STERLING - The adage says, "better late than never."
Kansas Wesleyan's football team took that extreme in a Kansas Conference and Gene Bissell Division game against Sterling. The Coyotes scored two touchdowns in the final 38 seconds and surged to wild a 24-14 Saturday afternoon at Smisor Stadium.
KWU improved to 6-2, 2-0 in the division while Sterling fell to 2-6 and 0-2.
The Coyotes scored on their first possession of the game on Wyatt Oak's 76-yard pass to Kevo Taylor. They added a 20-yard AJ Woods field goal on the second play of the second quarter but for the most part struggled to move the ball against Sterling's defense until their final drive of the game.
The do-or-die effort began with 3:43 left. Down 14-10, the Coyotes drove to Sterling's 14-yard line as Caleb Deal completed four passes for 54 yards. The Warriors were penalized for having 12 men on the field with 44 seconds left that moved the ball to the 9. Deal finished it with a scramble around right end with 38 seconds remaining. Woods' point-after kick made it 17-14.
Taylor Collins clinched it three plays after the kickoff when he intercepted Steven Werking's pass at the KWU 39 and returned it 61 yards for a touchdown with seven seconds left. It was Collins' fourth interception and second pick six of the season. The Coyotes have 13 interceptions on the season; their five pick sixes entering the game were tops in the NAIA.
"Big win for us, we're thankful," coach Matt Middleton said on the postgame radio show. "I told them at halftime, 'look, this is a four-quarter game. We're going to win this game; we're going to find a way to do it.' I think the kids were resilient and stayed with that."
Sterling led 14-10 at halftime on Werking's 33-yard touchdown pass to Khyaire Hines in the first quarter that tied it 7-7 and Werking's two-yard scoring run 51 seconds before the break.
KWU's defense blanked the Warriors and limited them to five first downs in the second half. Linebacker Donniel Wilson had a team-best 11 tackles. Sterling finished with 177 total yards on 69 plays (2.6 per play) that included 71 yards rushing on 42 attempts (1.7 per play). Werking was 6 of 25 passing for 108 yards, one touchdown and one interception.
The bugaboo for the Coyotes' offense was turnovers - one in each quarter, two fumbles and two interceptions. Two occurred in Sterling territory.
"Brother at this point I don't know what to say," Middleton said. "It's been an Achilles heel. We've got to protect the ball; that's the only way to say it."
Wesleyan had 347 total yards - 288 passing and 59 rushing. Deal was 16 of 26 passing for 148 yards and two interceptions while Oak was 6 of 12 for 132 yards including the TD to Taylor, who had four catches for 98 yards. Will Wilcox caught seven for 74 yards.
Middleton was thrilled with the hard-fought victory.
"Winning is hard man and I'm thankful for it," he said. "I'm proud of the kids, coaches did a great job. I know that we're 2-0 in division play, we're 6-2 (overall) so that's a big deal."