KWU stays on a roll
By BOB DAVIDSON, Salina Journal

WINFIELD -- Kansas Wesleyan safety Richie Raught had an uneasy feeling entering the Coyotes' game Saturday afternoon against winless Southwestern.

"I was scared, personally, that we'd play down to their level, no offense to them," Raught said. "But we came out here and played like we know how to play."

Did they ever. Led by a suffocating defensive effort and another stampede from its running game, Wesleyan rolled over the Moundbuilders 40-0 in a Kansas Conference game at Sonner Stadium.

The victory is the Coyotes' third in a row and raises their record to 3-1 overall, 2-1 in the KCAC. Southwestern falls to 0-4, 0-3 in the conference.

Any apprehension Raught had quickly disappeared as Wesleyan took control early. The Coyotes scored 21 points in the game's first 8 minutes, 24 seconds and never looked back.

Dallas hit Steven Valliere with a 33-yard touchdown pass on the sixth play of the game and Scotty McKeon's extra point kick made it 7-0 just 12:39 in. After Southwestern's offense went three-and-out, Preston McCorkle burst through a hole on the left side and rambled 68 yards for a touchdown on the Coyotes' first play after the punt. McKeon's kick made it 14-0 with 11:10 left in the quarter.

After another Moundbuilder three-and-out, KWU drove 64 yards on eight plays with McCorkle going the final 5 yards into the end zone. McKeon's kick made it 21-0 with 6:36 left in the quarter.

The rest, as they say, was academic.

"On defense we locked them down, our offense moved the ball, Drew made good decisions and Buffalo (McCorkle) ran the ball ... we're very confident right now," Raught said in a tidy and accurate summary of the day's proceedings.

Wesleyan, the No. 2-ranked rushing offense in the NAIA, piled up 246 yards rushing -- 190 in the first. McCorkle had 125 on 19 carries and two touchdowns while Jeremy Washington added 70 on 12 carries, all in the first half. Dallas was 12 of 18 passing for 173 yards and two touchdowns and had 21 yards rushing on five carries, including a five-yard TD run in the third quarter.

Wesleyan finished with 419 total yards.

But the bigger story might have been the Coyotes' defense, which dominated a young and injury-decimated Southwestern offense.

The Moundbuilders didn't get their initial first down of the game until early in the third quarter and had just two yards total offense in the first half. They finished with 128 yards on 58 plays, including 56 yards rushing on 37 attempts -- a 1.5 average.

Wesleyan also forced six turnovers -- four fumbles and two interceptions -- and held the Moundbuilders out of the end zone in the fourth quarter after they had the ball first-and-goal at the KWU 1. The drive ended four plays later when Raught intercepted a Jesse Lyons' pass in the end zone.

"Southwestern was real loose, and they have a lot of freshmen," defensive end Scott Moore said. "We had to play at our level and not play down to their level."

"Coach (Colby) Hensley (defensive coordinator) prepares us to be in the right position every week," said Raught, a junior and returning starter. "Coach Hensley's the best coach I've ever had."

Wesleyan coach Dave Dallas was pleased with most everything he saw during the day.

"I thought we played well defensively, and I thought we did a great job offensively as well," he said. "The first half we got out and got after them and gave that defense that lead.

"I just thought it was a great team win, and we took advantage of things."

Wesleyan's schedule gets significantly more difficult the next two weeks, starting Saturday when Ottawa visits Salina Stadium for a 1:30 p.m. homecoming game. No. 7-ranked Friends comes to town the following week.

"(Ottawa) played well against us last season and (the 34-14 loss) was a turning point in our season," Dallas said. "I always like to play good opponents for homecoming, and they're an awfully good opponent. It will be an exciting time."

-- SJ --