No. 16 Bluejays upend McPherson years ago
Tabor wins field position battle against Bulldogs, 30-14
By RYAN RICHTER
Sports writer
With the Bluejay offense stuck in park early Saturday, count on punter Brian Kimsey and the Bluejay defense to bail out Tabor.
For the second game in a row, the 16th ranked Bluejays (7-0, 6-0 KCAC) got a big lift from Kimsey and special teams to help douse visitor McPherson (3-4, 3-3) with a 30-14 defeat.
"Brian Kimsey did a good job banging the ball inside the 10-yard line," Bluejay coach Mike Gardner said. "We did a nice job against McPherson. I thought we had a good game plan going in and we executed it well on both sides of the ball."
Punting the ball seven times for 270 yards, Kimsey was named the KCAC special teams player of the week, marking the first time a Bluejay has won the honor since opening week.
Pretty much all but one of Kimsey's punts gave the Bulldogs a long field to work with.
After the Bluejay offense drove in reverse six yards on its opening drive, the lowest punt, 25 yards, gave McPherson its best starting point of the game at the Tabor 39.
Five plays later, the Bulldogs were in front after Erik Johnson hit a wide-open Deke Belcher for a 17-yard strike.
Not even 5:00 into the game, Tabor was down 7-0.
Don't be fooled thinking a Gardner-led team will be hanging heads after giving up an easy touchdown.
An onside kick gave McPherson the ball and kept the Bluejay offense idle.
"We gave up a score early, got down, and gave up an onside kick, but the thing about these guys is they don't hang their heads," said Gardner. "We didn't panic. We knew we just needed to get it done and we did."
Other than surrendering the 39-yard scoring drive, the Bluejay defense had the Bulldogs handcuffed the first half. Kimsey's booming kicks combined with potent Tabor defense, and McPherson was held to a paltry 12 yards after the Belcher touchdown and 203 total for the game.
That meant lots of Bulldog punts which allowed Tabor to hog the clock, controlling the ball 35:53 to McPherson's 17:34.
And while the Bulldogs had a long way to go, Tabor did not, using a short field for both first half touchdowns.
The Bluejays finally broke even after Roger Butler zipped in from four out to finish off a five-play 26-yard drive in first minute of the second quarter.
Butler left the game late in the first half with a shoulder injury, finishing with eight carries for 24 yards.
Quarterback Ricky Ishida scored the go-ahead touchdown nearly 7:00 later to put Tabor ahead for good. Ishida was 16-of-23 for 161 yards throwing while keeping it for two touchdowns.
Carrying the ball 19 times for both season- and game-high 119 yards, Ted Telemaque gave Tabor a three-TD lead with 9:18 left in the third quarter off a 46-yard play.
Tabor's defense tormented the Bulldog quarterbacks all day. Bluejay linebacker Brian Durowaiye hammered Johnson in the closing minutes of the first half, knocking him out of the game and pulling the plug on the McPherson offense.
As for Eason, he had to be sore come Sunday, especially after giving Tabor two points on a safety on the Bulldogs' ensuing drive after Telemaque scored.
Ranking first in the league in total offense, Tabor's short field played the factor in finishing with 253 yards overall.
"We didn't gain a lot of yardage," Gardner said, "but we did hold on to the ball for a long time and we played on a short field most of the day.
"Our kids executed what we asked them to do and that was really the difference in the football game."
The Bluejays can win their first-ever KCAC title Saturday afternoon with a victory over the Bethel Threshers.
Game time is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. at the newly renovated Athletic Park in Newton.
Kimsey named
player-of-the-week
Brian Kimsey, senior punter from Golden River, Calif., was named KCAC special teams co-player-of-the-week. In a 30-14 win at home against McPherson College, Kimsey had six punts for 232 yards with four inside the 20-yard line. Tabor is 7-0 overall and 6-0 in the KCAC.
