[Football] Football Gameday Preview: Falcons Host McPherson Saturday Afternoon

The Lowdown: McPherson College at Friends University

Location: Adair-Austin Stadium, Wichita, Kan.

Kickoff: 1:30 pm

Video Broadcast: https://portal.stretchinternet.com/friends/

Radio Broadcast: KKLE 1550 AM

Flying with the Falcons: The Friends University Falcons come into the matchup against McPherson at 2-5 overall and 2-3 in the KCAC.

Of the Falcons five setbacks, three have been on the road to NAIA nationally ranked teams, including a heartbreaking 19-18 loss at Sterling College, who is currently tied for 20th in the NAIA and tied for first in the KCAC.  The Falcons also suffered a tough, 34-28 loss to Ottawa University in triple-overtime.

Freshman running back Noah Diaz (FR/Sun Prairie, Wis.) has been a force for the Falcons, leading the KCAC with 126 rushing yards per game while being tied for the league lead with six rushing touchdowns.

With starting quarterback Brennan Whitaker (SR/Iowa Park, Texas) sidelined indefinitely with an injury, Meneley will turn to one of his freshman quarterbacks, either Dan Dawdy (FR/Haysville, Kan.) or Kevin Folsom (FR/Maize, Kan.) against the Bulldogs. Dawdy has thrown for 434 yards and two touchdowns in four outings, while Folsom, who saw his first game action last week following an injury of his own in week two, has passed for 208 yards in two appearances. Folsom has also rushed for 155 yards on 26 attempts.

Wide Receiver Sam Camp (SR/Winfield, Kan.) is coming off a career-high performance of 132 receiving yards at No. 24-ranked Kansas Wesleyan University last Saturday and leads the Falcons with 341 receiving yards on the season. Jacob Cron (SR/Johnson, Kan.) has caught 21 passes for 316 yards, with Blair Perry (JR/Sarasota, Fla.) recording 22 catches for 232 yards.

Getting Defensive: The Falcons have been one of the best defensive units in the KCAC this season. Senior defensive end Tim Hamilton (SR/Wichita, Kan.) leads the league with 7.5 sacks, followed closely by senior defensive tackle Kelechi Chukwuka (SR/Aurora, Colo.), who is tied for fourth with 5.5 sacks. Junior cornerback Sherman Arthur (JR/Los Angeles, Calif.) is also tied for second in the KCAC with three interceptions on the season.

As a team, the Falcons lead the KCAC in total defense, allowing only 308 yards per game. Friends is also second in the league in total sacks (17.5) and third in scoring defense (24.0 ppg allowed).

Quoting Head Coach Dion Meneley on the game:

"McPherson has very good players on both sides of the ball, but all of our energy is focused on executing our assignments as effectively as possible each play. Forcing turnovers and taking care of the ball when we have it is something I will be stressing throughout the game."

Scouting the Bulldogs: The McPherson College Bulldogs are currently 3-3 overall, with a 2-3 record in the KCAC.

Quarterback Ed Crouch has been the pulse of the Bulldogs' offensive attack, throwing for 999 yards and 11 touchdowns with only one interception, while also serving as the team's leading rusher with 460 yards on the ground and a team-high six rushing scores.

The Bulldogs have also prominently featured two other rushers in Corey Davis and Tyrone Campbell. Davis has gained 375 rushing yards, with Campbell running for 262 yards with four touchdowns.

Desmond Anderson leads the Bulldogs with 337 receiving yards on the season, while Jackson Goodmiller has caught a team-best 28 passes for 300 yards.

Defensively, Alwin Crawford has four interceptions and Isaiah Hill has posted a team-best 4.5 sacks.  

The Series: Friends is 8-5 against the Bulldogs since the 2004 season and have won the past five meetings overall, including a 21-19 victory last season on the road in McPherson, Kan.

The Coaches:

Dion Meneley was named the 17th head coach for the Friends University Football team on March 23rd after a brief stint as the Falcon's defensive coordinator when he was originally hired by the university in February.

Prior to coming to Friends, Coach Meneley was in his fifth season at Hutchinson Community College as the assistant head coach, defensive coordinator and linebackers coach. In his first four seasons at Hutchinson, Meneley's defenses produced six NJCAA All-Americans and 31 all-Jayhawk Conference performers. In 2012, the Blue Dragons led the Jayhawk conference in pass defense scoring, they were second in total defense and second in rush defense.

In 2014, Meneley's defense was one of the best in the Jayhawk Conference. The 2014 Blue Dragons captured the program's first conference title and had its highest final national ranking of No. 4 after a record 11-1 season.

A native of Topeka, Meneley came to Hutchinson with experience at the NAIA and NCAA Division ll levels. Before Hutchinson, Meneley was an assistant coach at Fort Hays State University where he was the defensive coordinator for the Tigers in 2011. He also coached the defensive line. Before that, he spent four seasons as the defensive coordinator at Southwestern College in Winfield.

Meneley was a two-time All-MIAA selection at outside linebacker and one-time All-MIAA selection at defensive end for Pittsburg State. During his playing career, he was a part of three MIAA championships and the 1995 team that finished as the NCAA Division ll runner-up. He was a team captain for the Gorillas in 1999.

Meneley received his bachelor's degree in general studies from Pittsburg State University and his master's degree in leadership from Southwestern College.

Paul Mierkiewicz is in his third season as head coach of the McPherson College Bulldogs. Prior to arriving at McPherson, Mierkiewicz was the head coach at Loras College for three seasons and Hastings College for 10 years.

Up Next: The Falcons will celebrate Senior Day and host No. 20-ranked Tabor College next Saturday (Oct. 28) at noon at Adair-Austin Stadium.