OTTAWA - Kansas Wesleyan and the three other top teams in the Kansas Conference in flag football met in Ottawa on Sunday for a preseason event at Ottawa's AdventHealth Field. The Coyotes faced Midland, Ottawa and Baker, going 2-1 on the day.
KWU opened with a 33-14 win over Midland, then had to turn around and play Ottawa immediately following, falling to the Braves 28-0, then closed the night with a 14-6 win over Baker.
Against Midland, the Coyotes sped out to a 33-0 lead before the Warriors scored twice in the fourth quarter to avoid the shutout.
Aliyah Wood caught three touchdown passes from Chihiro Iwata for the Coyotes. The first was a 5-yarder with 9:11 left in the first and she hauled in two more in the second, the first a 7-yarder with 8:01 to go and the second a 2-yarder with 1:14 left before the half.
Iwata also found Ava Duerr for a 12-yard touchdown pass with 3:30 left in the first quarter.
Iwata also added a 6-yard touchdown run with 2:08 left in the third quarter.
The Coyotes had 245 yards of total offense in the game as Iwata went 19 of 25 for 220 yards and four scores, Emilee Buhl was 3 of 5 for 10 yards. Jazmine Whitfield and Duerr had three catches each for 48 yards as the Coyotes completed passes to nine different receivers.
Wood also had a huge defensive game with two interceptions. Alexa Mansur led the Coyotes with five flag pulls.
The Coyotes then faced Ottawa immediately following the Midland game, and the Braves would pick up a 28-0 win over the Coyotes.
Wesleyan's offense was limited in the game as Iwata was 23 of 40 passing for just 180 yards. Wood had six catches for 43 yards, while Ciaran DeCuir and Whitfield had five each.
Aaliya Oliver had six flag pulls for the Coyotes. Angel Roman had an interception as well.
After a break, the Coyotes faced Baker University.
KWU got on the board first as Iwata capped Wesleyan's first drive with a 6-yard pass to Angel Roman to make it 7-0 KWU with 1:40 left in the first.
Baker scored on its third play of the ensuing drive but the PAT was no good and KWU held a 7-6 lead after the first.
The Coyotes drove deep into Baker territory twice but couldn't put points on the board.
In the fourth, the Coyotes got a much needed insurance score. The Coyotes went on a 7-minute drive capped by Angel Roman passing to Jazmine Whitfield for the score from four yard out to make it 14-6.
Iwata was 25 of 41 passing for 212 yards and a touchdown. Angel Roman was 5 of 5 passing for 40 yards. Whitfield and Roman had seven catches each, Whitfield with 74 yards, Roman for 54. Mansur led the defense with five flag pulls.