KCAC

[Football] No. 13 Southwestern pulls away in second half for win over Football Falcons

Winfield, Kan. – The Friends University Falcons hung tough on the road at the No. 13-ranked Southwestern College Moundbuilders through the majority of three quarters, but the Builders eventually pulled away for a 38-17 win today (Nov. 6) in Winfield, Kan.The Builders opened the scoring on their first drive following a Falcon interception with a 16-yard touchdown from Thomas Yam to Andre Jones.But the next 10 points belonged to the Falcons, starting with a career-long 45-yard field goal by Bobby Schmidt (JR/Sapulpa, Okla.) that capped a 14 play, 47-yard drive.The Falcons then recovered a muffed punt early in the second quarter and promptly took advantage on the next play when Joshua Morris (SO/Mt. Pleasant, Texas) found Cade Nagy (SO/Broken Arrow, Okla.) for a 31-yard strike to put Friends on top 10-7.On their next possession, the Falcons were looking for more until a fumble at the Builder 10-yard line halted the threat.It was then the Builders turn to take advantage of a mistake as Yam threw a 25-yard scoring toss to Ziyon Kenner to put Southwestern back in front with 3:35 left in the opening half.The Builders took that lead into the locker room and immediately extended it with a 44-yard score from Yam to Keyshawn Jones that made it 21-10 on their first drive of the second half.But the Falcons had an answer to get back in the game as a 27-yard run by Morris set up his 24-yard touchdown pass to Dante Eldridge (FR/Coldspring, Texas) that cut the deficit to just four points with still 9:45 left in the third quarter.After the Builders marched to the Friends 15-yard line, Tyrione McDonald (FR/Dallas, Texas) ended the drive with an interception he returned to the Falcon 18.Taveon Williamson though got the Builders the ball right back with an interception and then a one-yard scoring run by Keyshawn Wyatt increased the lead back to 11 points.The Falcons then turned the ball over again that the Builders turned into a 25-yard field goal by Gabriel Medrano in the final minute of the third.Following a Falcon punt, the Builders iced the game by embarking on a time-consuming 17 play, 83-yard drive that chewed up 10:52 of the game clock and resulted in a 10-yard touchdown pass from Ham to Layke Hoffman.Morris passed for 94 yards and rushed for 63 more, along with two touchdown throws and a pair of interceptions. Laken Clowdus (FR/Barlesville, Okla.), the most recent KCAC Offensive Player of the Week, had 58 rushing yards. Eldrige finished the game with three receptions for 42 yards and one score.Ham threw four touchdowns for 262 yards and had one interception, while Jones caught seven passes for 123 yards and one touchdown for the Builders. Wyatt also scored once on the ground with a game-high 76 rushing yards.Shamarius Davis (FR/Birmingham, Ala.) paced the Falcon defense with a career-high 12 tackles, with Jagger Blubaugh (SO/Wichita, Kan.) making 11 tackles and Nolan Ewing (FR/Spring Hill, Kan.) recording 10 stops.The Builders were led by 10 tackles from Josh Carter.Next up, the Falcons will celebrate Senior Day in the season-finale vs. Avila University next Saturday (Nov. 13) at 1 pm at Adair-Austin Stadium.