Believe it: Bluejays headed to NAIA playoffs
26-7 win over Mac Bulldogs catapults No. 15 Tabor into first ever NAIA playoffs
By RYAN RICHTER
Sports writer
Bluejay assistant coach and defensive coordinator Mike Gardner couldn't believe it.
Neither could head coach Tim McCarty.
Even though Saturday's temperatures in McPherson were in the high 60s, the ice-cold water both he and McCarty were doused with could have chilled their senses.
But after beating the 25th ranked McPherson Bulldogs, 26-7, the NAIA playoffs have finally become a reality for once-lowly Tabor.
The Bluejay seniors entered the program when Tabor's notoriety to KCAC football was similar to that of the Bad News Bears.
After buying into what McCarty and the Bluejay coaching staff has been selling and sticking together for four years, Tabor has qualified for its first-ever berth in the NAIA playoffs.
Tabor ended the regular season with their greatest record in school history, 9-1 overall and 8-1 in the KCAC.
The Bluejays travel Saturday to Alva, Okla. for a showdown with the sixth-ranked perennial powerhouse Northwest Oklahoma State Rangers at 1 p.m. Many of the Bluejays will be returning to their home state to play.
"I'm so happy for our players, and our coaches," McCarty said. "When we (Gardner and McCarty) got the call Sunday about 12:30 (Tabor continuing season), we literally just gave each other a hug. We were so thrilled just to be a part of this. It's really an incredible feeling."
Prior to the game, the Bluejay defense knew much of the outcome would rest on how well they could handle the KCAC's second leading rusher, jitterbug Lamar Jacobs.
Averaging 162 yards a game, Jacobs, due largely in part of the play from the Bluejay linebacking duo of Jake Schenk and Eli Kennedy, was held to 57 yards on 15 carries.
"We wanted to take them out of their game plan (running the ball,)" Schenk said. "We played all right, I don't think there's a game we're going to play perfect, but we can't give up the big play though."
Beating the hemoglobin out of the Bulldog offense by racking up 16 totaled tackles, 11 solo and a pair of sacks, Schenk repeated for the second consecutive week as the KCAC's top defensive player, his third of the year.
Tabor controlled the entire game, taking a 7-0 lead after quarterback Ricky Ishida hit little-used halfback Tim Jones for a 32-yard score.
Giving time for regulars Dewayne Cleaves and Cameron Conant to rest and heal, Jones carried the ball 16 times for 44 yards as part of the 91-yard attack on the ground.
Jumping in front 13-0 by halftime and piling up 225 yards of offense in the first half, the Bluejays' lead was never jeopardized.
The only time the Bulldogs were realistically in striking distance was in the third quarter. If anything, it was Tabor getting hit 15 times for 150 yards worth of infractions that kept McPherson in the game.
When Bluejay defenders are talking about the 'big play,' odds are it has been the defense's Achilles heel all year long: the long ball.
Oddly, the Bluejays have been able to overcome the home run shot nine times throughout the season with wins. In Tabor's only loss to Ottawa, it wasn't a long pass, but a long run.
Saturday, there were two, both involving Bulldog quarterback Erik Johnson and John Berlanga, who hauled in four catches for a team-high 125 yards.
After burning the Bluejay secondary with catches of 56 and 41 yards, Berlanga finally cashed in a 10-yard strike from Johnson with 12:31 left in the third quarter.
While the Bulldogs stung the Bluejay secondary going deep, Ishida showed McPherson two could play at that game.
Finishing the day completing 50 percent of his passes on 11 for 22, a game-high 127 of Ishida's 211 yards were to one of his two trusty sidekicks, Tyson Ratzlaff.
The four catches Ratzlaff had, as usual, were enough to make a highlight reel. He even had a one-handed grab in the first half.
With 1:31 left in the first half, Ishida stretched the Bluejay lead to 13-0, hooking up with Ratzlaff for a 62-yard completion. Keenan Morris' PAT deflected off the left upright, but Tabor still led at halftime.
Ishida's feet did their share of damage on the Bulldogs, scoring on a three-yard quarterback keeper to push the lead to 19-7 just over 5:30 left in the third.
If Ishida's other favorite target, Tyler Marsh, wasn't catching a touchdown, he was throwing one.
Backed up to midfield after going nowhere late in the game, Tabor faked a punt with Marsh receiving the snap.
Marsh fired a bullet to Jeff McKinnon, who capped off the Bluejay scoring with 50-yard touchdown.
"I was pretty pleased with our game all the way around," McCarty said. "We had some timing issues offensively midway through the game, but we overcame some of that.
"Our penalties were atrocious, it was like we couldn't get out of the game in the fourth quarter. Now, in this championship series we can't make those errors and expect to win a game. We're going to have to bring our 'A game."
