Bluejays clinch league title holding off Friends
No. 6 Tabor repeats as KCAC champions with 33-22 win over Friends Falcons
By RYAN RICHTER
Sports writer
Few were pulling any harder for the Sterling Warriors Saturday than the Bluejays.
With the Warriors facing the Kansas Wesleyan Coyotes, the sole team remaining with any whim of thwarting the Bluejays' repeating as league champions, the Coyotes fell to the Warriors.
At the same time, Tabor had its own business to take care of in Hillsboro against the dangerous Friends Falcons.
But it wasn't business as usual for the Bluejays (9-0, 8-0 KCAC), who had to persevere through their toughest second half of the season to grind out a 33-22 win over the Falcons.
The Bluejay win combined with the Warriors' buried the Coyotes.
Tabor coach Mike Gardner warned his team the Falcons weren't going to lay down for the seventh-ranked Bluejays.
Just when it appeared the Bluejays had the game in control, Friends did what no other team has been able to — slow down Tabor's offense the second half and hold it scoreless.
The Falcons actually outdid the Bluejays offensively, finishing with 414 yards while holding Tabor to 380, but committed three too many mistakes.
Going against a gusty north wind, the Bluejays took the opening kick.
Throwing for an identical 208 yards to that of the Falcons, Ricky Ishida orchestrated an 80-yard drive capped by a 16-yard strike to Aaron Jenkins.
Despite eventually turning into one of the Bluejays' biggest heroes on the day handling both kicking and punting duties, Mike Skvor's extra point attempt was batted down by the Falcons' Andrew Swisher to give Tabor a 6-0 lead.
The Bluejays haven't faced the adversity of playing uphill since the opening week against the Coyotes.
The Falcons came back with a seven-play 54-yard to take the lead with a fourth-down gamble with 9:17 left in the opening quarter.
The Bluejays wouldn't stay down though, regaining the lead with Ishida firing to Caleb Marsh for the go-ahead touchdown and hitting TJ Jackson for the two-point conversion.
Friends, with the help of a Bluejay safety on the ensuing possession, got to within five late in the first quarter.
From there until the break, it was all Bluejays, with the Falcons stopping themselves with two picks, failing to convert on fourth down and giving Tabor good field position punting into the wind.
That's a no-no with Roger Butler and Ishida in the backfield and they combined for the next two scores to suck the wind right out of the Falcons.
Finishing the day with 36 carries for a game-high 129 yards, the NAIA's leading scorer Butler plowed through for an eight-yard TD to stretch the lead to 21-9.
Then Ishida went deep for Layne Frick, who took it unscathed for a 53-yard bomb to give the Bluejays a commanding 27-9 lead with 7:46 still left in the first half.
With the aid of a blocked PAT, Friends got back into the game with reserve quarterback Josh Theobald scoring on a one-yard quarterback keeper to cap the Falcons' best drive of the game, 86 yards.
Just when it looked like Friends was getting some momentum pulling to within 27-15 and forcing the Bluejays into a punting situation on their next drive, linebacker Jake Schenk pulled a trick out of his helmet.
If the Falcons didn't have enough problems with Schenk, who had two sacks and 13 tackles, he reverted back to his offensive position at Smith Center High School and gave the Bluejays a first down.
Schenk's 21-yard run helped set up Butler's 26th touchdown of the season to give the Bluejays what would appear to be a firm 33-15 lead at the break.
Whatever magic Tabor had the first half disappeared the second.
The Bluejays couldn't sustain a drive longer than 27 yards and that was on the final drive of the third quarter.
That left Tabor relying on some stingy defense and the foot of punter Skvor, who boomed eight for 310 yards.
With 10:29 left in the game and a boost from one of Tabor's 12 penalties, the Falcons completed the scoring with a touchdown from Eric Hansen.
The Bluejays haven't played a longer 3:30 this season than they did Saturday.
Fortunately, by stopping two crucial Falcon fourth-down attempts, the Bluejays were able to hang on, preserve their second straight league crown and douse Gardner with a bucket of water.
The Bluejays close out the regular season at home Saturday against red-hot St. Mary at 1:30 p.m.
