The Lowdown: Friends University at Kansas Wesleyan University

Location: Salina, Kan.              

Kickoff: Oct. 31 @ 1 PM

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Flying with the Falcons (7-1 1-1 KCAC Bissell): Turnovers helped put the Friends University Falcons into an early 17-0 hole that proved to be too much to overcome in a 40-21 setback to the Southwestern College Moundbuilders last Saturday (Oct. 24) that left their record at 7-1 overall and 1-1 in the KCAC Bissell Division. It was nearly two years to the day of the Falcons' last KCAC loss, a 24-21 setback at home to Evangel University on Oct. 26, 2024. Read the full game recap of the Falcons' loss to Southwestern HERE.

Elon Conley (521 yards), E'derian Sykes (495 yards), Walker Overman (475 yards), Michael Lopez (455 yards), Joey Millspaugh (454 yards) and Nick Cordova (382 yards) have each surpassed the 300-yard rushing mark to lead an extremely balanced Falcon ground attack this season that also features seven rushers with at least 200 yards on the ground.

Overman has thrown eight touchdown passes on the season with 439 yards. DJ Dingle has also seen action and has passed for five touchdowns and 237 yards. DJ Pearson leads the Falcon receiving corps with 161 yards and five receptions, with four of those catches going for touchdowns.  Samuel Becker is second on the Falcons with three receiving touchdowns and has amassed 115 receiving yards on the season.

Tyson Wallace leads the Falcon defense in both tackles (60) and tackles for loss (9.5) this season. Cale Milleson has recorded a team-high five sacks, with Zamarion Manuel, Cooper Skrobecki and Mikah Rocco each producing two interceptions.

The Falcons are currently second in the NAIA in points per game (58.1) and tops in rushing yards per game (420.3).  Defensively, the Falcons are tied for second in both fumble recoveries (12) and defensive touchdowns (five) and rank fourth in tackles for loss (71). Individually, Michael Lopez is first in the NAIA in both kick return average (41.9) and punt return average (21.2) and fourth in all-purpose yards (1313, with Connor Tillman (67) ranking fifth in kicking points.

Scouting the Coyotes (6-2, 2-0 KCAC Bissell): The Kansas Wesleyan University Coyotes are 6-2 overall and have won their first two KCAC Bissell Division games over Saint Mary and at Sterling.

The Coyotes have played multiple quarterbacks this season, with Caleb Deal (eight) and Wyatt Oak (six) leading the way in games played. Deal has thrown for 929 yards with nine touchdown passes and four rushing scores, including the go-ahead touchdown with 38 seconds left in a 24-14 win at Sterling last Saturday. Oak has passed for 489 yards and three scores. Deal is also pacing a balanced rushing attack with 483 yards, followed by Sam Mitchum's 363 yards on the ground. Troy Sylve has a team-high eight rushing touchdowns for KWU.  Will Wilcox (362 yards) and Kyler Brown (304 yards) are tops in receiving yards, with Kevo Taylor and Max Wilson each catching a team-high four touchdowns on the season.

Gavin Skerik leads the KWU defense with 60 tackles, while Myles Elam has produced team-leading totals in sacks (7.5) and tackles for loss (16.0). Taylor Collins and Yamnoel Oyola-Bernier have each pulled in four interceptions for the Coyotes.

The Series: The Falcons routed the Coyotes 63-6 last year at Equity Bank Park and have now won two straight after KWU had won the previous nine meetings. Friends is 8-14 overall vs. Kansas Wesleyan since 2004 and 5-6 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!

Disruptive Defenses: The matchup between the Falcons and Coyotes will feature a pair of defensive units that can score while disrupting the opposing offense's gameplan.  The Coyotes lead the NAIA with six defensive touchdowns on the season, followed by the Falcons tied for second with five defensive scores. Kansas Wesleyan (73) and Friends (71) also rank third and fourth, respectively in tackles for loss.

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 a NAIA-leading 420.3 yards per game on the ground.

Falcons by the Numbers:

Overall: 7-1

KCAC Bissell Division: 1-1

Home: 3-1

Away: 4-0

The Falcons record when …

Scoring 0-9 points: 0-0

Scoring 10-19 points: 0-0

Scoring 20-29 points: 0-1

Scoring 30-39 points: 0-0

Scoring 40-49 points: 2-0

Scoring 50 + points: 5-0

Allowing 0-9 points: 0-0

Allowing 10-19 points: 3-0

Allowing 20-29 points: 3-0

Allowing 30-39 points: 0-0

Allowing 40-49 points: 1-1

Allowing 50+ points: 0-0

Scoring first: 4-0

Opponent scores first: 3-1

Leading at halftime: 7-0

Trailing at halftime: 0-1

Tied at halftime: 0-0

Committing fewer turnovers: 5-0

Committing more turnovers: 0-1

Turnovers are even: 2-0

Leading in total offense: 7-0

Trailing in total offense: 0-1

Winning time of possession: 6-0

Losing time of possession: 1-1

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.

Matt Middleton is in his second season as head coach of the Kansas Wesleyan University Coyotes and also serves as the school's Interim Athletic Director. In his first season with the Coyotes, Middleton led the team to a 7-4 overall record and a 3-2 mark in the KCAC Bissell Division.

Before arriving at KWU, Middleton served two seasons at NCAA D-II Harding University as the team's quarterbacks and fullbacks coach. Harding enjoyed immense success with Middleton on the staff, going 15-0 and winning the NCAA D-II National Championship in 2023.

Middleton also has coaching stops at NCAA FBS Louisiana Tech University, a pair of NCAA D-II programs in the University of Arkansas-Monticello and Southern Arkansas University, and NCAA FCS member University of Central Arkansas.

Up Next: The Falcons will play next Saturday at Sterling College for their final regular season road game. Kickoff will be at 1 pm in Sterling, Kan.