[Football] Second Half Explosion Sparks Football Falcons to First Win, 35-19 at St. Mary

Leavenworth, Kan. – Noah Diaz (FR/Sun Prairie, Wis.) rushed for three touchdowns to lead a second half offensive onslaught and help the Friends University Falcons jump into the win column with a 35-19 victory over the University of St. Mary Spires in KCAC action today (Sept. 23) in Leavenworth, Kan.

Tied 7-7 heading to the third quarter, Diaz gave the Falcons good starting field position with a 37 yard return to the Spire 48 yard line.

The Falcons capitalized and took the lead for good on a 12 yard scamper by Diaz at the 11:49 mark.

It was then time for the Falcon defense to extend the lead, as Sherman Arthur (JR/Los Angeles, Calif.) recorded his team-leading third interception of the season and returned it 15 yards on the Spires' first play of the ensuing possession for a 21-7 lead.

Later in the third, the Falcons' defense again came up big on an interception by John Buchanan (SR/Wichita, Kan.) deep in Spire territory that led to Diaz' second touchdown run and a 28-7 cushion.

Friends took that 21-point lead into the final quarter until Diaz broke free for a 41 yard touchdown run to build the edge to a comfortable 35-7 count.

A touchdown pass by Drew Cortez and touchdown run from Zach Hilliard finished out the scoring for the Spires.

After having a chance to win all three games heading into today but coming up short, closing out this win felt good for Friends.

"We actually played about the same as we have the past three weeks, but this time we won the turnover battle," Friends first-year Head Football Coach Dion Meneley said. The Falcons did win the turnover battle by forcing three Spire giveaways, while committing none of their own.  

"I'm just really happy for these guys, they deserve to feel good after the way they have worked leading up to today."

The Falcons (1-3, 1-1 KCAC) got on the board first when Brennan Whitaker (SR/Iowa Park, Texas) found Jacob Cron (SR/Johnson, Kan.) for a seven-yard touchdown pass with 3:28 left in the first quarter.

It stayed 7-0 Friends until a six-yard touchdown run by Hilliard midway through the second quarter pulled the Spires even.

Diaz has now rushed for over 100 yards in all three career games after going for 123 today.

Whitaker passed for 178 yards on 19-of-31 attempts, while Cortez was 21-of-42 for 270 yards for the Spires (1-3, 0-2 KCAC).

Cron also caught two passes for a team-high 52 yards, including the seven-yard score from Whitaker.

Defensively, Josh Gilchrist (JR/Wichita, Kan.), Tim Hamilton (SR/Wichita, Kan.) and Josh Lewis (SR/Wichita, Kan.) each had a sack today for Friends.

Up next, the Falcons will play at No. 18-ranked Sterling College next Saturday night (Sept. 30) at 7 pm in Sterling, Kan.