WICHITA, Kan. – The No. 4-ranked Friends University Falcons throttled the Sterling College Warriors 66-7 yesterday (Nov. 8) at Adair-Austin Stadium and in the process clinched their second consecutive KCAC division championship, this time winning the Bissell Division after finishing on top of the Kessinger Division last year.
Below are the top takeaways from the Falcons' regular season home finale victory over Sterling:
Quick Punches: The Falcons had five scoring plays from over 50 yards against the Warriors, including Michael Lopez scoring on a 56-yard burst to open the scoring and then taking it the distance for an 80-yard punt return for the Falcons' first punt return score of the season. That was promptly followed by a 66-yard punt return touchdown from Walker Overman on the Warriors' next punt. E'derian Sykles also had a 61-yard touchdown and Overman closed out the big day with a 64-yard scamper.
Rush for me but not for thee: There was an extreme disparity in the team's rushing totals, as the Falcons rushed for a season-high 598 yards while limiting the Warriors to zero net rushing yards. That falls in line with the Falcons' performance on both sides of the ball this season, as Friends is tops in the NAIA in both rushing yards per game (465.9) and rushing yards allowed per game (52.3).
Closing in on own history: K'Vonte Baker scored his 22nd rushing touchdown of the season in yesterday's win over Sterling, just three shy of his own modern-era record of 25 set in 2023.
Breakout performance: Freshman quarterback Walker Overman understandably hasn't seen a ton of playing time this year behind two-time KCAC Player of the Year K'Vonte Baker, but he had a potential breakout game yesterday. The Gunter, Texas native rushed for two touchdowns and 99 yards while also showing a lot of burst on a 66-yard punt return touchdown.
Perfect 10: Freshman kicker Truitt Bosher went a perfect 10-10 on kicks, with nine extra points and a 28-yard field goal in the Falcons win over Sterling. For the season, Bosher has now made 6-of-7 field goals while drilling 76-of-77 extra point attempts.
Go back-to-back: The Falcons second consecutive KCAC divisional title assures them of back-to-back appearances in the NAIA Football Championship Series (FCS). As things currently stand, the Falcons would receive a bye the first weekend (Nov. 22) and host an NAIA FCS game on Nov. 29 in Wichita. The official NAIA FCS bracket will be announced one week from tonight (Nov. 16) at 6 pm on the NAIA's YouTube channel.
Up Next: Friends, now 10-0 on the season and 4-0 in the Bissell Division, will wrap up the regular season at the University of Saint Mary next Saturday (Nov. 15) at 1 pm in Leavenworth, Kan.
