The Coyotes are back on the road Saturday for a Kansas Conference game against Bethel. Kickoff is 6 p.m. at Thresher Stadium in North Newton.
LIVE COVERAGE
The video stream of the game will be available online through the Coyote Sports Network at www.kcacnetwork.com/kansaswesleyan. Bethel will be handling video production.. Live Stats will be available at https://kwucoyotes.com/sidearmstats/football/summary. Radio coverage can be heard locally on KINA 910 AM/107.5 FM, and online at Eagle Communication's Post Sites (salinapost.com in Salina). The online stream is also available at https://radio.securenetsystems.net/ce/kina2. Tyler Henry will have the call with pregame starting at 5:00 p.m.
RECORDS
- Kansas Wesleyan 2-2
- Bethel 3-1
THE SERIES
Bethel's 30-24 victory last season in JRI Stadium and the Graves Family Sports Complex ended KWU's 13-game winning streak. It was the Coyotes first loss to the Threshers since the 2008 season. KWU has an 18-4 edge since the 2001 season.
KANSAS WESLEYAN AT A GLANCE
The Coyotes evened their record with a 35-28 victory over previously unbeaten Friends last Saturday at JRI Stadium and the Graves Family Sports Complex. The offense produced a season-high 353 yards that included a season-best 245 rushing yards.
Nick Allsman led the ground attack with 125 yards on 17 carries and Tyler Boston had 96 yards on 19 attempts. Both scored a touchdown as well. Quarterback Richard Lara was 9 of 13 passing for 108 yards, no interceptions and one touchdown - a 74-yard catch and run by Rhadarious Lomax-Spivey in the third quarter that broke a 7-7 tie. Lara also ran for KWU's final score in the fourth quarter and was not sacked during the game.
Luke Armstrong returned a punt 88 yards for touchdown early in the third quarter that gave the Coyotes a 21-7 lead. He also returned a kickoff 28 yards and was chosen the KCAC's Special Teams Player of the Week.
Friends entered the game averaging just under 56 points and 533 total yards - 494 rushing - but had 388 total yard and 320 rushing Saturday. Linebacker Shaylan Lewis had a team-best 13 tackles, linebacker Ricco Moore 11 and safety Julian Urioste 10 for the Coyotes.
KWU closes out play against the Kessinger Division a week from Saturday when McPherson comes to town. Following a bye week October 7 the Coyotes begin play against fellow Bissell Division opponents starting with Avila on October 14 in Kansas City, Missouri.
BETHEL AT A GLANCE
The Threshers defeated Avila 42-26 last Saturday in Kansas City. They led 35-6 at halftime but surrendered 20 points in the fourth quarter. They opened the season with victories over Sterling and Saint Mary but lost to Ottawa 28-24 September 9 in North Newton.
Bethel doesn't run the flexbone but does employ a triple option offense that has been highly effective. The Threshers average 324 yards rushing, 420 total yards and are scoring 41 points per game. They had 405 total yards against Avila that included 264 on the ground.
Bethel, like Friends, has a dynamic quarterback in DJ Ciers. He had 107 yards and two touchdowns running the ball and threw for 141 yards and two more scores against Avila. Ciers has 610 rushing yards and 10 touchdowns this season and averages 152.5 yards rushing and 95.5 yards passing per game.
Bethel's defense has been stellar as well. Opponents are averaging 19.8 points and 72 yards rushing per game.
Linebacker Kade Miller has a team-best 31 tackles and linebacker Tate Seaboldt 29. Miller was the KCAC Defensive Player of the Week after making seven tackles and returning an interception 44 yards for a touchdown against Avila - his second pick six of the season.
KWU COACH MATT MYERS
"I was just super impressed by the overall effort by our guys. The energy on the sideline was incredible and the fans were awesome. The difference between 1-3 and 2-2 is massive - it was really a great night. Lara made great decisions with the ball and the zero sack thing is just huge. The final piece of this is making sure that we can stretch the defense vertically (with the passing game). Bethel is not the same offense (as Friends) but has a similar philosophy, they run the ball about 90 percent of the time. Their quarterback is extremely athletic and very, very fast. We need to find a way to make sure that he's on the ground at the end of the play and not making moves and cutting up the field. Their defense is very similar to Evangel who we didn't have a ton of success against."
NEXT WEEK
The Coyotes return to Bissell Field in JRI Stadium and the Graves Family Sports Complex on Saturday for a game against McPherson. Kickoff is 1 p.m.