Nov 06, 2024

KWU looks to keep positive momentum going on Saturday, hosting Ottawa on Senior Day

Posted Nov 06, 2024 2:11 PM

The Coyotes play Kansas Conference and Gene Bissell Division foe Ottawa on Saturday. It will be Senior Day and the final home game of the season. Kickoff is 1 p.m. at JRI Stadium and the Graves Family Sports Complex.

LIVE COVERAGE

  1. The video stream of the game will be available online through the Coyote Sports Network at www.kcacnetwork.com/kansaswesleyan. The Coyote Sports Network video stream will start at Noon with the KINA Radio Pregame Show with Tyler Henry and Brooks Garretson.
  2. Coyote Game Day returns airing live at 11:30 a.m. on the Coyote Sports Network video stream. The student-led pregame show will preview Saturday's match-up between the Braves and Coyotes.
  3. Live Stats will be available at https://kwucoyotes.com/sidearmstats/football/summary
  4. Radio coverage will be on the KINA Radio starting at Noon, with the pregame show with Tyler Henry and Brooks Garretson. The online radio stream is available at https://radio.securenetsystems.net/ce/kina2.

GAME INFORMATION

TICKETS

Tickets are on sale now at www.kwucoyotes.com/tickets. Tickets are also available at the door. Cash and cards are accepted at the ticket gate. Premium Tailgate parking is reserved for KWU fans only. Reserve a remaining spot now at www.kwucoyotes.com/ticketsGAME DAY SPONSORSOfficial game day sponsors are Ryan Roofing and A-Plus Architecture and Construction Services of Salina. KWU would also like to thank Little Caesar's and Chick-Fil-A for providing team and game day staff mealsPROMOTIONS

  1. Yotee's Spirit Store will be open in the Student Activities Center AND on the concourse level at JRI Stadium.
  2. Coyote Dance Team will perform at half time
  3. Plenty of contests and giveaways during the game
  4. KWU will honor 33 football seniors prior to the game

RECORDS

  1. Kansas Wesleyan 5-4, 3-0 Bissell
  2. Ottawa 1-8, 1-2 Bissell

THE SERIES

  1. Ottawa defeated the Coyotes 27-24 in overtime last season in Ottawa. The loss snapped KWU's eight-game winning streak against the Braves. Wesleyan has a 12-11 edge in the series since 2001.

KANSAS WESLEYAN AT A GLANCE

  1. The Coyotes took sole possession of first place in the Bissell Division with their 28-14 victory over Tabor last Saturday at JRI Stadium. The teams shared the lead entering the game. Two games remain in the regular season with the division winner qualifying for NAIA postseason play.
  2. Tailbacks Luke Armstrong and Zarek Fewell led the offense as KWU amassed 280 yards rushing on 56 attempts - 5.0 per carry. Armstrong had another monstrous day finishing with 187 yards on 24 carries (7.8 per carry) and two touchdowns while Fewell had 78 yards on 22 tries and a touchdown.
  3. The defense was stellar once again limiting Tabor to 37 yards rushing on 26 attempts. Linebackers Myles Elam and Daren Hawkins had eight tackles apiece.
  4. Elam, a freshman from McKinney, Texas, was named the KCAC's Defensive Player of the Week for his efforts. Five of his eight tackles were solo and he had one of the Coyotes' four sacks that resulted in a 16-yard loss.
  5. KWU scored first in overtime last year on Talon Cope's 23-yard field goal, but Ottawa won with a touchdown on their possession. The game was tied 14-14 at halftime and after three quarters. Mark Benjamin led the offense with 133 yards rushing and two touchdowns.

OTTAWA AT A GLANCE

  1. The Braves lost to Avila 26-13 last Saturday in Ottawa. It was their second consecutive loss after a 33-30 victory over Saint Mary on October 19 in Ottawa - their lone win of the season thus far. OU opened the season with six consecutive losses.
  2. Ottawa has struggled offensively, averaging 14 points and 261 total yards - 132 rushing and 129 passing. Opponents average 29 points and 377 total yards.
  3. Quarterback Taylor Eggers has completed 48 percent of his passes for 1,090 yards with seven touchdowns and 15 interceptions. De'Anthony Curtis is the top receiver with 43 receptions for 406 yards and two touchdowns while Clay Jordan has a team-best 582 yards rushing and six scores. Linebacker A.J. Hemphill leads the defense with 92 tackles.
  4. The Braves won the Bissell Division last year by virtue of the tiebreaker with KWU (both were 4-1). Ottawa finished 6-6 overall. Billy Maples threw two touchdown passes and William Ruth ran for 96 yards and the winning score in last year's game.
  5. Ottawa is led by third-year head coach Nick Davis. He was the Braves' defensive coordinator in 2021 and was a graduate assistant at OU from 2010-11.

KWU COACHES CHRIS SNYDER/DAVID LEONARD

Leonard: "We competed for four quarters (against Tabor). There was no letdown after halftime. We knew Tabor was going to be a difficult opponent, we knew that they weren't going to quit and go away. I think our kids prepared really well during the week and on Saturday they did a really good job of executing in the first half and then second half coming out and doing the same thing."

Snyder: "The physicality has been there for our (defense) the last few weeks. We're pretty sound in what we do. We don't take a lot of chances; we don't play a lot of crazy games and try to confuse you for the most part. Same thing offensively. We do a lot of formations but at the end of the day it's a handful of run plays. When your players can line up and just play they're going to play faster, they're going to play harder."

Leonard: "We have to do the things that we can control and play our game (against Ottawa). We can't let anything else get us outside of how we play our brand of football. You get a big game like this, and emotions run a little bit higher. But we have a really good senior class, guys that have been here before. You really rely on their leadership throughout the week and especially during the game."

Snyder: "We've been saying it the last few weeks but we're playing against ourselves. The longer you go in the season you see everybody's running a lot of similarities offensively, defensively so nothing's going to shock you. I think our motivation is going to be there. They're going to have good players, they're going to make some plays but for us it's always going to boil down to stopping the run, us running the ball and just being more physical."

SAFETY QUATAMA MASSAQUOI

"Early in the season (the secondary) had a lot of miscommunications where we didn't really talk a lot. But now it's a lot of community where we're starting to come together. The (defensive backs) are always on the phone, having FaceTime calls and stuff like that talking about different things we should do, what we should do for this play and what we should call. If you see us at practice or anywhere on campus, we're always with each other."Everybody's excited (about Ottawa). They're saying their record doesn't show it and they're going to bring it so we're real excited for this one. Try to get that back from how it was last year. It wasn't a good of a loss so we're ready to get that back."

NEXT WEEK

The Coyotes conclude the regular season with a Bissell Division game against Sterling. Kickoff is 1 p.m. Saturday at Smisor Stadium in Sterling.

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