WICHITA, Kan. – Following a historic 2024 campaign that shattered even the highest of expectations, you'll have to excuse the Friends University Football Falcons for having their sights set on even bigger achievements this season.
Heading into his fourth year at the helm, head coach Terry Harrison has not only completed a full rebuild of the Falcon football program, but has it positioned to compete for the foreseeable future at an elite level amongst the best the KCAC and NAIA has to offer.
Harrison, the 2024 KCAC Kessinger Division Coach of the Year, guided the Falcons to an 11-2 record for the program's highest win total of the modern era. Included in those 11 victories was the program's first-ever NAIA FCS playoff victory, a 47-35 win over OUAZ. The Falcons also captured their first KCAC conference title since 2008 by winning the Kessinger Division while rushing for a NAIA-record 5,351 yards.
"One of the greatest benefits of having a season like we had last year is that it gives everyone in the program the realization that 'we can do this'," said Harrison. "Our young men have always had elite attitude and effort. Last season showed them that everything they want in football is attainable as a program."
Operating the flexbone offense to perfection, Harrison's teams have paced the NAIA in rushing the past six seasons (his last three years at Bethel and all three years at Friends).
There's no reason to believe anything will change this season, as the Falcons return their top three rushers and a pair of first-team All-KCAC offensive linemen to continue what has proven to be the nation's best ground attack.
Facilitating the dynamic offensive system will again be quarterback K'Vonte Baker, last season's KCAC Kessinger Division Co-Offensive Player of the Year and the KCAC's top offensive player of the 2023 season. Baker took his game to another level this past year, rushing for 1225 yards and a KCAC Kessinger Division high 16 touchdowns. The Wichita native also rose to the occasion on the big stage, earning NAIA FCS First Round Offensive Player of the Game honors after rushing for 179 yards and a touchdown during the Falcons' victory over OUAZ.
Elias Pino is back after ranking second on the Falcons' balanced rushing attack with 876 yards while also serving as an exciting option in the return game with 24.5 yards returned average on eight kickoff returns.
Nick Cordova was right behind Pino in rushing yards (743) and scored 10 touchdowns on the ground. He also stepped up in the big moment and rushed for two scores in the Falcons' NAIA FCS playoff victory.
"Stats can vary year to year," noted Harrison. "K'Vonte, Elias and Nick all play off of each other so it will be fun to see how we are defended this season."
Kyree Watkins and Kenyon Vigil were each first-team All-KCAC Kessinger Division performers in anchoring the Falcons' road-grading offensive line. Watkins also earned AFCA-NAIA Coaches' first-team All-America recognition. The duo will once again serve as the centerpiece of a pristine offensive line unit but will be joined by additional veterans that enhance the Falcons' depth, including All-KCAC honorable-mention pick Kel Stroud.
"Our offensive line is as deep as it has ever been," said Harrison. "Kyree and Kenyon are perfect fits as far as what we want in our tackles."
As has been the case with Harrison's flexbone offensive system, the Falcons will not rely solely on 2-3 runners but a plethora of running backs to give the attack diversity and to keep the defense guessing. Two of those returners that should see significant action are Kaden Rigsby (381 rushing yards) and Jud Cheatham (303 rushing yards. Cheatham is the brother of former Falcon and current Graduate Assistant Intern Coach Jett Cheatham.
The running game will also have an added local flavor this year with the addition of Wichita native and Maize South product Evan Cantu. Cantu transfers to Friends from Kansas State University after earning first-team All-State honors and rushing for school record totals of 2,107 yards and 27 touchdowns as a senior at Maize South.
The Falcons obviously don't throw the ball a lot with their current system, but when they do Austin Pratt and Samuel Becker will be top options. Pratt had 112 receiving yards with a touchdown and Becker hauled in 64 receiving yards with one score.
On the opposite side, defensive coordinator Paul Kempf has his unit primed to again strongly complement the offense and make the Falcons a force on both sides of the ball.
The Falcons led the nation with 46 sacks last year and should again be stout up front, led by returning first-team All-KCAC Kessinger Division defensive lineman Barrett Roads. Roads was a major disruptor of offensive game plans last year, finishing tied for first in the Kessinger Division with nine sacks and 12 tackles for loss. Another returner along the defensive line is Demarieo Sims, who posted 5.5 sacks last year and finished second on the team with 12.5 tackles behind the line of scrimmage.
All-KCAC Kessinger Division honorable-mention performer Andrew Arnold (two sacks) returns to anchor the linebacker corps for the Falcons, while a trio of honorable-mention defensive backs in Brock Zerger (43 tackles, one interception), Sy Aponte (15 tackles) and Kasey Lehman (13 tackles, one interception) are back to again create a strong secondary.
"Leading the country in sacks and tackles for loss is always a pre-season goal for us," said Harrison. "We will continue to try and engineer sacks within our scheme!"
On special teams, Harrison says kicker freshman Truitt Bosher has impressed in camp thus far. Whoever is officially chosen to replace second-team All-KCAC kicker Cole Thompson will have first-team long snapper Braelyn Jay back to set the table for him. Michael Lopez, a second-team special teams performer last year, should also have another big role on the unit this campaign.
While Harrison feels talent is extremely important, he sees a strong culture as not only a crucial element to the success the Falcons have achieved to this point but also as a sustainable quality to keep it rolling in the future.
"Like anything in life, you will never be as good as you can be without great team culture," said Harrison. "We work really hard at that. When you have the type of culture we have it makes the wins worth it and more fun!"
After capturing the KCAC Kessinger Division last year, the Falcons will now compete in the Bissell Division along with Southwestern College, Kansas Wesleyan University, McPherson College, Sterling College and the University of Saint Mary. The Bissell opener is Oct. 18 against McPherson during Homecoming weekend, with the overall 2025 season opener set for Saturday (Aug. 30) against Bethany College at Adair-Austin Stadium. A big highlight of the season will include hosting Kansas Wesleyan on Nov. 1 at Equity Bank Park, home of the Wichita Wind Surge, the Double-A affiliate of the MLB's Minnesota Twins.
"It's going to be very competitive every Saturday," said Harrison. "We wouldn't want it any other way."
Purchase tickets to catch the Falcons' run at another KCAC championship all season long!
