The Lowdown: Avila University at No. 9 Friends University

* 2026 Home Opener

Location: Adair-Austin Stadium           

Kickoff: Sept. 5 @ 7:00 PM

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

Live Stats: https://naiastats.prestosports.com/sports/fball/2026-27/boxscores/20260905_vnyg.xml

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

Flying with the Falcons: After a season full of records and milestones, it was only fitting that the 2026 season opener for the No. 9-ranked Friends University Falcons immediately featured a program single-game scoring mark and a new margin of victory record in an 85-10 win at the Bethany College Swedes last Saturday night (Aug. 29). Facing an early 7-0 deficit, Cooper Skrobecki picked up a backward lateral and returned it 76 yards to put the Falcons on the board.  Friends never looked from that point and got a career-high tying 107 rushing yards from Elon Conley in a balanced attack that featured five Falcons rushing for at least 50 yards. In Nolan Ewing's first game as the new defensive coordinator, the Falcon defensive unit produced three interceptions, 15 tackles for loss and four fumble recoveries. Read the full game recap of the Falcons' victory at Bethany HERE!

Scouting the Eagles: The Avila University Eagles started the 2026 season with a 48-7 home loss to the No. 21-ranked McPherson College Bulldogs last Saturday.  The Eagles used two quarterbacks against McPherson, with John Angelo completing 6-of-10 passes and Joseph Vick going 7-of-13 while rushing for a team-leading 22 yards.

The Series: After dropping the first five matchups on record vs. Avila, the Falcons have won three straight in the series, including last year's 62-7 victory on the road. Friends also won 54-20 over Avila in the last meeting in Wichita during the 2023 season.

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!

Two-way dominance: The Falcons paced the NAIA (and all four-year college football) in points per game (54.2 ppg) last season and ranked third in points allowed (13.8 ppg), further solidifying their status as the premier complimentary team in the country. Friends also led the nation in both rushing yards per game (459.9) and rushing yards allowed per game (76.7) in 2025.

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.

Falcons by the Numbers:

Overall: 1-0

KCAC Bissell Division: 0-0

Home: 0-0

Away: 1-0

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: 0-0

Scoring 50 + points: 1-0

Allowing 0-9 points: 0-0

Allowing 10-19 points: 1-0

Allowing 20-29 points: 0-0

Allowing 30-39 points: 0-0

Allowing 40-49 points: 0-0

Allowing 50+ points: 0-0

Scoring first: 0-0

Opponent scores first: 1-0

Leading at halftime: 1-0

Trailing at halftime: 0-0

Tied at halftime: 0-0

Committing fewer turnovers: 1-0

Committing more turnovers: 0-0

Turnovers are even: 0-0

Leading in total offense: 1-0

Trailing in total offense: 0-0

Winning time of possession: 1-0

Losing time of possession: 0-0

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 now 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.

Ed Warinner is in his first season as head coach of the Avila University football program.

Warinner has amassed more than 40 years of NCAA Division I coaching experience, including serving as offensive coordinator for Ohio State University's 2014 National Championship team.

No stranger to the area, Warinner was also the assistant coach and offensive coordinator for the University of Kansas and was part of KU's 2008 Orange Bowl win over Virginia Tech. Warinner helped the Jayhawks average a program record 479.8 yards per game.

Following his tenure in Kansas, Warinner went to the University of Notre Dame and served as the team's offensive line coach and run game coordinator.

Warinner also has coaching stops at Michigan State, Illinois, Minnesota, Michigan and Florida Atlantic along with 13 seasons as an assistant coach at the United States Military Academy West Point and three seasons at the Air Force Academy.

Up Next: The Falcons will hit the road and play at Bethel College on Saturday (Sept. 12) at 6 pm in North Newton, Kan.