WICHITA, Kan. – Playing at Riverfront Stadium for the first-time ever, the Friends University Falcons gave the fans in attendance at the spectacle a dose of history in a 66-17 victory over the McPherson College Bulldogs today (Nov. 4) in a KCAC matchup. The 66 points are tied for the most in a game for the Falcons in the modern era (since 2004).
The win moves Friends to 8-2 on the season, marking the most wins for the program since also winning eight games in 2014. The Falcons are now 3-1 in the KCAC Kessinger Division, just one game behind No. 10-ranked Evangel University.
The Falcons ran over the Bulldogs to the tune of 470 total yards of offense, all on the ground.
A 20-yard field goal by Cole Thompson gave the Falcons an early lead until the Bulldogs took advantage of a short field thanks to a penalty and jumped ahead on an 11-yard touchdown run by Jalil Brown.
With the score stalled at 7-3 at the 10:36 mark of the second quarter, Braden Gordon gave the Falcons a jolt of energy with a 23-yard pick six to give Friends a lead it wouldn't relinquish.
That seemed to ignite the Falcon offense as well, with Treylan Gross breaking free for a 46-yard run to set up a six-yard score by Jett Cheatham for a 17-7 lead.
The Bulldogs managed to respond with another touchdown by Brown, this time from 37 yards to come within 17-14 at the half.
But the second half saw the floodgates open and then overflow as the Falcons outscored the Bulldogs 49-3 after halftime to turn a three-point game into a lopsided affair.
The Falcons wasted no time starting the avalanche, with Cheatham returning the kickoff 54 yards to set up the offense at the McPherson 41 yard line.
Baker capped the good field position with a 29-yard touchdown to push the lead back to 10 points less than three minutes into the third quarter.
The Falcons again started a drive in McPherson territory when Ethan Grimett recovered a fumble at the 43.
An 11-yard run by Laken Clowdus started a methodical drive and Gross paid it off with his first career touchdown to give the Falcons a 17-point lead of 31-14 with 5:48 left in the third.
Trey Palmer then made his mark in front of the Riverfront Stadium crowd with an interception that he took 43 yards to pay dirt for the Falcons' third touchdown of the third period and a 38-14 cushion.
After a 38-yard field goal by Jimmy Mai temporarily halted the Falcons' run of 21 unanswered points, the offense got right back at it with 13 yards rushing from Zach Dressler and then a 56-yard explosion by Gross before Baker found the end zone once again from three yards away to make it 45-17.
On the Bulldogs' next possession, the defense forced another turnover as Marco Torres came away with a fumble recovery to once again set up the Falcon offense in prime territory.
It was then Elias Pino's turn to make a statement with his first of two rushing touchdowns on consecutive possessions, with the first coming on a three-yard score to effectively put the game away.
Pino's next touchdown gained more style points, as the Houston, Texas native found daylight and ran for a 62-yard score for the Falcons' 59th point of the game.
The Falcons remained relentless and put in one more score when a 53-yard punt return by Palmer led to a 14-yard touchdown run by Kaden Rigsby to put the icing on the cake and the game into the record book.
Gross rushed for a career-high 117 yards for the Falcons, with Baker scoring twice on the ground to add to his NAIA-leading total with now 23 touchdowns on the ground this season.
Pino also added 83 rushing yards in addition to his pair of rushing scores.
Brown led the Bulldogs' offense with 90 rushing yards and two touchdowns.
Andrew Arnold paced the Falcon defense with eight tackles and Palmer fueled the secondary with two interceptions. Cooper Skrobecki continued his run of solid performances by recording both the first interception and sack of his career at Friends.
Josiah Jones had a team-high eight tackles for the Bulldogs and Taeylon Garland had a sack and 3.5 tackles for loss.
The Falcons will next 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.
