[Football] Football Gameday Preview: Falcons Open Home Slate Tomorrow Night on ESPN3 vs. No. ...

The Lowdown: No. 4 Kansas Wesleyan University at Friends University

Location: Adair-Austin Stadium, Wichita, Kan.

Kickoff: 7:00 pm

Video Broadcast on ESPN3: http://j.mp/2k9Q0Zf

Flying with the Falcons: The Friends University Falcons began the 2019 season on a positive note with a 21-6 victory at the University of Saint Mary Spires last Saturday night (Sept. 7) in Leavenworth, Kan.

"I am so proud of this group," Friends head coach Dion Meneley said. "They are learning what it means to be a team and it showed tonight.

Starting quarterback Dan Dawdy (JR/Haysville, Kan.) gave an efficient performance to start the season, going 18-of-25 for 149 yards and a pair of touchdown passes.

The Falcons were bolstered by career efforts from Marshall McShan (JR/Millville, NJ) and Juan Salazar (JR/Vernon, Texas). McShan rushed for a career-high 103 yards, including a bruising 59-yard touchdown run to put the Falcons on top 7-0. Salazar hauled in career-best marks of five receptions for 73 yards and a score.

In his first game as a Falcon, Jaylen Pant (SO/Pensacola, Fla.) recorded a team-best 10 tackles. Jeremiah Pharms (SR/Stockton, Calif. ) also produced career-high totals of seven tackles and 2.5 sacks.

Scouting the Coyotes: The No. 4-ranked Kansas Wesleyan University Coyotes, an NAIA National Semifinal qualifier last season, are 2-0 to start the season and have won both games by an average margin of 24.5 points per game. KWU defeated Texas Wesleyan University 48-24 to began before dispatching of Tabor College 37-12 in last week's KCAC opener.

Quarterback Johnny Feauto has completed 60 percent of his passes for KWU for 511 yards, along with seven touchdowns against three interceptions. Demarco Prewitt leads the Coyotes' ground attack thus far with 254 yards and three scores, while Stevie Williams has team-high receiving marks of 300 yards and four touchdowns through the air.

Defensively, Charles Barnes III has recorded a team-high 11 tackles for KWU, with Shaq Bradford leading the way in both sacks (5.5) and tackles for loss (6.5).

Quoting Head Coach Dion Meneley:

"This is going to be a fun game in front of our home fans. We have been working hard at playing the right way every single snap and it paid off with a win last week. Kansas Wesleyan is a very talented team that executes on both sides of the ball and we are going to have to out-execute them on a consistent basis. I am confident in this team and am excited to see them play in a physical matchup versus a ranked team."

The Series: The Coyotes have bested the Falcons the last four matchups.  Friends is 4-6 vs. KWU in the last 10 meetings between the schools, with a 2-2 mark in Wichita during that span.

First Things First: The Falcons' 21-6 win at the University of Saint Mary last season was their first season opening victory since the 2014 season, when they won 33-7 at Doane University (Neb.).

Red Out: All fans are encouraged to WEAR RED to support the Falcons in their 2019 home opener! For the entire Football Promotional schedule, click HERE.  

Kansas Turf: For the 2019 season, Adair-Austin Stadium received a massive turf upgrade, courtesy of Kansas Turf, a proud sponsor of the Friends University Football Falcons. To read everything the upgrade entails, click HERE. Also, click HERE for more info on Kansas Turf.

The Coaches:

Dion Meneley is entering his third season as head coach of the Friends University football program after a brief stint as the Falcon's defensive coordinator when he was originally hired by the university in 2017.

After starting last season 0-6, Meneley helped the Falcons finish strong with three wins in their last five outings.

In his first season at the helm, Meneley oversaw a Falcons' defensive unit that featured the KCAC Defensive Player of the Year, Tim Hamilton in his debut season.

Overall, the Falcons led the KCAC in sacks (26.5), yards allowed per game (300.9) campaign, (112.5) and opponent first downs (181) in the 2017 campaign.  The Falcons were also a close second in the league in points allowed per game (22.8 ppg).

Meneley helped establish a prowess in the classroom, as 11 Falcons earned KCAC Scholar Athlete honors, eight were on the National Football Foundation Hampshire Honor Society list and five received NAIA Scholar Athlete recognition. The Falcons' Hampshire Honor Society honorees ranked second among NAIA schools, behind only Peru State's nine recipients.

Prior to coming to Friends, 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.

He 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.

Meneley and his wife Misti have been married for five years and currently reside in Maize, Kan.

Myers Hendrickson is in his first season as head coach of the Kansas Wesleyan University Coyotes, replacing Matt Drinkall.

Hendrickson is familiar with KWU, having served as an assistant coach under Drinkall for two seasons before a two-year stint at Coe College (Iowa).

Last season, Hendrickson was the offensive coordinator at Northern State University (S.D.).

Up Next: The Falcons will remain at home and host Tabor College next Saturday night (Sept. 21) at 7 pm. It will be Youth Night, with all youth 17 and under receiving FREE admission to the game.