The Lowdown: No. 8 Friends University at Tabor College
Location: Adair-Austin Stadium
Kickoff: Sept. 20 @ 1:00 PM
Live Stream: https://kcacnetwork.com/friends/
Live Stats: https://naiastats.prestosports.com/sports/fball/2025-26/boxscores/20250920_bp49.xml
Flying with the Falcons: The No. 8-ranked Friends University Falcons shut out Bethel College for the third straight season, winning 62-0 last Saturday evening (Sept. 13) at Adair-Austin Stadium. The Falcons have pummeled the opposition by a combined score of 197-21 in beginning the season 3-0 for the third straight year.
The Falcons are now the highest scoring team in the NAIA at 65.7 ppg and are pacing the nation in rushing with 528.3 yards through three games. Friends is also tied for first in the NAIA with 18 sacks and tied for second in points allowed (7.0 ppg).
K'Vonte Baker is tops in the NAIA with nine rushing touchdowns on the season and leads the Falcons with 245 rushing yards, while Nick Cordova is right behind 232 rushing yards.
Defensively, Tyler Lane leads the KCAC Bissell Division with 3.5 sacks and Tyson Wallace is first on the Falcons with 18 tackles. Makhi Byrd has also been a force with a team-high five tackles for loss.
Truitt Bosher has made his lone field goal attempt this season and has drilled 26 of his 27 extra-point attempts.
Scouting the Bluejays: The Tabor College Bluejays won 34-9 at Sterling College in their season opener but have dropped two straight, a close 28-21 loss to now No. 20-ranked Southwestern College and then a 49-7 setback at McPherson College last Saturday.
Receiver A.J. King has been the anchor of the Bluejay offense this season, ranking first in the KCAC Kessinger Division with five receiving touchdowns along with 16 catches and 226 yards through the air. Ahmad Bailey has thrown five touchdowns and four interceptions with 371 passing yards for Tabor, with Cameron Collier gaining a team-leading 103 yards on the ground.
Dusty Daigle has made a team-high 26 stops for the Bluejay defense and tied for first on the team with four tackles for loss.
The Series: The Falcons won 24-0 last year at Tabor for their second straight win in the series. Friends is 10-11 overall vs. the Bluejays since 2004, with an even 5-5 mark on the road 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!
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 nine rushing touchdowns along with 245 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 528.3 rushing yards per game, a full 200 yards per game ahead of second place and next week's opponent Evangel 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: 3-0
KCAC Bissell Division: 0-0
Home: 2-0
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: 3-0
Allowing 0-6 points: 1-0
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: 2-0
Opponent scores first: 1-0
Leading at halftime: 3-0
Trailing at halftime: 0-0
Tied at halftime: 0-0
Committing fewer turnovers: 2-0
Committing more turnovers: 1-0
Turnovers are even: 0-0
Leading in total offense: 3-0
Trailing in total offense: 0-0
Winning time of possession: 2-0
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.
Mike Gardner is in his 16th season as head coach of the Tabor College Bluejays, his second stint leading the program after leading the team to consecutive KCAC championships during the 2004 and 2005 seasons. Last season, Gardner guided the Bluejays to a 6-5 record and a 4-1 mark in the KCAC Bissell Division.
A four-time KCAC Coach of the Year, Gardner returned to Hillsboro, Kan. and led Tabor to three straight KCAC regular-season championships from 2015-17, including a co-championship with Sterling College in the 2017 season. In 2019, Gardner was inducted into the Tabor College Athletic Hall of Fame and ranks fifth among active NAIA coaches in career wins.
Up Next: The Falcons will host No. 22-ranked Evangel University next Saturday (Sept. 27) at 6 pm for what appears to be an early season showdown with national implications.
