KCAC

[Football] Football Falcons Ride Career Rushing Performance from Clowdus to First Win

WICHITA, Kan. – Friends University running back Laken Clowdus (FR/Barlesville, Okla.) rushed for career-highs of 196 yards and four touchdowns to lead the Falcons to their first victory of the season, a 35-13 win over the Bethany College Swedes today (Oct. 30) at Adair-Austin Stadium.Clowdus was involved from the outset, rushing for all 38 yards of the Falcons' first possession of the game and capped it with a four-yard score less than three minutes into the contest.Following another three and out forced by the Falcon D, Clowdus capped off a nine-play, 60 yard drive with a three-yard touchdown scamper that increased the lead up to 14-0 with still 7:30 left in the opening quarter.Quarterback Joshua Morris (SO/Mt. Pleasant, Texas) also had a 10-yard rush and then a 17-yard completion to Kevin Green (FR/Waxahachie, Texas) to help the Falcons work out of a first and 20 on the drive.The Falcons defense continued to stand strong with another three and out by the Bethany offense that set up good field position at the Swedes 37 yard line.Astin Anderson (SO/Oklahoma City, Okla.) got work on the ensuing possession and rushed for 12 yards before Morris found the end zone with a 20-yard run to give the Falcons a commanding 21-0 lead at the 4:46 mark of the first period.Friends carried that three-possession edge through the end of the first half until a turnover on the opening kickoff of the second half led to a two-yard touchdown by J.J. Allen to put the Swedes on the board.But the Falcons had a quick response, as a 14-yard pass from Morris to Cade Nagy (SO/Broken Arrow, Okla.) helped set up Clowdus's third touchdown run, a 26 yard score that stretched the advantage back to 28-7.Clowdus then capped his career performance with a 53-yard scoring burst with 2:16 left in the third quarter.With 2:13 remaining in the game, Nolan Ewing (FR/Spring Hill, Kan.) put an exclamation point on the Falcons' victory by snagging his first career interception."I couldn't be happier for this group of young men," said Friends interim head coach Matt Byers. "They have battled through a lot this season and have never given up.  This is one of the best group of kids to be a part of and it's truly a blessing to coach these guys. These kids deserve this and more importantly it was amazing to have our first win be at home in front of a great crowd!"Clowdus averaged a solid 7.8 yards per attempt in gaining his career-high 196 yards. Morris threw for 67 yards and rushed for 38 more, with Mike Van Guilder gaining 30 yards on four attempts and Anderson running for 21 yards.Cooper Christian (FR/Nowata, Okla.) paced the Falcons with two catches for 22 yards.Nick Truelove passed for 200 yards for Bethany, while Allen had 160 rushing yards and two touchdowns, including a 57-yard score. R.J. Haberer caught two passes for 64 yards.Jagger Blubaugh (SO/Wichita, Kan.) led the Falcons defense with 11 tackles and Cam'ron Williamson (FR/Palm Bay, Fla.) had 1.5 sacks. Marco Torres (FR/Laredo, Tex.) also had a sack that concluded the first half on a first and goal opportunity for the Swedes.The Falcons will next play at No. 15-ranked Southwestern College next Saturday (Nov. 6) at 1 pm in Winfield, Kan.