The Lowdown: Bethel College at No. 12 Friends University

Location: Adair-Austin Stadium      

Kickoff: Sept. 13 @ 6:00 PM

Live Stream: https://urbanedgenetwork.net/

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

Flying with the Falcons: The No. 12-ranked Friends University Falcons scored 62 unanswered points in a 62-7 thumping of the Avila University Eagles last Saturday (Sept. 6) in Kansas City, Mo. to improve to 2-0 on the season. Michael Lopez rushed for three touchdowns while K'Vonte Baker added a pair of scores and newcomer E'derian Sykes rushed for a career-best 120 yards.

The Falcons are the second-highest scoring team in the NAIA at 67.5 ppg and are pacing the nation in rushing with 536.5 through two games. Friends is also tied for second in the NAIA with 11 sacks thus far.

Baker is tops in the NAIA with six rushing touchdowns on the season and Nick Cordova is second in the KCAC Bissell Division with 88.5 rushing yards per game.

Defensively, three of the top five sack leaders in the Bissell Division belong to the Falcons in Andrew Arnold (2.5) and Tyler Lane and Barrett Roads (2.0).

Truitt Bosher has made his lone field goal attempt this season and has drilled 18 of his 19 extra-point attempts.

Scouting the Threshers: The Bethel College Threshers have dropped both games this season, losing 61-7 at No. 14 Southwestern College and then 33-7 last week to McPherson.

Quarterback Byron Reese has thrown for 355 yards with two touchdowns and three interceptions while Noah Miller has gained 58 yards on 26 carries.  Ben Vincent leads the Threshers with 80 receiving yards and Isaiah Rivera has a team-high 15 tackles.

The Series: The Falcons have kept the Threshers off the scoreboard the past two seasons, winning 28-0 last year after a 43-0 rout on the road in 2023. The two-game win streak follows a four-game losing skid in the series. Overall, Friends is 14-6 vs. Bethel since 2005, with a 7-3 mark at home 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!  Friends University Athletic Department GA Malia McIver will join the "Voice of the Falcons' Pat Strathman on the Farha Halftime Report Saturday to talk about a fun basketball event on Sept. 26 that you won't want to miss. Click HERE for more info on the services Farha can offer!

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 with an NAIA-leading six rushing touchdowns along with 172 yards on the ground.

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

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 536.5 rushing yards per game, a full 166.5 yards ahead of second-place Graceland University.

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.

Falcons by the Numbers:

Overall: 2-0

KCAC Bissell Division: 0-0

Home: 1-0

Away: 1-0

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: 0-0

Scoring 35+ points: 2-0

Allowing 0-6 points: 0-0

Allowing 7-13 points: 1-0

Allowing 14-20 points: 1-0

Allowing 21-27 points: 0-0

Allowing 28-34 points: 0-0

Allowing 35+ points: 0-0

Scoring first: 1-0

Opponent scores first: 1-0

Leading at halftime: 2-0

Trailing at halftime: 0-0

Tied at halftime: 0-0

Committing fewer turnovers: 1-0

Committing more turnovers: 1-0

Turnovers are even: 0-0

Leading in total offense: 2-0

Trailing in total offense: 0-0

Winning time of possession: 1-0

Losing time of possession: 1-0

The Coaches:

Terry Harrison enters his fourth 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 going into 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.

Josh Lawson is in his first season as head coach of the Bethel College football program.

Lawson has 20 years of coaching experience and most recently was the defensive coordinator and linebackers coach at Calvin University, an NCAA Division III program in Grand Rapids, Mich.

Lawson has also served defensive coordinator roles at Arkansas Tech University (NCAA D-II), Stephen F. Austin (FCS D-I) and Southern Arkansas University (NCAA D-II).

He started his coaching career as a Recruiting Student Assistant (2001-02) and then a Quality Control Graduate Assistant (2003-04) at the University of Alabama.

Up Next: The Falcons will play at Tabor College next Saturday evening (Sept. 20) at 6 pm in Hillsboro, Kan.