tackles for loss and 2.5 sacks.  

On the Falcon special teams unit, Cole Thompson has made five of six field-goals, with a long of 49 yards.

Scouting the Bulldogs: The McPherson College Bulldogs are 5-4 overall and 1-2 in the Kessinger Division after falling 17-7 to now 12-ranked Evangel University last Saturday at home.

Quarterback Tristan Szabo makes the McPherson go, leading the KCAC in passing yards per game (258.1) and passing touchdowns (22). Brysen Kerby leads the Bulldogs on the ground with 437 rushing yards and six touchdowns, while also catching nine passes for 371 yards and two more scores. Traven Lewis-Johnson has a team-high 499 receiving yards along with four touchdowns.

Marquis Willoughby is pacing the Bulldog defensive unit with 8.4 tackles per game and 11.5 tackles for loss. Cameron Fouts and Jacob Goad each have 2.5 sacks on the season for McPherson.   

The Series: The matchups have been fairly even in recent history between the two schools, with the Falcons going 9-10 vs. the Bulldogs since 2004. The two teams have split the last 10 meetings, with the Bulldogs coming out on top 31-22 at home last season. Home and away hasn't provided much separation, with the Falcons going 5-5 against the Bulldogs in Wichita during that stretch and 4-5 on the road.     

Ticket Information: Tickets for the matchup McPherson 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

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.  Also, stay tuned for the Walk-On's Halftime Report featuring the head coach of the two-time defending KCAC champion Competitive Cheer Falcons, Joshua Johnson!

Cox YurView: Friends University Falcon home football games, including this week's gave vs. McPherson College at Riverfront Stadium, will now air LIVE on Cox YurView Kansas! Check local listings for stations in your area.

Riverfront Stadium Football: In addition to serving as the home stadium to the well-known Wichita Wind Surge, the Minnesota Twins Double-A affiliate, Riverfront Stadium has also served host to some high-level football games. The first football game Riverfront hosted was the 2021 Kansas Jayhawk Community College Conference championship tilt between Garden City and Hutchinson. The venue has also hosted several popular, local high school football games during the past two seasons.

Contrasting Styles: The two signal-callers in this game, Friends University's K'Vonte Baker and McPherson's Tristan Szabo have both been wildly effective, but in completely different fashions.  Baker does his damage primarily on the ground, accumulating an NAIA-leading 21 rushing touchdowns on the season while leading the KCAC in rushing yards per game (110.). Szabo on the other hand is tops in the KCAC in both passing touchdowns (22) and passing yards per game (258.1). To further highlight their contrasting styles, Baker has thrown just 24 passes ALL season, while Szabo has thrown fewer than 24 passes in a GAME only once this season, with a season-high 57 passes in a 33-24 setback at Bethel College (Oct. 14).  

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 (3525), rushing yards per game (391.7), yards per attempt (7.0) and rushing touchdowns (43).  Individually, Baker leads the NAIA in rushing scores (21) and is now tops in the KCAC in rushing yards per game (110.0).

Falcons by the Numbers:

Overall: 7-2

KCAC Kessinger Division: 2-1

Home: 4-0

Away: 3-2

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+: 7-1

Allowing 0-6 points: 1-0

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: 6-0

Opponent scores first: 1-2

Leading at halftime: 7-0

Trailing at halftime: 0-1

Tied at halftime: 0-1

Committing fewer turnovers: 2-0

Committing more turnovers: 4-2

Turnovers are even: 1-0

Leading in total offense: 7-2

Trailing in total offense: 0-0

Winning time of possession: 4-1

Losing time of possession: 3-1

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.

Jeremiah Fiscus is in his fifth season as head coach of the McPherson College Bulldogs.  Fiscus also played for the Bulldogs from 2006-07 and his previous coaching stops include Northwestern State University, Texas Christian University, Henderson State University and Bluestem High School.    

Up Next: The Falcons will return to the friendly confines of Adair-Austin Stadium to host Bethany College in the 2023 regular season finale. To purchase tickets to that game, click HERE.