No. 12 Bluejays bowl over No. 20 Sterling years ago
Tabor shakes off penalties and turnovers to cool off Warriors, 28-14
By RYAN RICHTER
Sports writer
Something had to give way Saturday afternoon in the KCAC's most anticipated showdown between the 12th- ranked Bluejays and the hosting 20th-ranked Sterling Warriors.
Through four games, nobody has been able to stop Tabor's high-octane offense or even come close, leading the nation in scoring with 49 points a game while putting up the NAIA's third best numbers in total offense with 488.3 yards.
Nineteen points were as big a scare as the Bluejays have gotten this year, but they had yet to run into a team with an offense or defense quite like that of the Warriors.
They ended up stymieing both Saturday as they (5-0) soundly added the Warriors to the list of casualties with a 28-14 beating.
And the Bluejays did it in spite of four turnovers and 164 yards in penalties.
Sterling came in averaging 43 points a game for third in scoring by using a powerful option onslaught to pound out the NAIA's second best rushing game and eighth in offense.
Running back Andy Wesner ranks 13th in the NAIA and fourth in the KCAC in rushing, putting up 121 yards per game.
The Bluejays' defense suffocated the Warriors' veer offense, allowing just seven first downs and holding them to a season-low 168 yards overall with the ground game going for a sparse 54 yards.
Tabor trampled the Warriors' defense, rolling up 457 yards offense with 253 on the ground and 204 in the air.
This one looked to be a defensive shoot-out early with the two teams playing a scoreless first quarter.
Sterling's defense was the first to break with Ricky Ishida firing to John Garcia for a six-yard touchdown to put Tabor up 7-0 midway through the second quarter.
Ishida got everybody involved on offense, distributing the ball to seven receivers for 204 yards and rushing for 38 yards.
Bluejay tailback Roger Butler torched the Warrior defense with ease, outdoing Sterling offensively by himself, rushing for three touchdowns and a game-high 198 yards on 36 carries.
His first one, a four-yard score put Tabor in front 13-0 with under 5:00 left in the first half.
Extra point attempts have been arguably the biggest sore spot for the Bluejays on offense this year and they were yet to heal Saturday as the PAT was no good.
Needing a break to get back in the game, the Warriors finally got it with the Bluejays losing the ball on a punt return and Jericho Gibbs recovering.
Two plays later, Wesner made the most noise he'd make on the day throwing, hitting Josh Oberle on a halfback pass for 55 yards to cut the lead to 13-7 by halftime.
Much like the final, the halftime score was closer than it really was with Sterling picking up 71 yards in 24 plays.
Tabor again pushed the score to double digits with Butler striking again with another four-yard touchdown with 3:40 left in the third quarter.
The Bluejays went for two, stretching their lead to two touchdowns as Butler scored.
Sterling stayed hot on Tabor's tail, engineering a six-play 73-yard drive capped off by Wesner bulling his way to the end zone to make it a one score game.
With 5:03 left in the game, the Bluejays were hardly out of the woods yet. Looking to keep the Warrior offense on the sidelines, Tabor kept the ball in Butler's hands to eat up the clock.
The Bluejay standout did the job, carrying 10 times for 70 yards on their final possession.
Butler's 15-yard and final touchdown stuck the fork in the Warriors on a fourth-and-one play with :37 left.
Tabor returns home Saturday for the 1:30 p.m. homecoming game against dangerous Friends.
