Football looks to turn things around on Saturday by hosting Bethel

The Coyotes return to action on Saturday for a Kansas Conference game against the Bethel College Threshers. Kickoff is 6:00 p.m. at Gene Bissell Field at JRI Stadium and Graves Family Sports Complex.

LIVE BROADCAST

• The Video stream of the game will be available online via the Coyote Sports Network at www.kcacnetwork.com/kansaswesleyan. The Coyote Sports Network Video stream will broadcast Coyote Game Day Live from 5:00 to 5:30 p.m. at JRI Stadium, hosted by student broadcasters, with a preview of Saturday's game. At 5:30 p.m Video stream Pregame moves to the KINA Radio Pregame Show with Tyler Henry and Brooks Garretson.
• Live statistics are available at https://kwucoyotes.com/sidearmstats/football/summary
• radio The reporting takes place on the KINA radio from 5 p.m. with the pregame show with Tyler Henry and Brooks Garretson. The OOnline radio stream is available at https://radio.securenetsystems.net/ce/kina2.

RECORDS

• Kansas Wesleyan 1-3
• Bethel 4:0

GAME INFORMATION
TICKETS
Tickets are available now at www.kwucoyotes.com/tickets. Tickets are also available at the box office. Cash and cards are accepted at the ticket counter. There are very few spaces left in the Premium Hatchback parking lot. Reserve a remaining spot now at www.kwucoyotes.com/tickets

MATCHDAY SPONSORS
The official sponsors of Saturday's game day are Ryan Roofing and A-Plus Architecture and Construction Services of Salina. KWU would also like to thank Little Caesar's and Chick-Fil-A for providing meals for the team and staff on game day

ACTIONS

• Yotee's Spirit Store will be open in the Student Activities Center AND on the concourse level of JRI Stadium.
• The Coyote Dance Team will perform at halftime
• Check out the latest vehicles from our transportation partners Marshall Motor and Long McArthur

THE SERIES

• KWU has won 14 of the last 15, including a 24-14 win last season at North Newton. Bethel went 30-24 at JRI Stadium in 2022, ending the Coyotes' 13-game winning streak. KWU is 19-4 against Bethel since 2001.
• KWU leads the all-time series against the Threshers 61-25-2.

KANSAS WESLEYAN AT A GLANCE

• The Coyotes lost 28-26 to No. 21 Friends last Saturday in Wichita. Cole Thompson hit a game-winning 40-yard field goal on the final play of the game. KWU took the lead 26:25 Luke Armstrong 37-yard run with 5:27 left on the Falcons' final drive.
• Armstrong led the offense with 79 yards rushing on 20 carries and returned a kickoff 95 yards for a touchdown in the third quarter. He is averaging 8.0 yards per carry and has 377 yards on 47 carries and five touchdowns. He also returned two kickoffs for scores.
• Special teams had a great night against Friends. Cole Seagraves rushed for a school record 54 yards on the final play of the first half Talon Cope had field goals of 29, 32 and 29 yards. player Griffin Wiltse Averaged 54.5 yards on four kicks.
• Richard Lara threw for 232 yards and three touchdowns in a win over Bethel last year. He was 19 of 29 passes with one interception. Armstrong caught six passes for 102 yards and a touchdown.
• The defense shut down the Threshers in the second half, allowing just 213 total yards – 128 rushing and 85 passing yards. Josh King Bradley had two bags.

BETHEL AT A GLANCE

• The Threshers earned a 20-17 win over Avila last Saturday at North Newton. Avila led 17-13 after three quarters before Bethel scored with 8:55 to play.
• Bethel opened the season with a 13-0 win at Sterling, then beat Saint Mary 33-17 at home and won 27-24 in Ottawa.
• The Threshers average 304 yards per game – 210 rushing yards and 130 passing yards. Senior running back Torriano Richardson has a team-high 504 yards rushing and an average of 6.0 yards per carry. He had 122 yards on 24 carries against Avila. Senior quarterback CJ Ciers has 169 yards rushing, five touchdowns and has completed 50.6 percent of his passes for 521 yards and five touchdowns.
• Defensively, Bethel is allowing 14.5 points and 253 yards per game. Opponents rush for an average of 111 yards.
• Bethel will be led by interim coach Daylon Markham. He is in his fourth season and was set to become defensive coordinator in the fall before being promoted following AB Stokes' resignation in July.

KWU COACH MATT MYERS
“The defensive game plan (against Friends) was solid. We gave up a lot of yards, but we also made them snap the ball a lot. We didn't give up a lot of big plays. Offensively, we obviously didn't move the ball as well as we wanted to. We have to be more efficient with the ball in the air, but we ran the ball well. Unfortunately, I just didn't complete it too late.

“I want (Armstrong) to touch the ball at least 20 times a game. He's really talented and a guy we can use as a decoy sometimes.

“(Bethel) will run the ball with the quarterback and drop back when necessary. We have to make sure we keep Ciers a secret. We want him to throw the ball deep down the field and make it as uncomfortable for him as possible.”

KWU WIDE RECEIVER EARL GRAY
“I knew it would be a challenge coming here (from Missouri Baptist) because the level of competition in practice is tough. I can do much better than I am, and I know I will do better. I'm really hard on myself because I know the work I've put in will show. You'll see a lot more in the next seven games.

“We need to help our defense more. We have to stay on the field longer, we have to go on longer trips. I feel like we have to play better and we will play better. We have to do better in the red zone and the scoring zone because most of the time we go out on field goals and that really hurts us.”

KWU OFFENSIVE COORDINATOR JAMES BAUER
“(Byron McNair) was a leader for the boys and someone people looked out for in the locker room. He gets the boys together, talks to them and everyone listens to him. That's the biggest thing I see for him, and it'll only get bigger as he continues to grow as a quarterback.

“(Drop-back passing) is something he needs to get a lot better at. He has his people that he looks out for and he just needs to be able to progress and get on with things and not just focus on one person, which he has a tendency to do sometimes. Sometimes he makes the progress beautifully and I think, 'Okay, everything is fine.' That's something a young quarterback does.

“We have to complete some passes (against Bethel). We need to step back and make sure we move forward and just do our job.”

NEXT WEEK
The Coyotes play conference opponent McPherson on Saturday at 1 p.m. in McPherson. It will be their last game against opponents from the Ted Kessinger Division.