Football looks to turn things around hosting Bethel on Saturday

By KWU Athletics Release September 25, 2024

The Coyotes are back home Saturday for a Kansas Conference game against the Bethel College Threshers. Kickoff is 6 p.m. on Gene Bissell Field at JRI Stadium and the Graves Family Sports Complex.

LIVE COVERAGE

  • 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 have Coyote Game Day Live at JRI Stadium from 5 to 5:30, hosted by student broadcasters, previewing Saturday’s match-up. At 5:30, the video stream pregame switches to the KINA Radio Pregame Show with Tyler Henry and Brooks Garretson.
  • Live Stats will be available at https://kwucoyotes.com/sidearmstats/football/summary
  • Radio coverage will be on the KINA Radio starting at 5 p.m., with the pregame show with Tyler Henry and Brooks Garretson. The online radio stream is available at https://radio.securenetsystems.net/ce/kina2.

RECORDS

  • Kansas Wesleyan 1-3
  • Bethel 4-0

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. Very few spots remain in the Premium Tailgate lot. Reserve a remaining spot now at www.kwucoyotes.com/tickets

GAME DAY SPONSORS
Saturday’s official 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 meals

PROMOTIONS

  • Yotee’s Spirit Store will be open in the Student Activities Center AND on the concourse level at JRI Stadium.
  • Coyote Dance Team will perform at half time
  • Check out the latest vehicles from our transportation partners Marshall Motor and Long McArthur

THE SERIES

  • KWU has won 14 of the last 15 including a 24-14 victory last season in North Newton. Bethel won 30-24 in 2022 in JRI Stadium ending the Coyotes’ 13-game winning streak. KWU is 19-4 against Bethel since 2001.
  • KWU leads the all-time series 61-25-2 against the Threshers.

KANSAS WESLEYAN AT A GLANCE

  • The Coyotes lost to No. 21-ranked Friends 28-26 last Saturday in Wichita. Cole Thompson kicked a game-winning 40-yard field goal on the final play of the game. KWU had taken a 26-25 lead on Luke Armstrong’s 37-yard run with 5:27 left before the final Falcons’ final drive.
  • Armstrong led the offense with 79 yards rushing on 20 carries and returned a kickoff 95 yards for a touchdown in the third quarter. He is averaging 8.0 yards per carry and has 377 yards on 47 carries and five touchdowns. He also has returned two kickoffs for scores.
  • Special teams had a huge night against Friends. Cole Seagraves kicked a school-record 54-yard field goal on the last play of the first half and Talon Cope had field goals of 29, 32 and 29 yards. Punter Griffin Wiltse averaged 54.5 yards on four kicks.
  • Richard Lara threw for 232 yards and three touchdowns in last year’s victory over Bethel. He was 19 of 29 passing with one interception. Armstrong caught six passes for 102 yards and a touchdown.
  • The defense blanked the Threshers in the second half and allowed just 213 total yards – 128 rushing and 85 passing. Josh King-Bradley had two sacks.

BETHEL AT A GLANCE

  • The Threshers rallied for a 20-17 victory over Avila last Saturday in North Newton. Avila led 17-13 after three quarters before Bethel scored with 8:55 left in the game.
  • Bethel opened the season with a 13-0 victory at Sterling then defeated Saint Mary 33-17 at home and won 27-24 at Ottawa.
  • The Threshers average 304 yards a game – 210 rushing, 130 passing. Senior running back Torriano Richardson has a team-best 504 yards rushing and averages 6.0 yards per carry. He had 122 yards on 24 carries against Avila. Senior quarterback C.J. Ciers has 169 yards rushing, five touchdowns and has completed 50.6 percent of his passes for 521 yards and five TDs.
  • Defensively Bethel allows 14.5 points and 253 yards per game. Opponents are averaging 111 yards rushing.
  • Bethel is led by interim head coach Daylon Markham. He’s in his fourth season and was slated to be defensive coordinator this fall before being promoted following A.B. Stokes’ resignation in July.

KWU COACH MATT MYERS
“The game plan going in defensively (against Friends) was solid. We gave up a lot of yards, but we also made them snap the ball a lot. We didn’t give up a ton of big plays. Offensively obviously we didn’t move the ball as well as we wanted to. We need to be more efficient with the football in the air, but we ran the ball solidly. Unfortunately, just didn’t close it out late.

“I want (Armstrong) touching the ball a minimum of 20 times a game. He’s a really talented and a guy that we can use as a decoy at times.

“(Bethel) is going to run the ball with the quarterback and drop back when they need to. We’ve got to make sure that we keep Ciers under wraps for sure. We want to make him throw the ball deep down the field and keep him as uncomfortable as possible.”

KWU WIDE RECEIVER EARL GRAY
“I knew coming here (from Missouri Baptist) was going to be a challenge because the competition level in practice is hard. I can be doing way better than what I am and I know I am going to do better. I’m really hard on myself because I know that the work that I put in and it will show. You’re going to see a whole lot more in the next seven games.

“We need to help our defense out more. We need to stay on the field longer, we need to put up longer drives. I feel like we’ve got to play better and we will play better. We’ve got to do better scoring in the red zone and the goal zone because most of those times we’re leaving with field goals and that really hurts us.”

KWU OFFENSIVE COORDINATOR JAMES BAUER
“(Byron McNair) has been a leader to the guys and somebody that people look to in the locker room. He’s getting the guys together and talking to them and everybody listens to him. That’s the biggest thing I see for him and it’s going to grow as he keeps growing as a quarterback.

“(Drop back passing game) is something where he needs to get a lot better. He has his guys that he looks to and he just needs to be able to progress and keep moving through the thing, not just focus on one person which he has a tendency to do at times. Sometimes he goes through the progressions beautifully and I’m like ‘okay everything’s fine.’ It’s something a young quarterback does.

“We’ve got to complete some passes (against Bethel). We need to drop back and make sure we progress and just do our job.”

NEXT WEEK
The Coyotes play conference foe McPherson at 1 p.m. Saturday in McPherson. It will be their final game against opponents from the Ted Kessinger Division.