Friends football earns first KCAC championship & NAIA playoff berth since 2008
It was a weekend of celebration for the Friends University football team.
The Falcons kicked it off with a dominant 65-15 victory over Bethany on Saturday to clinch a share of the Kessinger division title in the Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference, then learned Sunday that they would host a first-round playoff game in the NAIA Football Championship Series.
It’s been 16 years since the last time Friends hoisted a KCAC title or appeared in the national playoffs, as third-year head coach Terry Harrison will look to continue the program’s revival when the No. 16 seed Falcons (10-1) host No. 17 seed Ottawa (Arizona) at noon Saturday, Nov. 23, at Adair-Austin Stadium.
Friends is one of six Kansas teams in the 20-team field, as No. 9 Benedictine (9-2) and No. 12 MidAmerica Nazarene (9-1) each receive first-round byes as top-12 seeds and No. 13 Baker (9-1), No. 15 Southwestern (10-1) and No. 19 Kansas Wesleyan (7-4) all join the Falcons in the field. Baker hosts No. 20 Pikeville (Ky.) and Southwestern hosts No. 18 Saint Francis (Ind.), while Kansas Wesleyan travels to Dickinson State (N.D.) on Saturday.
The matchup in Wichita on Saturday features two of the best rushing teams in the country, as Friends ranks No. 1 nationally in rushing offense with 413.8 yards per game and Ottawa ranks No. 3 with 286.3 rushing yards per game. Ottawa’s offense is averaging 54.3 points during an 8-1 season.
While the Falcons lead the nation in rushing yards per game, they don’t have a single player averaging more than 81 yards per game. Quarterback K’Vonte Baker has led the way this season with 895 rushing yards and 13 touchdowns, followed by Elias Pino (761 yards, nine touchdowns), Nick Cordova (662 yards, eight touchdowns) and Treylan Gross (538 yards, five touchdowns).
This story was originally published November 18, 2024 at 6:04 AM.
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