Stevie Williams and his Kansas Wesleyan teammates just wanted another chance to prove themselves and show they really are the team that won its first 10 games before falling Saturday in the regular season finale.
"No doubt, we're on to the next game 0-0 and just want to show everybody why we belong in the (NAIA) Championship and we're going to show them (next) Saturday," Williams said.
Williams and Co. were granted a reprieve Sunday night when they were awarded an at-large berth in the 16-team playoff field. The Coyotes (10-1) are the No. 10 seed and will play fifth-seeded Indiana Wesleyan at Wildcat Football Stadium in Marian, Indiana next Saturday. Game time has been announced by IWU as a 1 p.m. Eastern kickoff, Noon Central time.
Tickets for the game will go on sale Tuesday. Saturday's game will be streamed live on ESPN 3, and on the Indiana Wesleyan Stretch Live portal.
Defending NAIA champion Lindsey Wilson, Ky. is the top seed followed by Morningside, Iowa; Grand View, Iowa; and Northwestern, Iowa.
KWU lost to Southwestern 42-24 Saturday at Graves Family Sports Complex – the defeat dropping them from fifth to 10th in the final NAIA poll released Sunday night. The setback left the Coyotes, Southwestern and Bethel tied atop the KCAC standings with 9-1 records.
Southwestern drew the ninth seed in the playoffs and faces No. 7 Marian on Saturday, in Indianapolis. Bethel (9-2), the KCAC preseason favorite, did not get a postseason bid; the Threshers lost to NCAA Division II member West Texas A&M 52-9 Saturday.
The Coyotes are back in the postseason for the third time in four years after earning bids in 2018 under former coach Matt Drinkall and 2019 under current coach Myers Hendrickson. KWU won two playoff games in 2018 and one game in 2019.
Indiana Wesleyan, which is fifth in the final poll, is 9-1 and tied Concordia, Mich. for the Mid-States Football Association's Mideast League title with a 6-1 record. The IWU program is in its fourth year of existence.
Williams, a standout wide receiver, said the Coyotes are ready to put Saturday's disappointment behind them. KWU lost three fumbles and muffed the second half kickoff that led to four Southwestern touchdowns.
"Some slight, slight mental mistakes we had a whole team and we came up short," he said. "Come tomorrow we're going to fix those mistakes and get it right. The loss is going to linger a little bit but we've got to keep moving forward and on to the next game."
Hendrickson said the Coyotes are thrilled to still be playing after waiting most of Sunday to learn their fate.
"In August everybody wants to be in postseason football," he said. "Now that we're there it doesn't matter what your record is, everybody's 0-0 and there's only 16 teams left. And that's the beauty of playoff football – no matter where we go, we're going to be 0-0 and will do everything we can to go 1-0."
Hendrickson said his team handled Saturday's loss appropriately.
"The good news is we've been built for this because every week we've approached it as a one-game season," he said. "And so, we're conditioned for this, I feel like, to go into a playoff situation and playoff atmosphere when we're 0-0, our backs are against the wall and we've got to go on the road and figure out a way to win."
Hendrickson said he knew little about IWU and was heading to his office to binge watch film of the Wildcats.
"One thing that jumps off the schedule is they blew out Marian this year (41-7)," he said. "They've got a really good program and we're excited for the challenge."
IWU has won six games in a row including a forfeit victory over Madonna on Saturday; the Wildcats also had a forfeit victory over Trinity International on September 11. Their lone loss was to Concordia 28-21 on October 2 in Ann Arbor, Mich. Concordia also made the playoffs and is the eighth seed.
IWU averages 36 points and 380 yards per game and allows 13 points and 281 yards.
Asked if he's ever been to Indiana, Williams replied, "No, but I'm happy to go there."