[Football] Football Gameday Preview: Home debut of Harrison era on tap for tomorrow night vs. ...
The Lowdown: No. 23 Bethel College at Friends University
Location: Adair-Austin Stadium, Wichita, Kan.
Kickoff: Sept. 10, 7:00 pm
Live Broadcast: https://kcacnetwork.com/friends/
Live Stats: https://bit.ly/3RqRad7
Flying with the Falcons: The Friends University Falcons won their season opener for the first time since 2019 by defeating Oklahoma Panhandle State University 31-14 on Aug. 27 in Goodwell, Okla. New running back Zach Dressler (JR/Douglass, Kan. ) fueled the win with 165 rushing yards and a pair of touchdowns on the ground. The Falcons are now looking for their first KCAC victory of the season after falling on the road at No. 12-ranked Kansas Wesleyan University last Saturday night (Sept. 3).
Dressler leads the Falcons with 240 yards on the ground and Dayvon Mason (SR/Akron, Ohio) has a team-high 11 tackles for the defensive unit this season.
Scouting the Threshers: The No. 23-ranked Bethel College Threshers eked out a 14-13 win in their season opener last weekend against McPherson College. The Threshers trailed 13-0 at the half, but a touchdown in the third quarter and then a score with 5:11 left in the game proved to be the difference. Quarterback DJ Ciers threw for a touchdown and rushed for another in the win for Bethel.
Josh Seabolt led the Thresher defensive effort with 11 tackles, with Jairo Castillo and Tate Seabolt each producing one sack.
The Series: The Threshers have won three straight meetings and four of the last five games overall between the two schools. Prior to that recent stretch, the Falcons had captured 11 straight meetings over Bethel.
Ticket Information: Tickets for the home opener vs. Bethel College are available at the link below.
https://www.friendsathletics.com/ticketing
Home2 Suites by Hilton Halftime Report: If you're watching at home, stick around for the Home2 Suites by Hilton Halftime Report once the first half concludes. Our play-by-play announcer Pat Strathman will be visiting with our Associate VP of Athletics Dr. Rob Ramseyer. Click HERE to view the broadcast.
Mammoth Sports Construction: We are proud to have Mammoth Sports Construction back as an official sponsor of Friends University Football this season! For more info on their services, click HERE to visit their official website.
Falcons by the Numbers:
Home: 0-0
Away: 1-1
When scoring:
0-6 points: 0-1
7-13 points: 0-0
14-20 points: 0-0
21-27 points: 0-0
28 points+: 1-0
When allowing:
0-6 points: 0-0
7-13 points: 0-0
14-20 points: 1-0
21-27 points: 0-0
28 points+: 0-1
When scoring first: 0-0
When the opponent scores first: 1-1
When leading at halftime: 1-0
When trailing at halftime: 0-1
When tied at halftime: 0-0
When committing fewer turnovers: 0-0
When committing more turnovers: 0-1
When turnovers are tied: 1-0
When leading in total offense: 1-0
When trailing in total offense: 0-1
When winning time of possession: 1-1
When losing time of possession: 0-0
The Coaches:
Terry Harrison is in his first season as the Friends University head football coach.
Harrison arrived on campus after transforming fellow KCAC member Bethel College into a conference and national power.
After taking over a Bethel program in 2018 that was 1-9 and at the bottom of the league the previous season, Harrison's impact was felt immediately as he installed the flexbone offense and guided the team to finish third in the NAIA in rushing offense (274.4) per game.
The following season, Harrison would begin to affect the wins column by leading the Threshers to a second-place showing in the KCAC with an 8-3 overall record. Bethel continued to climb the leaderboard nationally, finishing tops in the NAIA in total rushing offense (4,084) and rushing offense per game (371.3) while ranking third in passing efficiency (180.3).
The best was yet to come as the next season, Harrison and the Threshers captured a Co-KCAC regular season championship and an NAIA national playoff berth to wind up No. 13 in the final NAIA FirstDown PlayBook Top 25 poll. The conference championship was the Threshers' first since 2007 and the national playoff appearance represented the first since the 2006 campaign and only the third in school history.
Once again, Harrison's squad set the standard nationally in rushing, leading the country in both total rushing offense (3828) and rushing offense per game (348.0) for the second consecutive season.
Harrison had the Threshers rolling again this year with a 9-2 overall record and a 9-1 league mark that netted the squad their second consecutive co-KCAC regular season title along with a final NAIA national ranking of 17th.
Harrison is embarking on his second go-round as a head coach of the Falcons in Wichita, as he spent five seasons as the head coach of the Wichita Heights High School Falcons. At Heights, Harrison guided the team to four Kansas 5A regional titles, a district championship, and a Greater-Area Wichita League title along with a 38-16 overall record. In 2016, Harrison was named the City-League Coach of the Year.
He has also been afforded the opportunity to speak at multiple coaching clinics, with the most recent engagement being the Tulsa Glazier Mega Clinic in 2016.
Harrison was a three-year captain at Sterling College and graduated in 2004 with a Bachelor of Sciences in Physical Education and Health. He then earned his Master of Science in School Leadership from Baker University in 2011.
"More than anything, I'm excited about creating a big-time program for the players here at Friends University," said Harrison. "I'm proud to be their new coach and can't wait to build something truly special with them!"
A.B. Stokes is in his first season as head coach of the Bethel College football program.
Before returning to his alma mater, Stokes was an assistant football coach and head wrestling coach at Lincoln Christian School in Tulsa, Okla.
In his first coaching stint for the Threshers, Stokes served as the offensive coordinator and associate head coach/director of recruiting on current Friends University head coach Terry Harrison's staff.
Prior to his initial coaching tenure at Bethel, Stokes was head football and track & field coach at Larned High School. At Larned, Stokes helped the program end a 28-year playoff drought and win consecutive first-round playoff games for the first time in school history.
Up Next: The Falcons will hit the road and play at Tabor College next Saturday evening (Sept. 17). Kickoff is scheduled for 6 pm in Hillsboro, Kan.