RIVERSIDE, Mo. - Kansas Wesleyan Flag Football is in Pool C of the 2025 NAIA Flag Football Finals and will face Midland (Neb.) and Thomas (Ga.) in Pool Play before advancing into one of the two brackets for the event.
In its fifth season of competition at the NAIA level, flag football still remains at Emerging Sport status, meaning the FInals event is not an official NAIA National Championship.
All games for the Finals will be played at the KC Current Training Center in Riverside, Mo., located at 1 Teal Rising Way, in Riverside, Missouri. The facility just played host to the KCAC Championships in late April.
KWU will play both its Pool Play games on Tuesday, May 6, first against KCAC opponent Midland at 10 a.m. on Field 3, then will play Thomas at 2 p.m. on Field 3.
KWU has faced Thomas twice before, once in 2022 in a game at an event in Babson Park, Florida and then last season in the NAIA Flag Finals in Pool Play.
KWU and Midland have played many times as members of the KCAC. KWU holds a 14-3 all-time record in the series and has won the last 12 meetings, including two thrillers this year, a 15-14 walkoff win on March 18 at Midland, and a 20-13 win on April 17 in Salina.
KWU enters the Finals with a 14-5 record on the season and were runners-up in the KCAC Tournament to Ottawa. Four of KWU's five losses have come to Ottawa this season. The Coyotes are averaging 30.1 points per game this season while holding opponents to 13.7.
The Coyotes average 290 yards of total offense per game, 260.6 through the air. The Coyotes as a team are 485 of 717 passing for 4952 yards and 75 touchdowns, a majority of the work coming from Chihiro Iwata who is 422 of 615 passing, completing 68.6 percent of passes for 4426 yards and 64 touchdowns, averaging 232.9 yards per game.
Receiving-wise, Aliyah Wood leads the Coyotes with 103 catches for 1018 yards, becoming only the second KWU player in program history to have over 1000 yards receiving in a season. She has a team-high 15 touchdowns. Ciaran DeCuir has 51 catches for 741 yards and 10 scores. Angel Roman has 78 catches for 737 yards and 14 touchdowns and Jazmine Whitfield has 64 catches for 656 yards and 10 touchdowns.
Defensively, the Coyotes are led by Alexa Mansur with 69 flag pulls. She also has two interceptions and eight pass breakups. Wood is the team interception leader with eight, while Roman has six interceptions and is second on the team with 47 flag pulls. Nyjah Green and Khylie Douglas have five sacks each and Ansdiane Rabano has four.
Midland heads into the Flag Finals with an 8-7 record on the season. The Warriors are averaging 23.9 points per game and holding opponents to 17.3. Midland averages 228.4 yards per game while allowing 205.2.
Angel Ioane Kaio is Midland's quarterback, throwing for 2825 yards and 38 touchdowns, going 300 of 518 passing with 17 interceptions.
Allaya Livingston has 56 receptions for 667 yards and 12 touchdowns. Olivia Dominguez-Millsop has 50 catches for 453 yards and 11 touchdowns.
Defensively, Cydnee Redd has 67 flag pulls on the season. Dominguez-Millsop has six interceptions and NaTaija Blaylock has 12 sacks.
The Thomas Night Hawks are 15-1 on the season and went 8-0 in the Sun Conference, but fell to Keiser in the conference championship game.
Thomas comes into the Flag Finals averaging 39.6 points per game, but are very defensive minded, holding opponents to an average of 5.13 points per contest. The Night Hawks average 280.3 yards per game of total offense, 269.5 coming through the air and have thrown 74 touchdowns.
Thomas has two quarterbacks that share the load of action. Keelin Coleman is 182 of 258 passing for 1954 yards and 36 touchdowns, completing 70 percent of her passes. Alexa Wilson is 131 of 191 passing for 1415 yards and 21 touchdowns, completing 68.5 percent of passes.
Janae Scott is Thomas's leading receiver with 51 catches for 337 yards and nine touchdowns. Maddie Hougland has 39 catches for 511 yards and 10 touchdowns and Zoe Jackson has 47 catches for 477 yards and 11 scores.
Scott has 68 flag pulls on defense to lead the team and also had four sacks and five interceptions. Houghland had seven interceptions to lead the team while Dyva Jones, a transfer from Midland, has six. Kaitlyn Herb has 16 sacks to lead the Night Hawks.
After Pool Play is completed, teams will move into bracket play. The top eight teams will play in the Championship Bracket, while the bottom six will play in the Playoff Bracket. Bracket play begins on May 7. The two bracket championship games will be played on Thursday, May 8.