LINDSBORG - Henry Austad and Will Wilcox are getting comfortable in coach Matt Middleton's new Kansas Wesleyan offense.
Austad passed for 276 yards and three touchdowns - 126 yards and two touchdowns to Wilcox - as KWU rolled over Kansas Conference archrival Bethany 38-7 victory Saturday night at Ted Kessinger Family Stadium.
The Coyotes improved to 2-0 in Middleton's first season as head coach and defeated Bethany for the 11th consecutive time. They are 13-1 in the last 14 games and 20-5 against the Swedes since 2005. Saturday's game was the 115th meeting.
Austad, a graduate transfer from Southeastern (Florida), completed 26 of 34 passes and no interceptions while Wilcox, a freshman wide out and transfer from Henderson State (Arkansas), caught seven passes that included touchdown grabs of nine and 69 yards.
"Henry had a really good night, Wilcox had a monster night," Middleton said on his postgame radio show.
Jevin Dorsey had six receptions for 34 yards and a touchdown as nine different receivers caught passes.
The Coyotes led 28-0 at halftime and continued to shut down Bethany's offense in the second half. They finished with 415 total yards and limited the Swedes to 246 - just 40 rushing.
Middleton was pleased with the victory but saw plenty of room for improvement.
"Good in the first half, I don't feel real good after the second half," he said. "But the effort was there, and a win is a win so I need to be proud about that. It got sloppy and out of control. We had at least three penalties that killed drives tonight and we just can't do that and continue to win. We've got to find a way to get those things fixed."
Wesleyan took a 7-0 lead on its first drive of the game going 51 yards on nine plays - the final nine yards on a perfectly thrown pass from Austad to Wilcox in the back left corner of the end zone at the 8:33 mark.
The Coyotes scored three touchdowns in the second quarter, the first on a two-yard pass from Austad to Dorsey on the second play of the period that finished off an 11-play, 75-yard drive. Austad then hit Wilcox with another dime that covered 69 yards with 6:39 left capping a quick four-play, 95-yard drive.
Bethany fumbled the ensuing kickoff and KWU recovered at the Swedes' 30-yard line. The Coyotes scored nine plays later on Domena's two-yard run with 2:06 left in the half.
The Swedes scored their touchdown on the second play of the second half. A KWU fumble on the first play of the half gave Bethany the ball at the 21-yard line and Landry Shields hit Chase Hyer for the score on the first play.
The Coyotes answered with a 31-yard Talon Cope field goal on their next possession to increase the lead to 31-7 with 10:31 left in the third quarter.
Kohl Nolan's five-yard touchdown run with 4:49 left in the third quarter was the game's final points. The 10-play drive covered 67 yards.
Bethany had the ball inside the KWU 20-yard line twice in the fourth quarter, but the Coyotes held firm. Shields and fellow quarterback Jessie Caver were a combined 17 of 44 passing (38.6 percent).
Jamison Price and Myles Elam led the Wesleyan defensive effort with eight tackles apiece while Rob Rezex had seven. Josh King-Bradley accounted for two of KWU's five sacks.
"We talked last week about from week one to two is when you make your biggest jump most of the time," Middleton said. "I thought we did that but now we need to play a complete game. I don't think we've played one yet for four quarters, so we've got to get it figured out quick."