Sep 27, 2025

🏈 Middleton with eye on solid Tabor squad as Coyotes host Bluejays on Saturday

Posted Sep 27, 2025 4:07 AM

The Coyotes are back home for a game against Tabor on Family Weekend.

GAME INFORMATION

  1. Kickoff: 6 p.m.
  2. Day: Saturday
  3. Location: Gene Bissell Field at JRI Hospitality Stadium and the Graves Family Sports Complex
  4. Records: Kansas Wesleyan 4-0; Tabor 1-3

LIVE COVERAGE

  1. The video stream of the game will be available online through the Coyote Sports Network on the Urban Edge Network (https://urbanedgenetwork.net/watch/2869). The game will also be available on the KCAC Network at www.kcacnetwork.com/kansaswesleyan.
  2. Live Stats will be available at https://kwucoyotes.com/sidearmstats/football/summary
  3. Radio coverage will be on KINA starting at 5 p.m. with Tyler Henry and Brooks Garretson. The online radio stream is available at https://radio.securenetsystems.net/ce/kina2.

THE SERIES

KWU has won seven in a row and eight of the last nine. The Coyotes won 28-14 last season at JRI Stadium and 31-0 in 2023 in Hillsboro. They have a 15-9 advantage in the series since 2001. KWU leads the all-time series 35-21.

KANSAS WESLEYAN AT A GLANCE

  1. The Coyotes remained unbeaten with a 38-7 victory over Bethel last Saturday in North Newton. Henry Austad ran for two touchdowns, threw two touchdown passes to Rhadarious Lomax-Spivey and the defense was dominant once again. KWU led 21-7 at halftime and blanked Bethel for the final 30 minutes.
  2. Austad was 15 of 30 for 159 yards and no interceptions. Lomax-Spivey caught six passes for 64 yards and his first two touchdowns of the season. Will Wilcox had five catches for 60 yards. D'Heaven Domena led the ground game with 101 yards rushing on 18 carries (5.6 per carry) while Austad had 58 yards on seven attempts. KWU finished with 451 total yards - 240 yards rushing, 211 passing.
  3. Defensively the Coyotes were phenomenal, limiting Bethel to 172 yards that included 50 rushing on 33 tries - 1.5 per carry - and four first downs after halftime. Josh King-Bradley and Gavin Skerik each had eight tackles and a sack while Taylor Collins and Derrean Morgan finished with seven stops apiece. KWU is allowing 7.5 points and 214.5 yards per game through four games.
  4. Wesleyan continues to receive votes in the NAIA rankings. The Coyotes received 56 in the poll released Monday and are 27th. McPherson also received votes (87, 26th overall) as did Evangel (26). Friends moved up to seventh and Southwestern is 17th.
  5. Luke Armstrong rushed for 187 yards and two touchdowns, Zerek Fewell had 78 yards rushing and a score and Richard Lara threw a touchdown pass to Artaveon Shavers in last year's game. KWU led 13-7 at halftime and 21-7 after three quarters. Tabor averaged 1.4 yards rushing per carry - 37 yards on 26 attempts.

TABOR AT A GLANCE

  1. The Bluejays have lost three in a row to Gene Bissell Division powers Southwestern (28-21), McPherson (49-7) and Friends (59-15) last Saturday in Wichita. They opened the season with a victory at Sterling (34-9).
  2. Friends raced to a 52-0 halftime lead and held Tabor to 87 yards total on 48 plays (1.8 per play) for the game. The Bluejays average 19.3 points and 213 total yards, just 56 rushing. They led Southwestern 14-7 at halftime and gave up the game-winning touchdown with 1:11 left.
  3. Junior Amad Bailey and freshmen Jerome Stewart and Tarent Moniz-Babb are the quarterbacks. Bailey didn't play against Friends and has 371 yards passing, five touchdowns and four interceptions while Stewart has 200 yards, three TDs and one interception. Cameron Collier has a team-best 95 yards rushing and Devin Jones 88. AJ Kings is the top receiver with 20 catches for 242 yards and five touchdowns.
  4. Willie Green threw for 215 yards and two touchdowns but was sacked four times last season against KWU. Tabor revamped its roster during the offseason and has upgraded the talent level.
  5. Mike Gardner is in his 16th season as head coach. He led Tabor during the 2004-05 seasons, spent the next six seasons as head coach at Malone (Ohio) and returned to Hillsboro in 2012. He's fifth among active NAIA coaches with 123 victories.

HEAD COACH MATT MIDDLETON

"I thought (Lomax-Spivey) played with really strong hands which is a cliche with receivers. There are body catchers and there are hand catchers and I just think he's really strong with his hands and thought he had a big night. (Domena) finally has done what we've asked him to do, and that's be a downhill runner. Not look to bounce and cut everything and get after it. He has emerged but make no mistake about it they're all going to do it the right way, or it'll be by committee.

"I think I'm playing the Green Bay Packers every week. ... I know anytime you're dealing with kids anything can happen. (Gardner) is a good football coach, there's no doubt about it. They flipped their roster. If you go look at a year ago versus now on film and paper they went and got some guys. I think they play hard. I have enough sense to know that the last three games they have gone through the gauntlet so it's hard to really know (how good they are) but I do believe we're going to get their best shot.

"We've got to be extremely smart with our eyes and our rules. They're what I call rulebreakers, especially up front defensively. They try to do things that are going to cause you to break your rules, make you misfire on somebody or bust an assignment. They're very unorthodox. We have to play within our scheme, within our system.

"I think (defensive coordinator David Leonard) has done a great job along with the staff. There is no ego with him. We play really, really hard. We don't do a ton of things and it's because we want our kids to be able to play fast with their hair on fire, not overthink and play. Make no mistake about it, our front four are really good. We get pressure on the quarterback without blitzing a lot. We're solid."

WIDE RECEIVER WILL WILCOX

"My freshman and sophomore year (of high school) I was not very good. I was a backup quarterback, backup halfback wherever to get on the field. But then my junior year that's when I moved full time to receiver. I went to a lot of camps, and I played a lot of seven-on-seven and then I hit the weight room pretty good. I think that just all around helped me.

"Coach Middleton was very thorough and made sure we knew the plays, and we were all on the same page and we've just been clicking. O-line has been doing a great job and really just everybody, the quarterbacks, running backs ... we wouldn't be able to throw it without all of them. (Austad) is a guy that doesn't mind throwing it up for a little 50-50 ball and I like that. He's just very smart and he can make the reads."

NEXT WEEK

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