Balanced attack leads Coyotes past Southwestern
By: David Toelle, KWU Sports Information

Brandon McGinn (center) blocks Colby Seagraves punt during the first quarter of KWU's 44-14 win over Southwestern

Kansas Wesleyan used a balanced offensive attack and continued spectacular special teams play to cruise to a 44-14 homecoming win over Southwestern College on Saturday at Salina Stadium.

The Coyotes had 187 yards rushing on the night, complemented by 137 yards passing from Drew Dallas.

Wesleyan found paydirt on its second drive of the game, as the Coyotes drove to the Southwestern-9, before settling for a 27 yard Troy Van Blarcom field goal. The Coyotes had a chance to put seven on the board, but a wide open Brad Cintas dropped Dallas’ pass on third down.

Special teams struck on the ensuing Southwestern drive. After the ‘Builders only managed one yard, Brandon McGinn got through the line and blocked Colby Seagraves’ punt, which was picked up by Willie Johnson at the SWC-11 and he sprinted untouched into the endzone. Van Blarcom’s kick made it 10-0 Coyotes with 4:44 to go in the first.

A bad snap on the punt of Southwestern’s next drive gave Wesleyan another short field, as it only took two plays before Dallas hit Marcus Lowe from 13 yards out, and Van Blarcom’s kick made it 17-0 with 3:03 left in the first.

After another KWU drive stalled and ended with no points when Van Blarcom missed a 33-yard field goal into the strong south wind, and the ‘Builders took advantage, marching down the field capping the drive with a one yard touchdown run by Michael Coppock. The drive appeared to stall on fourth down at the KWU-43, but a pass interference penalty against the Coyotes gave the ‘Builders a first down.

Wesleyan’s special teams struck again on the kickoff when Steven Valliere took the kickoff at the 15 and went the other way 85 yards for a touchdown. Van Blarcom’s kick made it 24-7 with 4:54 left in the first half.

Ryan Dolan would then pick off a third down pass and return it to the SWC-21, giving the Coyotes more great field position and a chance to score again before the half. Wesleyan had first and goal at the eight, but Preston McCorkle was stripped by Oscar Guerrero and Lin Roberts jumped on it at the seven, giving Southwestern the ball. The ‘Builders, however, could go nowhere, as they had negative yardage on the drive and Seagraves’ punt was downed at the SWC-38.

The Coyotes would sit on the ball and take the 24-7 lead into the half.

Southwestern (2-2, 2-1) would take the ball to open the third quarter, but could get no further than the KWU-48, where the ‘Builders gave the ball back to the Coyotes when Matt Case and Dustin Trimble tackled Coppock for a two yard loss on a fourth and 1 play.

The Coyotes would take advantage of the good field position and Dallas would cap the eight play, 50 yard drive with a 24-yard touchdown pass to Jason Dolan. A bad snap on the PAT attempt would cause Van Blarcom to hit the upright and Wesleyan held a 30-7 lead.

On Wesleyan’s next drive, following a three-and-out by the ‘Builders, Dallas would hit Marcus Lowe from 11 yards out for the score, capping a 10-play, 55 yard drive, extending the Wesleyan lead to 37-7 with Van Blarcom’s kick.

Wesleyan would get its final score of the night when Dallas would hit Michael Donald from six yards out for his fourth touchdown pass of the night. Van Blarcom’s kick would make it 44-7 with 12:49 left in the game.

Southwestern would score on its next drive as Brendt Winn would give the ‘Builders first and goal at the KWU-1 on a 28-yard run and one play later Nick Mondero would score and Brion Hawkins would hit the PAT to make it 44-14 with 10:28 left.

Wesleyan would get some younger players valuable experience on its next drive as Aaron Feldkamp took over at quarterback, and Rodney Cooper, Joe Guillory, Tommy Horachek and Ryan Walker all got touches on the drive. The Coyotes would give the ball back to the ‘Builders when a fourth and three attempt was short.

Each team had failed fourth down attempts on their ensuing drives, and Southwestern ran out of time on its final drive as the Coyotes got the 44-14 win.

McCorkle led the Coyote rushing attack with 81 yards on 20 carries, as nine Coyotes saw the ball carrying a collective 56 times for 187 yards. Dallas was 11-for-20 passing for 137 yards and had four touchdowns. Marcus Lowe led the Coyote receivers with five catches for 60 yards and two scores, while Valliere had three catches for 42.

Coppock was Southwestern’s leading rusher, carrying 22 times for 51 yards and a score, while Winn added four carries for 38 yards. Jesse Lyons was 10-of-29 for 80 yards and one interception and Jeff Schaefer was 1-for-4 for five yards after taking over in the fourth quarter. Ryan Molz had six catches for 54 yards to lead the ‘Builder receivers.

Wesleyan is on the road for its next two games, as the Coyotes head to Ottawa to take on the Braves next Saturday, and then head to Wichita to take on Friends on October 13. Wesleyan returns home on October 20 to face Saint Mary. The kickoff for the Saint Mary game has been changed to 3 p.m., from its original 1:30 start time.

-- KWU SI --