By Maxwell Brucks
The McPherson Bulldogs will open the season at home facing a familiar foe in the Sterling College Warriors. Both teams come into the matchup on September 7th looking for their first wins of the season. The Bulldogs dropped their first game of the year on the road at Tabor. The Bulldogs fell 20-10 in Hillsboro, Kansas, and look to get into the win column for the first time in the young season. Since 2004, the Bulldogs are an even .500 with ten wins and ten losses in their home openers. Over the last ten games played between the two colleges, the Bulldogs are 4-6 but have won the last four. The Bulldogs will look to repeat the previous matchups and extend the winning streak to five games.
The Bulldogs will look to lean on their experienced backfield on the offensive end as both Tristan Szabo and Brysen Kerby return for their senior season. In the three games he has played against Sterling, starting Quarterback Tristan Szabo has thrown for 540 yards while going 44-75 for a 59% completion percentage with eight passing touchdowns. In the previous game against Sterling Kerby, carried the ball 11 times for 40 yards and had two receptions for 12 yards. Kamryn Brown led the Bulldogs in receiving in last year’s contest with three catches for 58 yards. The Bulldogs also have an experienced receiving core, as 12 of the 14 receptions in the first game against Tabor came from juniors and seniors. Junior Traven Lewis-Johnson led the Bulldogs against the Blue Jays with four receptions, followed by seniors Harley Blaske (Tight End) and Kamryn Brown (Wide receiver).
The Bulldog defense will look to build off the solid week one performance against Tabor. The Bulldogs held the Blue Jays to 163 combined yards and only 67 yards through the air. The Bulldogs return one of the better players from last year’s game in senior Nehemiah Figueroa. Figueroa had two interceptions and a forced fumble in the win over the Warriors in 2023. The Bulldog defense held the Warriors to a 40 percent completion percentage and are looking to continue that success on Saturday’s home opener. Senior Jaquez Wilson recorded a tackle for loss as a part of his five total tackles in the 2023 contest against Sterling. In what was an offensive shootout in 2023, the Bulldogs’ defense will look to keep the scoring to the minimum on their way to a home opener victory.
