Box Score WINFIELD, Kan. – The importance of Saturday's win-or-go-home battle for the No. 10-ranked Southwestern College football team could not be overstated. It was a matchup of two top-25 squads, as No. 25-ranked Kansas Wesleyan University traveled down to Winfield and gave the Moundbuilders a scare after accruing a 20-7 lead at halftime over the Moundbuilders. As has been the trend, though, the Builders returned from the intermission rejuvenated and put together a 19-0 second half to snatch a 26-20 victory over KWU from the jaws of defeat.
Things looked promising in the first few seconds of the tilt, as the opening kickoff by Gabriel Medrano was muffed by the Coyotes return man. The ball would be recovered by Southwestern on just the 11 yard-line of Kansas Wesleyan, setting up the offense for prime production. It would take just three plays to pound the rock into the endzone, as Keyshawn Jones was the beneficiary of a 6-yard rushing score. Kansas Wesleyan would respond, however, with a 10-play drive that eclipsed 62 yards and ended with a 30-yard field goal. The 7-3 tally would quickly be flipped, as Southwestern tossed a pick-six on their first play from scrimmage on the ensuing drive. The squads struggled to create much offense for the remainder of the quarter, heading to the second frame with a 10-7 KWU advantage.
Southwestern would take a trip down into the red zone in the early portion of the second quarter, but would be forced to attempt a chip-shot field goal. An errant snap to the Builder holder resulted in the kick being sent into the back of the offensive line and caroming off to the near sideline. Advantageously, the Coyotes scooped up the pigskin and toted it all the way down the field to the endzone, making it 17-7 with 10:57 to play in the first half. Offensive struggles continued to be the story for the Moundbuilders in the half, as the Coyotes would get the ball back and convert another field goal, this time from 25 yards out. That would conclude the scoring for the two sides, as Southwestern faced a massive 13-point deficit heading to the second half of the bout.
Receiving the ball to begin the third quarter, Southwestern more than took advantage of the opportunity to score, as they obtained a 67-yard run by Sommarra Hunter to the house on their first offensive play of the second half. With what was then a 20-14 game, SC was right back in the battle. Then, after allowing KWU to move the ball down the field, they forced a field-goal attempt. The kick was blocked by Richard Holmes and kept the Coyotes off the board, setting up the Moundbuilders with a chance to take the lead. Southwestern would do just that, putting together a pretty possession in which they went 96 yards on seven plays in just 3:40. Keyshawn Jones scored his second TD of the game, this time as a receiver, on a 21-yard strike to pay dirt from Brad Cagle. The Builders would get two points on the PAT, as Joseph Perez scored a rushing conversion to make it a 22-20 lead. Then, a personal foul occurred on the play, as well, setting up the kicking team from midfield. Medrano expertly popped up the kickoff to the eight yard-line, where the KWU returner called fair catch. After getting the ball to their own 15, Kansas Wesleyan took a pair of sacks in a row, the latter of which resulted in a safety for the Moundbuilders, as the score went to 24-20 entering the fourth frame.
Multiple opportunities arose for the Coyotes to take back their lead in the fourth quarter, the most obvious of which came in the middle minutes of the period. After marching the ball down to the red zone, Southwestern stopped the Coyotes in their tracks on a 4th-and-1 play from the Builder 12, as a measurement was taken and deemed the ball to be short of the line to gain. Working the clock would be the main goal for SC at that point in the game, and the squad did a nice job of it. They used a total of 5:19 on their next possession but did not obtain any points. Luckily, the Medrano punt would be downed at the opposing one yard-line, and KWU's final offensive play of the game resulted in yet another safety for the Southwestern defense. The Coyotes tried a last-ditch onside kick with 2:10 left, but it was recovered nicely at the Kansas Wesleyan 30 yard-line by Cody Wittenberg. Ultimately, the Builders needed just one first down after that point to seal the win, and they got exactly that from Hunter on a 20-yard rush up the gut on 2nd-and-11.
Cagle, though it was not his cleanest day under center, made plays when it mattered the most. He completed exactly half of his passing attempts, going 13-of-26 on the day. He had 193 yards through the air, while adding a TD on the 21-yard toss to Jones.
Sommarra Hunter had a breakout day for SC in this battle, accruing 149 yards rushing for the team who lost their top two rushers to ailments in the early parts of the game. He had the 67-yard score to start the second half and carried the ball a total of 20 times for the Builders, the second highest mark for any Builder back in a single game this season. Keyshawn Jones had a rushing TD, but only carried the rock a pair of times for -4 yards.
Matthew Holthusen was the team's leading receiver in the battle, as he tallied 91 yards on four grabs for Southwestern. He had the team's longest catch of the game, which went for 48 yards down the seam. Jones had a receiving touchdown for the first time this season in the win, totaling 51 yards and a 12.8 yards/reception average. Layke Hoffman had a couple of catches for 34 yards, including a 33-yard stab in the deep-middle portion of the secondary.
On defense, Southwestern was on fire in the second half. They continue to employ a "bend but don't break" mentality, and it paid dividends in the late going. Taveon Williamson led the team in tackles with 10 total and seven solo stops. Josh Carter (0.5), Shane Rodriguez (1) and Jakharious Smith (1.5) had the three sacks for Southwestern's defense, including the half sack by Carter and Smith for the first SC safety. Carter also made the tackle for loss in the endzone to tally the second Builder safety of the game. The squad had six tackles for loss in the tilt, as Travon Crockett (0.5), Drew Smith (0.5), Carter (1.5), J. Smith (1.5), Rodriguez (1), Tylor Morehead (0.5) and Darren Hicks Jr. (0.5) combined for those. David Roper II and Hunter had single fumble recoveries on special teams, as well.
For SC, (9-1, 9-1 KCAC) the NAIA Selection Show is next on the docket, as the NAIA YouTube channel will bring the full 16-team national tournament bracket to life on Sunday, November 13 at 6 p.m. CT. Southwestern's win today likely put them in position to secure one of the final at-large berths to the national tourney, but the squad will have to wait to see their exact fate until Sunday evening.
--buildersports.com--
