TABOR COLLEGE: Swedes soundly handle Bluejays
Tabor stumbles against Bethany
in its first loss
of season, 39-17
BY RYAN RICHTER
Sports writer
To be the best, you've got to beat the best.
For years, the Bethany Swedes have been the epitome of what KCAC football programs have strived to be. Nobody has been able to match the success of the Swedes.
Much of that success can be attributed to their coach, Hall of Famer Dr. Ted Kessinger, one of the game's most highly regarded coaches.
Off to their best start in school history and fresh off a 25-6 pounding of the defending KCAC champion Kansas Wesleyan Coyotes, the Bluejays attempted to see how they matched up with the perennial power Swedes.
A gusting 40 mile an hour wind and injuries to several key Bluejays left them several feet shorter as the Swedes used a quick start to soundly hand Tabor it's first loss of the season, 39-17.
Tabor falls to 4-1 on the season and 3-1 in the KCAC.
"No excuses," a humbled Bluejay coach Tim McCarty said of the defeat. "I'm not sure we knew how to handle the pressure of being 4-0 because that's a position we've never been in and I think we were mentally fatigued.
"We didn't take care of business and we got outplayed. We didn't finish what we needed to finish."
In a game identical with Mother Nature's elements a year ago in Lindsborg, the Swedes took advantage of a short field to blow the Bluejays out 57-24.
Bethany did it again Saturday, using good field position to blow the game open in the first quarter, 21-0.
"I think a plus for us early in the game is that we took advantage of the wind," Kessinger said. "That was a big factor for us. The ball bounced our way and when you get that momentum going, things just snowballed from there."
Tabor's game plan was simple Saturday. Run the football and use the play action pass until the Bluejays had the wind at their backs.
That proved to be a downfall for Tabor, who picked up one first down on its first four possessions.
By the time the Bluejays had the wind at their backs in the second quarter, they were buried under a 21-0 rock-pile.
The Bluejays did drive 87 yards in plays, only to fall 10 yards shy of reaching the end zone.
Keenan Morris cut the lead to 18 with a 27-yard field goal with 9:47 left in the first half.
"Field position was an important part of the game," said McCarty. "We didn't take advantage of it like we should have. Bethany had a short field and we always had the long field."
Punting was a nightmare for Tracy Wehrman, heading north, setting the Swedes back no further than the Bluejay 40.
Too close for Swede quarterback Mike Strack, who orchestrated touchdown drives of 20, 25 and 38 yards to take command of the game.
The big test was to see how well the Bluejays' passing defense, ranked 12th in the NAIA, could hold up against the Swedes' aerial attack.
"I think they did a good job of scheming us passing game-wise," said Kessinger of the Bluejays' defense. "We were able to get our receivers open, but I think their defensive plan was very good against us."
The Bluejays are also a team that boasts a powerful passing game.
But quarterback David Hernandez was without his two favorite targets, Tyson Ratzlaff, out two more weeks with a broken collarbone, and Tyler Marsh, who suffered a high ankle sprain in Saturday's first quarter.
Being flushed out of the pocket and sacked five times, Hernandez had a subpar day passing, completing 11 for 35 for 134 yards and a pair of interceptions.
Trailing 21-3, Tabor still fought back with Olando Harris taking it in from six yards out to trim the Swedes' lead to 21-10, causing the momentum to swing back in the Bluejays' favor.
Then came the turnovers with both Tabor and Bethany fumbling three times for the game. Thirteen of Bethany's 39 points came from the Bluejays coughing up the ball.
There was a four-play stretch in the second half where the two teams had back-to-back turnovers.
Strack answered with a back-breaking 11-yard pass to Bailey, set up by a Bluejay fumble, to stretch the Swedes' lead to 27-10.
The Swedes put the finishing touches on the woeful day for Tabor with Bryon Smith scooping up a fumble and racing in for a 22 yard touchdown.
Without Marsh and Ratzlaff to throw to, Hernandez made do with Dane Sauer as the two hooked up for a 14-yard touchdown completion with 1:52 left in the game.
Hernandez also got some compliments from big tight end Preston Neufeld, who caught two huge passes for 21 yards.
The Bluejays travel Saturday to Wichita to face a victory starved Friends Falcon team at 1:30 p.m.
"If there's a Jekyll and Hyde team in the KCAC, it's Friends," McCarty said. "They're dangerous and physical. We've got to be ready to play so we can finish the season strong."
