KCAC

[Football] Football Gameday Preview: Falcons Kick Off Home Slate Tomorrow Night vs. Avila

The Lowdown: Avila University at Friends UniversityLocation: Adair-Austin Stadium, Wichita, Kan.Kickoff: Sept. 26, 7:00 pmLive Broadcast: https://portal.stretchinternet.com/friends/Flying with the Falcons: The Friends University Falcons jumped into the win column thanks to a stout defensive performance and a timely offensive attack that resulted in a 17-7 victory at the Tabor College Bluejays last Saturday night (Sept. 19) in Hillsboro, Kan.Junior linebacker Jason Weah (JR/Madison, Wis. ) earned KCAC Defensive Player of the Week honors in part due to a pair of clutch plays, including knocking down a fourth and five play that led to the Falcons' 13 play, 76 yard scoring drive that put the game away.Quarterback Dan Dawdy (SR/Haysville, Kan.) has thrown for 363 yards and a pair of touchdowns for the 1-1 Falcons, while Juan Salazar (SR/Vernon, Texas) has rushed for a team-best 184 yards that ranks second in the KCAC. Cade Nagy (SO/Broken Arrow, Okla. ) is tops in the league in receptions (15) along with a team-high 117 yards through the air.Defensively, David Akao (JR/Wichita, Kan.) leads five Falcons in double-figure tackling with 16 stops and also has one sack. Robert Garcia (SR/Wichita, Kan.) leads the team with three tackles for loss and Christian Ryan (SR/Grapevine, Texas) is tied for the conference lead with two interceptions on the young season.Scouting the Eagles: The Avila University Eagles are coming off a 34-24 setback at the Bethel College Threshers in their opening tilt of the 2020 season.Tristan Askan completed 21-of-35 for 261 yards for Avila with a touchdown and two interceptions for Avila, with Devin Senerius catching seven of those passes for 113 yards. Malik Nesbitt led the Eagles with 65 yards on the ground at Bethel and Sean Hunt had a team-best 11 tackles.Quoting Head Coach Dion Meneley:"We are excited to get back home after two road games to start the season.  Avila is a good team that will play extremely hard and we must bring more intensity to the game than they do. Offensively, we will have to manage the barrage of pressure they like to bring and establish our run game early.  We have done a relatively good job protecting the football through the first two weeks and winning the turnover battle will be key again this week.""Defensively, we must stop their running game and force them to be one dimensional.  They have two good quarterbacks that have different skill sets, and we need to keep them from getting comfortable in the pocket.  As always, special teams play has to be sound as we try to make plays to change field position and momentum during the game.  Our kids are excited to play and we look forward to the challenges Avila presents."The Series: This is the first trip to Wichita for Avila University since joining the KCAC for the 2018 season.  The Eagles have bested the Falcons both times in Kansas City, including slipping by with a 26-20 win last year.  Ticket Information: Tickets for Saturday night's home game vs. Avila University is available at the following link and must be purchased online.  Face coverings will also be required for entrance into the stadium. https://www.friendsathletics.com/ticketingMammoth Sports Construction: We are proud to have Mammoth Sports Construction as an official sponsor of Friends University Football this season! For more info on their services, click HERE to visit their official website.Getting Defensive: Junior linebacker Jason Weah powered the Friends University Falcons' defensive performance Saturday night in defeating the Tabor College Bluejays 17-7 in Hillsboro, Kan. Weah recorded four tackles in the win, but his contributions went far beyond the box score. He first stopped the Bluejay running back in his tracks for a one-yard loss on fourth and one in the opening quarter. Weah then broke up a fourth and five pass in the fourth quarter to set up the Falcons' game-clinching drive.The Madison, Wisc. native was a key component of a defensive unit that helped limit Tabor to only 283 total yards.Weah is third on the team with 14 tackles on the season.Falcons by the Numbers:When scoring:0-6 points: 0-07-13 points: 0-014-20 points: 1-121-27 points: 0-028 points+: 0-0When allowing:0-6 points: 0-07-13 points: 1-014-20 points: 0-021-27 points: 0-028 points+: 0-1When leading at halftime: 1-0When trailing at halftime: 0-1When tied at halftime: 0-0When winning the turnover battle: 0-1When losing the turnover battle: 1-0The Coaches:Dion Meneley is entering his fourth season as head coach of the Friends University football program after a brief stint as the Falcon's defensive coordinator when he was originally hired by the university in 2017.For the second straight season, Meneley's Falcons finished the year strong, winning their final two games after beginning the season with seven losses in their first eight games.Meneley coached 10 All-KCAC performers last season, including unanimous first-team senior defensive lineman Jeremiah Pharms, who notched a single-season record 14.5 sacks. Pharms also earned first-team AFCA-NAIA and Associated Press NAIA All-America honors last season.Off the field, Meneley's junior defensive lineman, Kevin McKenzie (SR/Keota, Okla.), received the prestigious KCAC Male Student-Athlete Champion of Character award.After starting last season 0-6 in 2018, Meneley helped the Falcons finish strong with three wins in their last five outings.In his first season at the helm, Meneley oversaw a Falcons' defensive unit that featured the KCAC Defensive Player of the Year, Tim Hamilton in his debut season.Overall, the Falcons led the KCAC in sacks (26.5), yards allowed per game (300.9) campaign, (112.5) and opponent first downs (181) in the 2017 campaign.  The Falcons were also a close second in the league in points allowed per game (22.8 ppg).Meneley helped establish a prowess in the classroom, as 11 Falcons earned KCAC Scholar Athlete honors, eight were on the National Football Foundation Hampshire Honor Society list and five received NAIA Scholar Athlete recognition. The Falcons' Hampshire Honor Society honorees ranked second among NAIA schools, behind only Peru State's nine recipients.Prior to coming to Friends, Meneley was in his fifth season at Hutchinson Community College as the assistant head coach, defensive coordinator and linebackers coach. In his first four seasons at Hutchinson, Meneley's defenses produced six NJCAA All-Americans and 31 all-Jayhawk Conference performers. In 2012, the Blue Dragons led the Jayhawk conference in pass defense scoring, they were second in total defense and second in rush defense.In 2014, Meneley's defense was one of the best in the Jayhawk Conference. The 2014 Blue Dragons captured the program's first conference title and had its highest final national ranking of No. 4 after a record 11-1 season.A native of Topeka, Meneley came to Hutchinson with experience at the NAIA and NCAA Division ll levels. Before Hutchinson, Meneley was an assistant coach at Fort Hays State University where he was the defensive coordinator for the Tigers in 2011. He also coached the defensive line. Before that, he spent four seasons as the defensive coordinator at Southwestern College in Winfield.Meneley was a two-time All-MIAA selection at outside linebacker and one-time All-MIAA selection at defensive end for Pittsburg State. During his playing career, he was a part of three MIAA championships and the 1995 team that finished as the NCAA Division ll runner-up. He was a team captain for the Gorillas in 1999.He received his bachelor's degree in general studies from Pittsburg State University and his master's degree in leadership from Southwestern College.Meneley and his wife Misti have been married for six years and currently reside in Derby, Kan.Marc Benavidez is in his third season as head coach of the Avila University Eagles. This is his ninth year overall on the coaching staff and he was also a four-year letterwinner for Avila. In his two seasons at the helm which coincides with the Eagles' first two seasons in the KCAC, Benavidez has guided the Eagles to identical 7-3 overall and league marks.     Up Next: The Falcons will be at McPherson College on Oct. 3, with kickoff set for 5:30 pm in McPherson, Kan.