KCAC

[Football] Undefeated Threshers Rally for 34-22 win over Football Falcons

North Newton, Kan. – The undefeated and KCAC-leading Bethel College Threshers scored 27 unanswered points to win 34-22 over the Friends University Falcons in a KCAC clash today (Nov. 21) in North Newton, Kan.With the weather contributing to less than ideal playing conditions, each team turned the ball over five times.After a 93 yard return by Dominic Brown on the opening kickoff set up the Threshers for an early lead, the Falcons grabbed momentum on the next possession.Dawson Marcum (SO/Durango, Colo.) ran for 29 yards on the first play before tying the game with a one-yard score with still 11:42 left in the first quarter.The Falcons then grabbed the lead when the Threshers fumbled the ball away on their next two drives, with the last occasion resulting in a sack by Jagger Blubaugh (SO/Wichita, Kan. ) that went into the end zone for a safety.A 25 yard field-goal by Bobby Schmidt (JR/Sapulpa, Okla. ) on the ensuing possession increased the lead to 12-7 at the 2:07 mark of the first period.Friends kept their foot on the gas pedal, getting a 46 yard punt return after a three and out to set up at the Bethel nine-yard line.A four-yard touchdown pass from Dan Dawdy (SR/Haysville, Kan.) to Travis Rogers (FR/Chelsea, Okla. ) paid it off and put the Falcons up by 12, 19-7.Early in the second quarter, the Falcons' Tyler Wilson (JR/Wichita, Kan. ) recovered a fumble on a punt that was ended with another successful field goal by Schmidt, this time a 23 yarder that pushed the lead up to 22-7 with 7:18 left in the opening half.From that point, it was all Threshers, starting with an 86 yard kickoff return by Trey Palmer for a score that made it 22-13 following a failed two-point conversion attempt.The Falcons drove down to the Bethel 35 on the next drive, but a fumble halted the scoring opportunity.Bethel took advantage when quarterback Zach Esau found Deante Edwards for a 55 yard strike late in the half to bring the Threshers within 22-20 at the half.Following a turnover on the Falcons' first possession of the second half, a 40 yard touchdown run by Chantz Scurry on the next play gave the Threshers a lead they wouldn't relinquish the rest of the way.The score stayed that way until the middle stages of the fourth quarter when Scurry found the end zone again to give the Threshers a two-possession lead with 5:03 remaining in the game.The Falcons (2-5, 2-5 KCAC) weren't done yet, marching to the Bethel 25 yard line before turning it over on downs on fourth and one with 1:24 left.Laken Clowdus (FR/Bartlesville, Okla. ) paced the Falcons' offensive attack with a career-high 127 rushing yards on 24 carries. Marcum finished with 76 yards on the ground for Friends.Dawdy passed for 95 yards with one touchdown and one interception, with Cade Nagy (SO/Broken Arrow, Okla. ) recording a team-high 27 receiving yards.Scurry gained 154 rushing yards and scored three times for Bethel, while Esau attempted only three passes, completing two for 63 yards. Edwards was on the other end of one of those completions for 55 yards.Kevin McKenzie (SR/Keota, Okla.) led the Falcons defensively with a career-high tying 11 tackles, with Jason Weah (JR/Madison, Wis. ) registering nine stops.Brown had a game-high 13 tackles for the Threshers, who stay undefeated and on top of the KCAC with an 8-0 overall record and a 7-0 mark in the conference.The Falcons will next compete in the spring semester, with game dates and times TBA.