Sep 10, 2026

🏈 Coyotes back on the road on Saturday at Avila

Posted Sep 10, 2026 10:10 PM

The Coyotes travel to the Show-Me State for a Kansas Conference cross-divisional game against Avila.

GAME INFORMATION

  1. Kickoff: 1 p.m.
  2. Day: Saturday
  3. Location: Zarda Multisport Complex, Kansas City, Mo.
  4. Records: Kansas Wesleyan 1-1, Avila 0-2

LIVE COVERAGE

  1. The video stream of the game will be available online on the Urban Edge Network at https://www.urbanedgenetwork.net/watch/1967. 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 Radio 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

The Coyotes have won three in a row and are 6-2 against the Eagles since 2018, the year they joined the KCAC, and are 3-0 in games played in Kansas City. KWU won 30-6 last year in a game at JRI Hospitality Stadium and the Graves Family Sports Complex.

KANSAS WESLEYAN AT A GLANCE

  1. The Coyotes decimated archrival Bethany 76-6 in their home opener Saturday at JRI Hospitality Stadium. It was the largest margin of victory for either team in the 117 games they've played. KWU amassed 566 total yards with a balanced attack - 293 rushing, 273 passing - and limited the Swedes to 169 total yards while intercepting four passes.
  2. Quarterbacks Caleb Deal and Wyatt Oak played well against Bethany and will share the workload against Avila. Deal had a huge game rushing for 117 yards on just eight carries (14.6 average), two touchdowns and was 3 of 6 passing for 109 yards and two more scores. He was named KCAC Offensive Player of the Week on Monday. Oak was superb as well throwing for 142 yards and a touchdown. Alec Jackson added 47 yards rushing and a fourth quarter touchdown pass.
  3. The defense was suffocating. The Swedes finished with 47 yards rushing on 27 tries, and their four quarterbacks were a combined 10 of 40 for 169 yards and were sacked four times. Mason Boone returned an interception 60 yards for a touchdown; Trey Ford, Taylor Collins and Yamnoel Oyola-Bernier also had the other three.
  4. Freshman placekicker AJ Woods was the KCAC Special Teams Player of the Week after making all four field goal attempts and all eight extra points. The field goals came from 42, 25, 30 and 18 yards, and he had four touchbacks on kickoffs.
  5. Henry Austad had 225 yards passing and a touchdown and ran for more scores in last year's contest. Will Wilcox caught nine passes for 102 yards. KWU led 17-0 at halftime and 24-0 after three quarters.

AVILA AT A GLANCE

  1. The Eagles lost to No. 9 Friends 61-10 Saturday in Wichita. They lost to No. 21 McPherson 48-7 in the season and home opener. Friends led 27-7 at halftime and 40-7 after three quarters.
  2. Avila is led by first-year head coach Ed Warinner, who spent more than 40 years as an assistant at the Division I level. He had two stints at Kansas (2003-04, 2007-09) serving as assistant head coach and offensive coordinator in the second.
  3. Warinner flipped Avila's roster bringing in an almost entirely new team after the Eagles went 1-10 in 2025. Quarterback Joseph Vick, a transfer from Butler Community College, threw for 132 yards and a touchdown and Patrick Anderson Jr., a transfer from Concord, had 87 yards rushing on 15 carries against Friends. Freshman John Angelo has also seen duty at quarterback.
  4. Avila has allowed an average of 571 yards in its first two games albeit against two nationally ranked opponents. The Eagles gave up 505 yards rushing against Friends last week and 440 passing yards to McPherson in the season opener.
  5. The Eagles average 221 total yards offensively - 108.5 rushing and 112.5 passing - through two games. They committed three turnovers and had 111 penalty yards in the loss to Friends.

HEAD COACH MATT MIDDLETON

"Super excited about the win, especially after the way we played week one. I was proud of the kids how they fought through adversity throughout the week and came out with a big win.

"(Deal) settled in more. You could see how electric he is with his legs, throws a deep well pretty well. Wyatt also played really well. He started, got banged up a little bit early which allowed us to run Caleb in. We've got two good (quarterbacks) right now that are playing well.

"The key for us (defensively) is to harass the quarterback. We've made it clear what we're going to do; we're not shying away from that. We're going to harass him, try to make him make errant throws, make him feel super uncomfortable. (Avila) has been able to run the football some and we've got to be able to stop that.

"For us offensively, we've got to hold on to the football; we cannot turn the football over. You're going to see an Avila group that has completely flipped their roster. Their head coach was a Division I guy for 40 years. They're going to move the ball, they're going to fly to the football, get after you, so we're going to have our hands full."

QUARTERBACK WYATT OAK

"Coach (Middleton) has been preaching to us to play every down like it's fourth and one. We struggled in that first week a little bit, getting the run game and the pass game, but I think we dominated up front. Got to give a shoutout to O-line. We didn't have any sacks the whole game, and we had 500-plus yards of total offense.

"The first game I was kind of getting feet wet in the KCAC and the teams that we go against. I kind of felt more comfortable in the pocket. We threw a little bit more so that was a little more comfortable.

"They (Avila) fly around. They play soft coverage, but they can come down and hit, and they're pretty quick on the outside. We're looking to stay true to what we do and the offense we have, get it to our playmakers and make some big plays."

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