Jacobs, defense propel `Dogs

By STEVE SELL, Sentinel Sports Editor

Gerald Henderson probably thought he was watching himself Saturday when McPherson College defeated Kansas Wesleyan 21-11 in the Bulldogs' annual homecoming game.

Henderson, the greatest running back in Mac history and a 2003 inductee into the college's Hall of Fame, was in attendance as Bulldog All-America candidate Lamar Jacobs did his Henderson impersonation with 228 yards and two touchdowns, as the Bulldogs won their fourth game in a row.

Jacobs, whose style resembles the way Henderson used to run as he's patient and uses his blocks exquisitely, broke an 8-8 tie on the second play of the second half when he rocketed 69 yards to make it 15-8 and the Bulldogs never relinquished the lead.

Jacobs had scored on a 47-yard run in the first half and with Ziya Gunay's 2-point conversion after some trickey on the hold by Jared Heinen, the Bulldogs led 8-0. But the Coyotes used a fumbled Mac punt to score before the half to knot the game at 8-all.

But after Jacobs' TD to open the second half, the rest of the game belonged to the Bulldog defense, which limited the Coyotes to just 199 yards for the game on a whopping 76 snaps.

"I found myself calling this an ugly win, but sometimes since I coach offense I find myself getting carried away with what the offense does," Mac coach David Cunningham said. "But the defense played excellent."

Jacobs had only 59 yards in the first half on a minimal 6 carries. But he started to get into the rhythm in the second half and his 228 yards on 24 attempts pushed him to 1,208, just 8 yards shy of Turtle James' single-season rushing record.

"We wanted to get more guys involved in the offense, but the way they were playing us defensively, we couldn't throw the ball on them and they took away our slots," Cunningham said. "They're a great defensive team. In the second half we went to our money man. We're getting to the point in our schedule where we can't just turn and give Lamar the ball 35 times a game. The next few weeks, we've got to get those other guys involved."

Darrell Cole did take some of the heat off Jacobs in the fourth quarter when he ran 20 yards for the clinching score.

Wesleyan's main main, Oscar Nero, was held to 77 yards on 30 carries, while the Bulldogs also shut down the Coyotes' air attack to the tune of 97 yards. Dallas Blacklock came up with his fourth interception for the Mac highlight.

The Bulldogs are now 4-2 in the KCAC and tied for third with Bethel. Also, Mac is 5-2 overall, assuring it of a non-losing season as it has three games left.

Mac returns to the road the next two weeks, starting with Saturday's game at Friends.