After carrying the ball 40 times against McPherson, Kansas Wesleyan head football coach Matt Drinkall expected junior tailback Demarco Prewitt to be sluggish the next day.

The Menifee, Calif. product was just getting started.

The NAIA’s leader in rushing ran for 304 yards and four touchdowns, the defense held the Bethel offense in check in the second half, and the No. 7 Coyotes pulled away from the Threshers for a 49-19 victory at Thresher Stadium. Prewitt’s 304 yards tops the NAIA list for yards in a game for 2018. Kansas Wesleyan is now set for a showdown with Avila for the KCAC championship next weekend.

Kansas Wesleyan might have been looking ahead, setting up the perfect “trap” game. Bethel settled into that role after forcing KWU to punt on the first two drives.

Following the second punt, the Threshers hit the Coyotes with huge chunks of yardage, including a 16-yard TD pass by Zach Esau to tight end Tanner Galliart with 1:34 remaining in the opening quarter. Wesleyan junior quarterback Johnny Feauto tried to will his team back into the game, but ended up throwing his second interception of the season, setting up a 34-yard scoring scamper for Bethel’s Camryn Harrison, 34 seconds into the second period.

The Coyotes flipped the switch and never looked back, putting up 28 unanswered points. Feauto made up for his pick with a 49-yard bomb to junior receiver Tim Arno. Prewitt gave KWU a 14-13 advantage on a seven-yard touchdown while Feauto extended the margin to eight at the break on a 12-yard scrambling pass to sophomore Charlie Simmons.

Prewitt ripped a 37-yard touchdown before being matched with 6:39 left in the third. Bethel used a run off a fake punt by defensive tackle Joseph Winfield to aid the Threshers on a scoring drive, capped by fullback Braedon Starlin-Driver’s 21-yard sprint, trimming the deficit to 28-19.

Wesleyan turned to Prewitt, the NAIA’s leader in scoring, to seal the victory. Prewitt broke free from two defenders and sprinted 38 yards downfield into the end zone for his longest run of the season, grabbing the BE Wealth Play of the Game and Salina Ortho Player of the Game.

For the second consecutive week, Prewitt carried the ball 40 times after becoming the first Coyote with 40 or more totes since Preston McCorkle’s 41 against Saint Mary in 2008. Feauto was just 4-of-15 passing for 105 yards and three touchdowns, a pair going to Arno. Feauto matched the school record for passing touchdowns in a single season, tying Doug Webster’s 34 in 2010.

Defensively, junior linebacker Warren Singletary paced the Coyotes with 12 tackles. Wesleyan allowed 315 yards on 64 plays.

KWU (9-0, 8-0 KCAC) welcomes ranked Avila to the Graves Family Sports Complex next Saturday. Kickoff is at 1:30 pm with pregame at 1 on FM 104.9, ksal.com and the Rocking M Media app.

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