WARRIORS DAMPEN HOME OPENER FOR BULLDOGS!
Story comes for the McPherson Sports Information Department
(Post is SPONSORED BY CROSSDOVE PHOTOGRAPHY)
The McPherson College football team fell to Sterling College in its home opener Saturday night to the Sterling College Warrior 29-19.
Much of Saturday’s outcome came down to their inability at times to stop the Warriors’ running game which consisted of a lot of draws and keepers by the SC quarterback, who finished with 109 yards on 19 carries and two rushing touchdowns. He also had 113 yards through the air on 23 attempts. The Bulldogs also struggled to execute on PATs, missing one kick and fumbling on a failed two-point conversion that the Warriors picked up and went 96 yards the other way for a touchdown.
Statistically the Bulldogs didn’t have a bad night. On defense they gave up a total of 361 yards, while on the other side of the ball, they weren’t far off that number with 355. The Bulldog offense had 158 yards from scrimmage rushing the ball, and another 197 through the air.
Individually, Bailey Sites (So. Spearville, Kan.) and Kollin Goering (So. McPherson, Kan.), led the defense, each with seven tackles. Patrick Calip, Sr. Tulsa, Okla.), picked up the only turnover for the Bulldogs, picking off a pass from the Warriors’ quarterback in the second quarter. Ed Crouch (Sr. Miami Gardens, Fla.), threw for 197 yards, going 20 for 37 with zero interceptions. Crouch also led the way on the ground, racking up 147 yards on 17 attempts.
During halftime, the Bulldogs honored former Bulldog student manager Blake Reed, who died in 2010 from complications from Duchenne muscular dystrophy, by naming the 2019 Mac2Mac scholarship recipient. This year’s recipient is Ben Nikkel (Sol McPherson, Kan.), who against the Warriors on Saturday night finished with 10 catches for 124 yards and two touchdowns.
Coach Ficus succinctly summed up the game saying, “The effort is great and the attention to detail must get better. The guys have to stick together and keep moving in the direction that we set.”
Next up for the Bulldogs is a matchup next Saturday, on the road at Bethel College. The Threshers moved to 2-0 with a 54-34-win Saturday night on the road at Avila University. Next Saturday’s kick off in North Newton is slated for 6:00 pm.
BULLDOG VS. STERLING COLLEGE STATS/SCORING:
Team Stats:
Sterling College Bulldogs
First Downs 19 16
Rushing Yards 248 158
Passing Yards 113 197
Total Offensive Yards 361 355
Penalty Yards 8-60 6-45
Time of Possession 32:05 35:28
SCORING:
Sterling College 14 9 3 3 = 29
Bulldogs 0 19 0 0 = 19
1st Quarter:
Sterling College – Cedrick Phillips 18-yard run (Peter Slysko kick) 7-0
Sterling College – Eric Butler 23-yard pass from Phillips (Slysko kick) 14-0
2nd Quarter:
BULLDOGS – Ed Crouch 16-yard run (Kick failed) 14-6
BULLDOGS – Ben Nikkel 26-yard pass from Crouch (Cole Schroeder kick) 16-13
Sterling College – Phillips 10-yard run (Slysko kick) 23-13
BULLDOGS – Nikkel 28-yard pass from Crouch (Kick failed) 23-19
3rd Quarter:
Sterling College – Slysko 26-yard field goal 26-19
4th Quarter:
Sterling College – Slysko 23-yard field goal 29-19
BULLDOG INDIVIDUAL STATS:
Passing (Comp-Atts-Yds-Int): Ed Crouch 20-37-197-2
Rushing (Atts-Yds): Ed Crouch 17-160; Corey Davis 4-12; Quashad Washington 1-0
Receiving (Rec-Yds): Ben Nikkel 10-124; Terrius Scroggins 2-26; Joseph Robben 2-20; Corey Davis 4-12; Ryan Wallace 1-8; Tevin Nash 1-7
Defense (Tackles-Solo-Asst-TFL-Sacks): Brett Sykes 7-5-1-0-0; Kollin Goering 7-6-1-.5-0; Patrick Calip 6-3-3-2.5-0; Joey Hale 6-4-2-0-0; Rinaldo Gagiano 5-3-2-1-0; Kaden Tichenor 5-3-2-0-0; Bailey Sites 4-3-1-0-0; Zane Hickey 4-0-4-.5-0; Joseph Hunter 3-2-1-0-0; Thomas Lanktree 3-0-3-0-0; Cameron Jones 2-1-1-0-0; Jeremiah Hawkins 2-1-1-0-0; Benjamin Bannister 2-1-1-1-0; Kendryk Rankin 2-1-1-0-0; Broderick Bankston 2-1-1-.5-0; Chandler Tisby 2-1-1-.5-0; Brandon Wright 1-1-0-0-0; Johnathan Brown 1-1-0-0-0; Bryce Snodgrass 1-1-0-0-0; Drew Labertew 1-1-0-0-0; Anthony Bigpond 1-0-1-0-0; Kale Mog 1-0-1-.5-0; Cole Schroeder 1-1-0-0-0
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