BULLDOGS EARN 1ST WIN OF 2019!!
(A compiled/edited post from report/stats by McPherson College Sports Information Department)
(Photo used was taken by Micah Gilbert)
(Post is SPONSORED by CrossDove Photography)
The McPherson College football team got the proverbial monkey off its back on Saturday night by picking up their first win of the season at home against Tabor College.
On a cool, but humid, fall night that saw a little bit of rain and some fog, the Bulldogs amassed 400 yards of total offense with 342 of those yards coming on the ground from a punishing rushing attack. The Bulldogs, who have been a more pass heavy team thus far this season, had only 58 yards through the air on 21 pass attempts.
On the defensive side of the ball, the Bulldogs held the Bluejays to 351 yards from scrimmage on 71 offensive plays. They recorded six tackles for a loss and two quarterback sacks while also forcing the Bluejays to cough up the ball twice, once on an interception and the other on a fumble.
The coaches will say that this was team win, and it absolutely was. Many different players contributed in some way or another, some that show up in the box score, and others in ways that don’t make the stat sheet. But there were a couple of individuals who had monster games as well, such a LeMeshio Hill, a junior from Rialto, California, on the offensive side of the ball at running back. Hill’s breakout game came by carrying the ball 20 times and netting 127 yards while scoring a pair of touchdowns. His longest run of the night came in the second quarter on his first touchdown when he scored from 31 yards out, got turned around at the 10-yard line and ended the play by running backwards into the end zone for the score.
On defense, junior and Hutchinson native Joey Hale wreaked havoc from his defensive line position, finishing the night with nine tackles, a sack, a forced fumble, and an interception which he returned 34 yards. The interception took place on a screen pass up the middle that Tabor had run earlier in the night for a nice gain, only this time Hale sniffed it out and as the Tabor quarterback tried to find his running back in the middle, Hale jumped and snagged the ball out of the air. Hale’s sack/forced fumble came on a huge fourth-down play with just a minute and thirty-six seconds left in the game, essentially sealing the win for the Bulldogs. Patrick Calip and Bailey Sites also had big defensive games with 15 and 10 tackles respectively.
For Coach Jeremiah Fiscus, this was his first win as a collegiate head coach and he summed up the evening by saying, “It was a good team win. The kids played hard, but we need to play smarter and clean up the penalties (Bulldogs were penalized nine times for 97 yards), but overall, I am very proud of the kids.”
With the win, the Bulldogs are now 1-3 overall on the season and 1-2 in KCAC play. They will take the field again next Saturday on the road when they play and afternoon game against Friends University. Kickoff is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. in Wichita.
McPHERSON COLLEGE @ TABOR COLLEGE:
TEAM STATS:
Tabor College BULLDOGS
First Downs 22 20
Total Yards (Plays-Yds) 351 391
Passing (Comp-Atts-Yds-Tds-Int) 246 58
Rushing (Atts-Yds-Tds) 105 333
Penalties (#-Yds) 6-50 9-87
Time of Possession 30:46 32:59
SCORING:
Tabor College 0 0 0 15 = 15
BULLDOGS 0 7 10 6 = 23
2ND Quarter:
BULLDOGS – LaMeshio Hill on a 31-yard run (Cole Schroeder Kick) 0-7
3rd Quarter:
BULLDOGS – Ed Crouch on a 9-yard run (Schroeder Kick) 0-14
BULLDOGS – Schroeder on a 28-yard field goal 0-17
4TH Quarter:
Tabor College – Scored on a 45-yard pass play (Kick was good) 7-17
BULLDOGS – Hill on a 24-yard run (Kick failed) 7-23
Tabor College – Scored on a 2-yard run (2-point conversion was good) 15-23
BULLDOG INDIVIDUAL STATS LEADERS:
Rushing (atts-yds-tds): LaMeshio Hill 20-127-2; Ed Crouch 10-98-1; Corey Davis 10-84-0;
Passing (comp-atts-yds-tds-int): Ed Crouch 9-21-58-0-0;
Receiving (rec-yds-tds): Tevin Nash 2-24-0; Matari Bodie Jr. 2-15-0; Ben Nikkel 3-11-0;
Defense (tackles-sacks-tfl): Patrick Calip 15-1-2; Bailey Sites 10-0-0; Joey Hale 9-1-1;
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