The Lowdown: Ottawa University at No. 8 Friends University

Location: Adair-Austin Stadium             

Kickoff: Oct. 3 @ 1 PM

Live Stream: https://kcacnetwork.com/friends/

Live Stats: https://naiastats.prestosports.com/sports/fball/2026-27/conf/KCAC_-_Bissell/boxscores/20261003_osc7.xml

Tickets: https://tickets.friendsathletics.com/section/football-jc0q

Flying with the Falcons: The No. 8-ranked Friends University Falcons jumped out to a 28-3 lead and went on to record a big 59-24 victory at then No. 24-ranked Evangel University in an NAIA Top 25 clash in Nixa, Mo. last Saturday (Sept. 26). The Falcons rushed for 444 yards in the win, with Joey Millspaugh (107 yards), E'derian Sykes (105 yards) and Walker Overman (101 yards) each eclipsing the 100-yard rushing mark. The defense also registered five sacks in the victory. Read the full game recap of the Falcons' victory at Evangel HERE!

Elon Conley (324 yards), Nick Cordova (315 yards), E'derian Sykes (315 yards) and Joey Millspaugh have each surpassed the 300-yard rushing mark to lead an extremely balanced Falcon ground attack this season that now features seven rushers with at least 200 yards on the ground.

Walker Overman and DJ Dingle have each thrown for five touchdowns this season, with Dingle passing for 237 yards and Overman throwing for 201 yards. DJ Pearson (three receptions, 89 yards) and Kade Clifton (three receptions, 86 yards) have paced the Falcon receiving corps this season, with Samuel Becker catching a team-best three touchdowns.

Tyson Wallace (34 tackles) and Cooper Skrobecki (30 tackles) are the Falcons' leading tacklers on defense, with Skrobecki also leading the team with two interceptions. Cale Milleson has a team-high 3.5 sacks on the season and Kevin Myers leads the unit with seven tackles for loss.

Through four games, the Falcons are tops in the NAIA in points per game (66.0) and rushing yards per game (448.8). Defensively, the Falcons are pacing the NAIA in fumble recoveries (eight) and are tied for first in defensive touchdowns (four) and tackles for loss (53).

Scouting the Braves: The Ottawa University Braves are 3-2 this season after literally falling one yard short of upsetting No. 15-ranked McPherson College at home last Saturday. The Braves had it fourth and goal at the McPherson two-yard line, but Rowdy Keith was stopped at the one-yard line as the Bulldogs held on for the 14-10 win.

Luke Edwards and Elijah Ribaudo have each saw time at quarterback this season, with Edwards registering 706 passing yards and eight touchdowns and Ribaudo recording four touchdown passes and 581 yards through the air.

Malakai Hudson has rushed for a team-high 144 yards, while Amiri Mumba has accumulated 116 yards on the ground with a team-leading five touchdowns. The Braves have a trio of leading receivers in Jayden Johnson (340 yards, four touchdowns), De'Anthony Curtis (300 yards, two touchdowns) and AJ Moore (265 yards, three touchdowns).

Cade Monroe leads the Braves in tackles (42) and Gabe Watson has recorded a team-high two sacks on the season.

The Series: The Falcons bested the Braves 28-7 on the road last year and have now won three straight in the series following a three-game losing streak. Friends is 10-12 vs. Ottawa overall since 2004 with a 3-7 mark in Wichita during that stretch.

Dondlinger Construction: We are proud to have Dondlinger Construction as a top sponsor of Friends University Athletics this season!  Click HERE to visit their official website and learn more on the services Dondlinger can offer!

Homecoming Halftime: In addition to the regular Homecoming festivities at halftime, the four Friends University Athletic Hall of Fame inductees (Robin Johnson, Emma Koepp, Jacob Bruster and Brad Peterson and the 2011-12 Falcon Track & Field & Cross Country teams) will be recognized. And if you're watching from home, tune in to hear the "Voice of the Falcons" Pat Strathman conduct a special interview with Friends University President Dr. Amy Bragg Carey!

Featured Falcon: Click HERE for a feature story on Falcon defensive back and Derby native Brock Zerger!

Balancing Act: The Falcons have consistently had success running the football under head coach Terry Harrison and they're off and running again this season with an extremely balanced attack on the ground that features seven rushers with at least 200 yards.

Highest Scoring Team in the Land: The Falcons are averaging an NAIA-leading 66.0 points per game this season. The 66 points per game is also currently second in all of College Football, trailing only NCAA D-III's Lake Forest (69.3 ppg).

Student-athlete success: The NAIA released their 2025-26 Scholar Team awards on Sept. 15 as part of its annual NAIA National Awards Day. Every Falcon sport that was eligible earned the award, with the criteria being a minimum 3.0 team grade-point average. (Men's and Women's Powerlifting are not recognized as NAIA sports). Read the full release HERE!

Rushing to More History: The Falcons accumulated a NAIA single-season record 5,351 rushing yards in 2024 under head coach Terry Harrison's pristine flexbone offensive system only to break their own mark last season with 5,979 rushing yards.

Rush Hour: The Falcons have led the NAIA in rushing in all four years of head coach Terry's Harrison's tenure. This rushing success particularly correlates with Harrison, as he's now coached the last seven NAIA team leaders in rushing (his last three years at Bethel and all four seasons at Friends). The Falcons are at it again this season with an NAIA-leading 448.8 yards per game on the ground.

Falcons by the Numbers:

Overall: 5-0

KCAC Bissell Division: 0-0

Home: 2-0

Away: 3-0

The Falcons record when …

Scoring 0-9 points: 0-0

Scoring 10-19 points: 0-0

Scoring 20-29 points: 0-0

Scoring 30-39 points: 0-0

Scoring 40-49 points: 1-0

Scoring 50 + points: 4-0

Allowing 0-9 points: 0-0

Allowing 10-19 points: 3-0

Allowing 20-29 points: 2-0

Allowing 30-39 points: 0-0

Allowing 40-49 points: 0-0

Allowing 50+ points: 0-0

Scoring first: 4-0

Opponent scores first: 1-0

Leading at halftime: 5-0

Trailing at halftime: 0-0

Tied at halftime: 0-0

Committing fewer turnovers: 4-0

Committing more turnovers: 0-0

Turnovers are even: 1-0

Leading in total offense: 5-0

Trailing in total offense: 0-0

Winning time of possession: 4-0

Losing time of possession: 1-0

The Coaches:

Terry Harrison enters his fifth season as the Friends University head football coach and has transformed the Falcons into a legitimate national contender and a consistent conference title threat.

Harrison appeared to be the perfect choice to lead the Falcon program and has done nothing to change that perception in now his fifth season at the helm.

He has earned consecutive KCAC Coach of the Year honors after guiding the Falcons to back-to-back conference titles and a program-record 12 wins in 2025.

This past season saw the Falcons lead all four-year college football in points per game (54.2 ppg) and advance to the NAIA FCS quarterfinal round for the first time in program history.

In his four seasons thus far, Harrison has overseen the NAIA's top rushing offense in total yards and yards per game. The Falcons also broke their own NAIA single-season rushing record with 5,979 rushing yards last season.

Individual players continued to thrive under Harrison's tutelage, with quarterback K'Vonte Baker winning his third KCAC Player of the Year award last year and Kyree Watkins being named the KCAC Offensive Lineman of the Year. 

In 2024, 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, Baker was named the KCAC Kessinger Division Co-Offensive Player of the Year and offensive lineman 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.

The 2023 season saw Harrison guide the Falcons to their first winning record since 2014 (9-2) and coach 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.

Nick Davis is in his fifth season as head coach of the Ottawa University football program following a one-year tenure as the team's defensive coordinator. Last season, the Braves finished second in the KCAC Kessinger Division with a 4-1 mark along with a 6-5 overall record.

In 2023, Davis guided the Braves to the Bissel Division championship for the program's first NAIA Football Championship Series appearance since 2014.

Prior to arriving at Ottawa, Davis was a coach on the Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology staff for 10 seasons. Davis was a defensive coordinator for six seasons before being promoted to assistant head coach and recruiting coordinator for the 2018 season.

Davis is no stranger to Ottawa, having served as a graduate assistant coach for the Braves from 2010-11.

Up Next: The Falcons will have a bye week before a showdown at No. 15-ranked McPherson College looms in the KCAC Bissell Division opener on Oct. 17 in McPherson, Kan.