The Lowdown: Sterling College at No. 22 Friends University

Location: Adair-Austin Stadium   

Kickoff: Oct. 5, 1:00 pm

Tickets: https://shorturl.at/uTcGV

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

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

Flying with the Falcons: The No. 22-ranked Friends University Falcons put together a workmanlike effort in dispatching of the Tabor College Bluejays 24-0 to improve to 5-0 on the season last Saturday (Sept. 28). It's the first time the Falcons have opened the season with five straight victories since beginning the 2008 campaign 10-0.  

Kerrion Hadnot led the way with a career-high 116 yards on the ground for the Falcons, with Nick Cordova finishing just shy of the 100-yard mark with 98 rushing yards.  Nolan Ewing and Marcos Torres each had a team-high four tackles to lead a defensive unit that limited the Bluejays to just 119 total yards.

The Falcons have two of the top five rushers in the KCAC this season, with Elias Pino ranking third in rushing yards per game (100.2) and K'Vonte Baker currently fifth (89.6). Pino and Baker are also tied for third in the conference with six rushing touchdowns apiece.

Defensively, Leshaon Davis is tied for second in the KCAC in sacks (3.5) and Barrett Roads is tied for fourth (3.0). Nolan Ewing is tops on the Falcons with 20 tackles and has 4.5 tackles for loss, with Marco Torres (6.5 tackles for loss) and Andrew Arnold (4.5 tackles for loss) also serving as major disruptors on the defensive side for Friends.

The winner of the past two KCAC Special Teams Player of the Week awards, Cole Thompson has hit 5-of-6 field goals and 23-of-25 extra-point attempts this season for the Falcons.

Scouting the Warriors: The Sterling College Warriors are 0-5 this season following a 42-7 loss to now No. 22-ranked Southwestern College at home last Saturday.

Rocklin Baptista has thrown for 478 yards with four touchdowns and nine interceptions, while Kendrick Bell leads Sterling with 225 rushing yards and two touchdowns on the ground. Ryan Stucky is pacing the Warrior receivers with 320 yards and four touchdowns.

The Series: Friends outscored Sterling 34-3 in the fourth quarter to turn a close game into a 55-17 rout on the road in last seasons' matchup. The 38-point win is the Falcons' largest margin of victory against Sterling on record.

The Falcons have won 14 of the past 20 matchups over the Warriors since 2004, including seven of eight meetings in Wichita.  

SCHEELS: We are proud to have Scheels as a sponsor of Friends University Athletics this season!  Click HERE for more info on the Scheels store in Wichita. If you're watching at home, don't forget to tune into the Scheels Halftime Report when Friends University President Dr. Amy Bragg Carey joins the "Voice of the Falcons' Pat Strathman!

Special Teams, Special Players: For the second straight week, Cole Thompson is the KCAC's top Special Teams player. The previous week, Thompson was also the NAIA Special Teams Player of the Week after booting the walk-off 40-yard field goal to give the Falcons their first victory over Kansas Wesleyan University in a decade.  

Sack Masters: The Falcons are now ranked third in the NAIA with 18 sacks, led by Leshaon Davis (3.5 sacks) and Barrett Roads (3.0 sacks). Overall, 11 Falcons have at least one sack through five games.  

Rush Hour: The Friends University Falcons have led the NAIA in rushing in both years of head coach Terry Harrison's tenure and appear poised to do it for a third straight season. The Falcons are first in the nation with 460.2 rushing yards per game this season, nearly 120 yards ahead of second-place Taylor (340.8).  Elias Pino (501 yards), K'Vonte Baker (448 yards), Nick Cordova (322 yards), Treylan Gross (181 yards), Jett Cheatham (166 yards), Kerrion Hadnot (165 yards), Jud Cheatham (146 yards) and Laken Clowdus (131 yards) have given the Falcons a deep and well-rounded rushing unit this season. This rushing success particularly correlates to Harrison, as he's now coached the last five NAIA team leaders in rushing (his last three years at Bethel and both seasons at Friends).

Hometown Hero: A Wichita Heights HS product, K'Vonte Baker was named KCAC Player of the Year last season after leading the NAIA in rushing scores (25) and ranking third in rushing yards per game (115.3). His 1268 total rushing yards were the most by a Falcon since 2016 (Jesse Rogers). This season, Baker is averaging 89.6 yards on the ground, bolstered by a career-high 214 rushing yards in a 56-10 victory at Avila University (Sept. 14).

Falcons by the Numbers:

Overall: 5-0

KCAC Kessinger Division: 0-0

Home: 2-0

Away: 3-0

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: 1-0

Scoring 28 points+: 4-0

Allowing 0-6 points: 2-0

Allowing 7-13 points: 2-0

Allowing 14-20 points: 0-0

Allowing 21-27 points: 1-0

Allowing 28 points+: 0-0

Scoring first: 3-0

Opponent scores first: 2-0

Leading at halftime: 5-0

Trailing at halftime: 0-0

Tied at halftime: 0-0

Committing fewer turnovers: 2-0

Committing more turnovers: 2-0

Turnovers are even: 1-0

Leading in total offense: 5-0

Trailing in total offense: 0-0

Winning time of possession: 4-0

Losing time of possession: 1-0

The Coaches:

Terry Harrison is in his third season as the Friends University head football coach.

Harrison appeared to be the perfect choice to lead the Falcon program and has done nothing to change that perception now into his third season at the helm.

In his two seasons thus far, Harrison has overseen the NAIA's top rushing offense in total yards and yards per game.

Last season, Harrison guided the Falcons to their first winning record since 2014 (9-2) and coached 20 All-KCAC players, including KCAC Player of the Year K'Vonte Baker along with NAIA All-American and Rimington Award winner Keegan Martin.

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.

Reggie Langford is in his first season as head coach of the Sterling College football program and also serves as the offensive coordinator for the team.  

Langford came back to Sterling as the offensive coordinator in 2022 following a tenure at Bethel College in the same position.

A Sterling College alum, Langford played collegiately for the Warriors and still ranks first all-time in all-purpose yards and second in rushing yards while helping the program win the KCAC championship in 2013.

Following his playing career, Langford served one season as quarterbacks coach for the Warriors.