KCAC

[Football] Football Falcons Conclude Season with 20-13 win at Ottawa as Pharms sets School Sack Mark

Ottawa, Kan. – The Friends University came up with 13 unanswered points to rally for a 20-13 victory at the Ottawa University Braves in their regular season finale today (Nov. 9) in Ottawa, Kan. A highlight of the win was senior defensive lineman Jeremiah Pharms recording 2.5 sacks to give him 14.5 for the season, a school single-season mark. "I'm really proud of how the guys finished today," Friends head coach Dion Meneley said. "They competed the entire game and took control of the game in the second half."The winning sequence occurred when a fumble by Ottawa quarterback Connor Kaegi was picked up by Nick White (JR/Covington, Ga. ) at the Braves 46 yard line and ran all the way for a touchdown to put the Falcons up with 3:11 remaining in the game.The Falcon defense made a big stand on the next drive, holding the Braves on fourth and nine when the line got pressure and Jaelin Smith (JR/Fontana, Calif.) made a tackle for a 10 yard loss.After the Falcons punted, the Braves completed a pass to the four yard line with no time left on the clock, but Sonny Brown (JR/Wichita, Kan.) forced a fumble that was recovered by Drake Damon (JR/Goddard, Kan. ) to seal the win for the Falcons.The Falcons took their first possession of the game and drove deep in Ottawa territory behind a 21 yard run by Marshall McShan (JR/Millville, NJ), a 15 yard keeper by Javonte Stewart and a 14 yard carry by Quincy Brown (SR/Redding, Calif. ). The drive culminated with a 29 yard field goal by Nick Navarro (SO/Wichita, Kan. ) that gave Friends an early 3-0 lead.Ottawa answered with two touchdown passes from Kaegi to Dylan Foos, one a 68-yard throw and the other a four-yarder to put the Braves up 13-3 with eight minutes left in the second quarter.The scored stayed that way until Juan Salazar (JR/Vernon, Texas) scored his first career touchdown, a seven-yard run that capped a 10-play drive to pull the Falcons within three points. The key play of the possession was when Stewart found Tyson Love (JR/Wichita, Kan. ) for a 17-yard completion on third and 11 to the Ottawa 24.Early in the fourth quarter, the Falcons got great field position after Cameron Walker (JR/Salinas, Calif.) recovered a fumbled punt return at the Brave 11 yard line.Navarro then booted his second field goal of the day, a 24 yard attempt that tied the score at 13-13.On the Braves' next possession, Matthew Whittenberger (FR/Canfield, Ohio) and Kevin McKenzie (JR/Keota, Okla.) each recorded a sack on fourth down to give the ball back to the Falcons.McKenzie finished with a career-high 2.5 sacks along with 2.5 tackles for loss for the Falcons. Robert Garcia (JR/Wichita, Kan.) and Jeremiah Pharms (SR/Stockton, Calif. ) also had a sack for the Falcons. The sack gave Pharms 13 for the season, just one shy of the single-season school record.McShan led the Falcons on the ground with 74 yards, while Stewart threw for 109 yards. Love had a team-high three receptions for 33 yards.Kaegi completed 23-of-37 for 261 yards and Dalyn Johnson rushed for a team-best 56 yards. Foos finished with eight catches for 116 yards for Ottawa.Aaron Schoemann paced the Braves defensively with 17 tackles, 5.5 tackles for loss and one sack.The Falcons wrap up the season on a high note with two straight victories to finish the year 3-7 overall, with an identical KCAC mark."This group grew up throughout the season and learned to close out games over the past two weeks," Meneley said. "It's a great way to end the season for our seniors."