There was a time earlier this season when the second half of a game was a cause for trepidation for Kansas Wesleyan’s football team.
That has changed of late and Saturday afternoon was a prime example. Leading 7-0 at halftime the Coyotes scored 16 unanswered points in the third quarter and cruised to a 23-3 Kansas Conference and Gene Bissell Division victory over Sterling at Smisor Stadium.
They ended the regular season with their fifth consecutive victory and a 7-4 record, 5-0 in the division. They’ll learn who and where they play in the first round of the NAIA Championship at 6 p.m. Sunday when the pairings are announced.
“Things drastically changed the second half,” interim co-head coach Chris Snyder said on the postgame radio show. “The defense really picked it up and offensively we got some things going. It’s good when your older guys acknowledge that we did not get off the bus ready to play.
“They responded at halftime, and they realized we can’t keep sleepwalking through this. You saw a better overall performance the second half.”
Luke Armstrong, the KCAC’s leading rusher, had still another enormous game rushing for 163 yards on 19 carries (8.4 per carry) and two touchdowns. His 71-yard scoring gallop on KWU’s second play from scrimmage gave the Coyotes a quick 7-0 lead in the first quarter.
The game settled into a defensive battle punctuated by a flurry of penalties and Wesleyan maintained the touchdown advantage going into intermission.
The Coyotes got the ball to start the second half and working with a strong south wind at their backs drove 56 yards on eight plays — the final 37 yards on Byron McNair’s pinpoint pass to Earl Gray down the left sideline. Gray caught the ball inside the 10-yard line and battled a defender into the end zone with 11:46 left in the third quarter making it 14-0.
Jordan Diggins stripped sacked Sterling quarterback Rocklin Baptista on the Warriors’ first possession of the second half and returned it 18 yards to the SC 10. KWU had to settle for Cope’s 22-yard field goal, though, and led 17-0 with 9:31 left in the third.
Jamison Price intercepted a Baptista pass on Sterling’s next possession and returned it to the Warriors’ 45-yard line. Armstrong scored again nine plays later, this time from the 5, making it 23-0 with 3:40 left in the third. Cope’s PAT kick was blocked.
Wesleyan’s defense did the rest in impressive fashion. The Warriors scored on James Henisey’s 29-yard field goal with 1:12 left in the game.
Sterling finished with 230 total yards, just 61 rushing on 47 attempts – 1.3 per carry. The Coyotes stopped the Warriors on downs three times, registered six sacks, had two interceptions, and recovered a fumble.
Linebacker Myles Elam led the way once again with 10 tackles that included 2.5 for losses. Diggins, an interior lineman, had nine tackles and linebacker Daniel Cabrera eight.
The one downer was 13 penalties for 132 yards. Sterling had 10 for 78 yards.
“I was proud of the kids the way they handled things on the sideline today with the slow start,” Snyder said. “You aren’t hearing anything really negative other than ‘hey, we’ve got to pick it up and don’t settle for field goals.’ It’s been an adversity push the last couple of weeks and the kids have handled it well.”
Byron McNair took most of the snaps at quarterback and was 9 of 18 passing for 127 yards and no interceptions. Gray had four catches for 63 yards and Zarek Fewell added 47 yards rushing on eight carries.
Sterling’s three quarterbacks were a combined 14 of 34 for 169 yards.
“I thought (McNair) played pretty well,” Snyder said. “You have to stay ahead of the (first down) chains, not falling behind, and you can’t have the negative plays. I don’t feel like the last couple of weeks we’ve been in a whole lot of third and 10s, third and forever. Everything’s been manageable.”
First-round playoff games will be next Saturday. The Coyotes’ last postseason appearance was in 2021.
“I give all the credit to the kids,” Snyder said, “because it doesn’t matter what you say or what you do as a coach. For the most part the kids have to trust you and believe in you and I really believe our players believe in what our coaches preach.”
