North Newton, Kan. — The No. 9-ranked Friends University Falcons' slow starts through the first two games this season were a thing of the past tonight (Sept. 12), as they exploded for 41 points in the first quarter on the way to an 83-24 thumping of the Bethel College Threshers in North Newton, Kan.
The Falcons' first quarter avalanche was executed from all angles, featuring two rushing touchdowns, two passing scores and a pair of defensive touchdowns.
Elon Conley got the night started with a 31-yard scoring run less than four minutes into the game. On the very next possession,
Mikah Rocco picked off a pass and returned it 30 yards to the end zone to make it 14-0 with still 10:15 left in the opening quarter.
It was then
Walker Overman getting things cranked up in the passing game, hitting
Samuel Becker for a 34-yard touchdown and then
DJ Pearson for a 29-yard strike to push the lead up to 27-0.
Cale Milleson then accounted for the Falcons' second defensive score of the quarter, recovering a fumble following a sack by
Tyson Wallace at the 3:29 mark.
With 17 seconds left in the opening period,
Joey Millspaugh got free for a 63-yard scoring burst to put a loud exclamation point on the Falcons' onslaught.
The Overman and Pearson connection was just getting warmed up, as the duo teamed up for another touchdown early in the second quarter, this time a 49-yard strike with 9:08 left in the first half
A one-yard rushing score by
Michael Lopez with 2:21 remaining in the second quarter made it 55-7 Falcons heading into the halftime break.
The versatile Lopez picked right back up following his one-yard score and returned the opening kick of the second half 90 yards for a touchdown.
It would then be
DJ Dingle catching fire in the second half, throwing three touchdown passes to
Brody Pearson (28 yards),
Nick Wineland (74 yards) and Millspaugh (46 yards).
"Our guys have been really intentional in practice about starting well, so I thought it was awesome tonight to go out on the road really focused and try to put their flame out, especially on the road at a place like Bethel," said Friends football head coach
Terry Harrison.
The Falcons produced in multiple phases, rushing for 341 yards and three touchdowns while completing 7 of 10 passes for 271 yards and six touchdowns, the most single game passing yards and touchdowns of the Harrison era.
The defense contributed four sacks and a fumble recovery while holding the Threshers to 94 rushing yards.
Millspaugh rushed for a career-high 139 yards and a touchdown on six carries and added a 46-yard touchdown reception. Overman completed 3 of 5 passes for 112 yards and three touchdowns without an interception, while Dingle completed 4 of 5 passes for 159 yards and also had three touchdown passes.
DJ Pearson caught three passes for 89 yards and two touchdowns.
"I think we're coming together as a team, we've done a lot at practice and had a long summer where we worked together so it's finally just coming together as a team," Overman stated on how he's getting more comfortable as the team's starting quarterback.
Brady Norman completed 19 of 32 passes for 266 yards and two touchdowns for Bethel. Josiah Buller caught six passes for 120 yards and a touchdown. Kenyon Mcmillan added five receptions for 97 yards and a touchdown for the Threshers.
Logan Morley and Wallace each led the Falcons with eight tackles, with Wallace also registering a sack and two tackles for loss. The Falcons also got 1.5 sacks from
Leshaon Davis, one sack from
Jake Lucky and a half sack by
Kaleb Wagenblast.
"I think we're getting better each week, we're practicing harder and putting things into place and putting pieces in, especially with injuries we're having younger guys stepping up and doing a really good job," said Wallace.
Bray Alexander had a team-leading 11 tackles for the Threshers.
The Falcons, now 3-0 on the season, will next return home to host Tabor College Saturday evening (Sept. 19) at 6 pm at Adair-Austin Stadium.
