The Lowdown: No. 4 Friends University at University of Saint Mary

Location: Leavenworth, Kan.          

Kickoff: Nov. 15 @ 1:00 PM

Live Stream: https://urbanedgenetwork.net/watch/5033

Live Stats: https://www.gospires.com/sidearmstats/football/summary

Flying with the Falcons: The fourth-ranked Falcons clinched their second consecutive KCAC division title with a thorough 66-7 victory over Sterling College last Saturday (Nov. 8) in their home regular season finale at Adair-Austin Stadium. The 10-0 Falcons had five scoring plays from over 50 yards against the Warriors while rushing for a season-high 598 yards and limiting Sterling to zero net rushing yards.  Read all the top takeaways on the Falcons' win over Sterling HERE!

Baker is tops in the KCAC Bissell Division and second in the NAIA with 22 rushing touchdowns while also leading the Falcons in total rushing yards (829). E'derian Sykes is second on the team with 784 rushing yards and Nick Cordova is third with 696 yards on the ground. Michael Lopez scored two touchdowns vs. Sterling and has rushed for 10 touchdowns on the season.

Taeylon Garland is second in the KCAC Bissell Division with 5.5 sacks, with Jairo Castillo (five sacks, 10 tackles for loss) and Andrew Arnold (4.5 sacks, 9.5 tackles for loss) right behind in disrupting opposing offenses. Tyson Wallace is first on the Falcon defensive unit with 43 tackles and Joshua Flash has a team-leading four interceptions.  

Truitt Bosher has made six of his seven field goal attempts this season and has drilled 76 of 77 extra-point attempts.

Scouting the Spires: Erick Covington has thrown 16 touchdown passes and eight interceptions with 1588 yards on the season for the Spires. Kameron Smith leads the Saint Mary ground game with 774 yards and 10 touchdowns, with Michael Gazzana registering team-highs of 56 receptions, 950 yards and 11 touchdowns through the air.

Aidan Arnold leads the Spire defense with 56 tackles, while Luke Sargent has a team-leading three sacks and Degeorge Hudson paces the team with five interceptions.

The Series: The Falcons have won all three meetings over the Spires during head coach Terry Harrison's tenure and are 15-5 in the series since 2004. Friends is also 7-4 on the road vs. Saint Mary during that stretch.

Tickets: Purchase Football season tickets or single-game tickets HERE!

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!

Position Flexibility: Senior linebacker Andrew Arnold started his career at Friends as a quarterback in 2022, switched positions to linebacker the next season and has enjoyed immense success at his new position while helping the Falcons reach new heights as a program. Read all about Arnold's journey in his own words HERE!

Top Four! The Falcons are now tied for the fourth spot (Montana Tech) in the latest NAIA Coaches' Top 25 poll to continue representing the Falcons' highest placement for as long as the NAIA rankings archives go back (2011). Click HERE for the full rankings!

Half as good: The Falcons are 10-0 on the season and have led going into halftime in all 10 games this season.

Two-way dominance: The Falcons continue to pace the entire NAIA in points per game (56.4 ppg) and are second in points allowed (11.6 ppg), further solidifying their status as the premier complimentary team in the country. Friends is also pacing the nation in both rushing yards per game (465.9) and rushing yards allowed (52.3) while ranking second in overall yards allowed (228.3) and third in sacks (33). 

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 4,659 rushing yards, 1,694 yards 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 then 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 second in the NAIA with 22 rushing touchdowns along with a team-leading 829 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: 10-0

KCAC Bissell Division: 4-0

Home: 6-0

Away: 4-0

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: 9-0

Allowing 0-6 points: 3-0

Allowing 7-13 points: 3-0

Allowing 14-20 points: 2-0

Allowing 21-27 points: 0-0

Allowing 28-34 points: 2-0

Allowing 35+ points: 0-0

Scoring first: 7-0

Opponent scores first: 3-0

Leading at halftime: 10-0

Trailing at halftime: 0-0

Tied at halftime: 0-0

Committing fewer turnovers: 5-0

Committing more turnovers: 3-0

Turnovers are even: 2-0

Leading in total offense: 9-0

Trailing in total offense: 1-0

Winning time of possession: 6-0

Losing time of possession: 4-0

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.

Lance Hinson is in the sixth season of his second tenure as head coach of the University of Saint Mary Spires.

Prior to this second stint at USM, Hinson was the head coach of McMurry University for five seasons. Hinson's coaching tenure also includes being an assistant coach at Baker University along with serving as an undergraduate and graduate assistant coach at the University of Texas.

Up Next: As things currently stand, the Falcons would receive a bye in the first round of the NAIA Football Championship Series (FCS) and then host an NAIA FCS second round game on Nov. 29 at Adair-Austin Stadium.  The NAIA Football selection show is set for Sunday evening (Nov. 16) at 6 pm on the NAIA YouTube channel.