The Lowdown: No. 4 Friends University at No. 15 Southwestern College

(Urban Edge Network Featured Game)

Location: Winfield, Kan.        

Kickoff: Oct. 25 @ 1:30 PM

Live Stream: https://urbanedgenetwork.net/watch/3199

Live Stats: https://naiastats.prestosports.com/sports/fball/2025-26/boxscores/20251025_ug8x.xml

Flying with the Falcons: The fourth-ranked Falcons overcame their largest deficit since 2023 to record a big 56-32 victory over then No. 20-ranked McPherson College on Homecoming last Saturday (Oct. 18). The Falcons remain a perfect 7-0 on the season and are now 1-0 in the KCAC Bissell Division. Read the top takeaways on the Falcons' win over McPherson HERE!

K'Vonte Baker is tops in the KCAC Bissell Division and tied for first in the NAIA with 16 rushing touchdowns while ranking third on the Falcons in total rushing yards (562). E'derian Sykes is first on the team with 659 rushing yards and Nick Cordova is right behind with 565 yards on the ground. Michael Lopez is second on the team with seven rushing scores on the season.

Taeylon Garland leads the Falcon defense with 4.5 sacks and Tyson Wallace is first on the unit in both tackles (33) and tied for first with Jairo Castillo in tackles for loss (6.5). Andrew Arnold and Tyler Lane each have 3.5 sacks for the Falcons.

Truitt Bosher has made five of his six field goal attempts this season and has drilled 52 of 53 extra-point attempts.

Scouting the Moundbuilders: The No. 15-ranked Southwestern College Moundbuilders are 6-1 this season and won their KCAC Bissell Division opening contest 74-28 at Sterling College. 

Jamie Odom has passed for 2028 yards this season and is tied for the NAIA lead with 25 touchdowns on the season against seven interceptions. Odom's top target has been Matthew Holthusen, who is tied for second in the nation in receiving touchdowns (10) and ranks third in receiving yards per game (122.9).  Odom is also the Builders' leading rusher with 302 yards and eight touchdowns, followed by Joshua Mazyck with 277 rushing yards.

Corbin Williams is Southwestern's leading tackler with 34 stops and Elijah Moroney has a team-leading three sacks.

The Series: After dropping five straight in the series, the Falcons have won the past two meetings and are 15-6 against the Builders since 2004. Friends is also 6-3 on the road during that stretch.

Last season's matchup featured as dramatic of an ending as could be scripted, as the Falcons' Wetu Kalomo blocked the Builders' potential game-winning field goal that was scooped by Camari Geddis for 77 yards to give Friends a walk-off 37-31 victory that was featured on ESPN's College Gameday Final.

2024 Recap

2023 Recap

Tickets: Purchase Football season tickets or single-game tickets HERE! Also, click HERE to purchase tickets to next Saturday's showdown at Equity Bank Park vs. Kansas Wesleyan!

Farha Roofing: We are proud to have Farha Roofing as a sponsor of Friends University Athletics this season!  Click HERE for more info on the services Farha can offer!

Offensive Showdown: The top two offenses in the NAIA will be on display when the Falcons square off against the Builders on Saturday. Friends is scoring a nation-leading 56.1 points per game, followed closely by the Builders with 55.9 ppg.

Another Climb! The Falcons are now tied for fourth with Montana Tech in the latest NAIA Top 25 Coaches' poll, again representing the Falcons' highest placement for as long as the NAIA rankings archives go back (2011). Click HERE for the full rankings!

More than one way to succeed: The Falcons' K'Vonte Baker and the Builders' Jamie Odom are both at the top of the NAIA leaderboard, but on opposite wavelengths. Baker does his damage on the ground and is tied for first in the nation with 16 rushing touchdowns, while Odom is tied for the top spot in the nation with 25 passing touchdowns.

Top KCAC honors: Running back E'derian Sykes was named the KCAC Offensive Player of the Week, while defensive back Joshua Flash earned KCAC Defensive Player of the Week honors last Monday (Oct. 20). Read the full release HERE!

Two-way dominance: The Falcons are pacing the entire NAIA in points per game (56.1 ppg) and are now fourth in points allowed per game (10.7), further solidifying their status as the premier complimentary team in the country. Friends is also pacing the nation in both rushing yards per game (480.1), yards allowed per game (202.7), rushing yards allowed per game (26.0) and sacks (27).

Rushing to History: The Falcons accumulated a NAIA single-season record 5,351 rushing yards last season under head coach Terry Harrison's pristine flexbone offensive system. Friends is well ahead of the pack again this season with 480.1 rushing yards per game, almost 200 yards per game ahead of second place Taylor (Ind.).

Rush Hour: The Falcons have led the NAIA in rushing in all three years of head coach Terry's Harrison's tenure. This rushing success particularly correlates with Harrison, as he's now coached the last six NAIA team leaders in rushing (his last three years at Bethel and all three seasons at Friends.

Hometown Hero: A Wichita Heights HS product, K'Vonte Baker was named KCAC Player of the Year during his first season with the Falcons in 2023 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). Last year, Baker ran for a team-leading 1225 yards on the ground, bolstered by a career-high 214 rushing yards in a 56-10 victory at Avila University (Sept. 14). Baker was named the KCAC Kessinger Division Co-Offensive Player of the Year for the 2024 campaign and was named the Offensive Player of the Game after leading the Falcons with 179 yards on the ground and one rushing touchdown in a 47-35 victory over OUAZ for Friends' first-ever NAIA playoff win. He has picked right back up this season and is tied for first in the NAIA with 16 rushing touchdowns along with 562 yards on the ground. 

Click HERE to read Baker describe the thrilling experience of playing in his hometown of Wichita!

Falcons by the Numbers:

Overall: 7-0

KCAC Bissell Division: 1-0

Home: 4-0

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: 0-0

Scoring 28-34 points: 1-0

Scoring 35+ points: 6-0

Allowing 0-6 points: 2-0

Allowing 7-13 points: 2-0

Allowing 14-20 points: 2-0

Allowing 21-27 points: 0-0

Allowing 28-34 points: 1-0

Allowing 35+ points: 0-0

Scoring first: 4-0

Opponent scores first: 3-0

Leading at halftime: 7-0

Trailing at halftime: 0-0

Tied at halftime: 0-0

Committing fewer turnovers: 4-0

Committing more turnovers: 3-0

Turnovers are even: 0-0

Leading in total offense: 6-0

Trailing in total offense: 1-0

Winning time of possession: 5-0

Losing time of possession: 2-0

The Coaches:

Terry Harrison enters his fourth season as the Friends University head football coach and has transformed the Falcons into a legitimate national contender.

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

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

Last season, the Falcons' progression reached its apex with the program's first conference title since 2008 and first NAIA FCS Playoff victory in school history. Harrison earned KCAC Kessinger Division and Victory Sports Network (VSN) NAIA Coach of the Year honors after guiding the Falcons to an 11-2 record for the team's most wins in the modern era. 

Under Harrison, K'Vonte Baker was named the KCAC Kessinger Division Co-Offensive Player of the Year and offensive lineman Kyree Watkins was selected as a first-team AFCA NAIA Coaches' All-American. Overall, the Falcons averaged 411.6 rushing yards per game, nearly 100 yards ahead of the next closest team (Taylor, 311.7) while also rushing for a nation-leading 58 touchdowns last season.

In 2023, 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.

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.

Brad Griffin is in his 10th season as head coach of the Southwestern College Moundbuilders and has guided the Builders to three KCAC conference titles and three NAIA FCS Playoff berths in the past four years, including winning a playoff game last year.  In 2021, Southwestern made its first NAIA FCS Playoff appearance since the 1999 season.

Before arriving at Southwestern, Griffin served 11 seasons as Defensive Coordinator at William Penn University and also worked with the linebackers.

Griffin earned the Midwest League Tri-Assistant Coach of the Year award in 2011 after his defense led the league in scoring defense and ranked second in yards allowed.    

Up Next: The Falcons will face (RV) Kansas Wesleyan University next Saturday (Nov. 1) at Equity Bank Park, home of the Wichita Wind Surge. Tickets to that game can be purchased HERE.