Ottawa snapped its six game losing streak with a 28-13 victory over Friends University on Saturday afternoon in Wichita, Kan. In the win Ottawa had 377 yards of offense, 247 passing and 130 yards rushing. Friends finished the game with eight yards passing and 319 yards rushing for 327 yards of offense.
Through seven games the Braves are averaging 320.1 yards of offense per game, 118.3 yards on the ground and 201.9 yards through the air. OU is averaging 17.7 points per game. Opponents are averaging 232.9 yards on the ground and 133.6 yards through the air for 366.4 yards of offense per game. They are averaging 30.7 points per game.
OU is ranked 36th in the NAIA in Comp-Att-INT (137-256-10), 45th in passing yards per game (201.9), 50th in yards per rush (3.6), 50th in passing first downs (65), 36th in penalty first downs (14), 46th in first downs per game (19.3), 16th in fourth down conversions (12-28), 51st in punt returns (No.-Yards) (6-76), 20th in punt return average (12.7), 47th in field goals (5-8), 52nd in fumbles-lost (10-8), 14th in fumbles recovered (9), fourth in defensive touchdowns (3), 41st in tackles (500), 29th in penalties (42), and 34th in penalty yards (363).
Jared Daniels leads the Braves in rushing (412), is averaging 5.9 yards per carry and has scored two touchdowns.
Billy Maples is OU's leader in passing yards (997) and is 88-for-164 through the air. He is completing 54 percent of his passes, has thrown six touchdowns and is averaging 142.4 passing yards per game.
Jermaine Ziegler leads OU in receptions with 25. He has 200 receiving yards and is averaging 28.6 receiving yards per game.
AJ Hemphill leads OU in tackles with 82 (32 UA/50 AT). He has 1.5 sacks, three pass break ups, two recovered fumbles, and one forced fumble.
Jensen Riffel and
Santino Gee have 46 tackles apiece. Gee is 7.5 tackles for loss , three sacks, one pass break up, one recovered fumble, two forced fumbles, and one blocked kick.
Saturday is the 83rd meeting between Ottawa University and Kansas Wesleyan University. Ottawa leads the series, 43-34-5 but KWU is on a seven game winning streak against the Braves. The last time OU defeated the Coyotes was on Nov. 1, 2014 in Salina. Ottawa won the game, 48-20. The Braves have lost its last three home contest against Kansas Wesleyan with the last victory at home for the Braves coming on Oct. 26, 2013. OU won the game, 55-27. The first meeting between the two teams happened on Oct. 19, 1908 in Ottawa. The Braves won the game 30-5. Ottawa has a record of 25-14-3 against Kansas Wesleyan at home.
Ottawa University sophomore linebacker,
AJ Hemphill was named KCAC Defensive Player of the Week for his 17 tackle performance in OU's victory over Friends last Saturday.
Kansas Wesleyan University is 6-2 overall and 6-2 in the KCAC. The Coyotes are on a two game winning streak with victories over McPherson College (14-12) on Oct. 15 and Tabor College (62-0) on Oct. 22.
The Coyotes two losses came against Bethel College on Sept. 17 in Salina, 30-24 and on Oct. 8 in Salina against Avila University, 18-14.
Through eight games, Kansas Wesleyan University is averaging 411.3 yards of offense per game. The Coyotes are rushing for 223.4 yards per game and average 187.9 yards through the air. KWU is averaging 40.1 points per game. Opponents are averaging 198.9 yards of offense per game, averaging 87.1 yards rushing and 111.8 yards passing. They are scoring 9.9 points per game.
KWU is ranked sixth in the NAIA in scoring (321), 12th in points per game (40.1), 10th in total offense (3,290(, 16th in yards per game (411.3), 46th in passing yards (1,503), 16th in passing yards per attempt (8.0), fourth in rushing yards (1,787), third in rushing attempts (402), seventh in rushing yards per game (223.4), 23rd in yards per rush (4.4), second in rushing touchdowns (23), sixth in first downs (189), second in rushing first downs (107), 36th in passing first downs (71), ninth in first downs per game (23.6), third in third down conversions (55-116), seventh in third down percentage (.470), 29th in fourth down conversions (9-22), 14th in punt returns (No.-Yards) (18-201), 26th in punt return average (11.2), 17th in field goal percentage (.750), second in PATs (44-44), first in PAT percentage (1.00), second in average per punt (43.7), 19th in red zone scores (26-37), 10th in red zone touchdowns (25-37), 21st in red zone touchdown % (.680), 22nd in fumbles-lost (13-6), 29th in fumbles recovered (7), 40th in defensive INTs (9), 13th in defensive touchdowns (2), 19th in tackles (555), 43rd in sacks (17), and 50th in time of possession (30:11).
The last time OU and KWU met on Homecoming in Ottawa was on Oct. 19, 2002. The Coyotes won the game 21-0. The teams have met seven times and the Braves have a record of 4-3 in those games. Oct. 10, 1953 L, 32-18 | Oct. 15, 1955 L, 13-7 | Oct. 20, 1990 W, 36-13 | Oct. 9, 1993 W, 49-30 | Oct. 25, 1997 W, 50-8 | Oct. 16, 1999 W, 48-7 | Oct. 19, 2002 L, 21-0.
In KWU's two losses, the Coyotes are averaging 142 yards on the ground and 123 yards through the air. In their six victories, Kansas Wesleyan is averaging 193 yards passing and 251 yards rushing.
Richard Lara, who made his second career start against Tabor College last week, is 40-for-74 through the air for 488 yards. He has thrown five touchdowns and four interceptions. Nicholas Allsman leads KWU in rushing with 606 yards and is averaging 75.8 yards rushing per game. He has scored eight touchdowns. Drevon Macon is the team's leader in receiving with 28 receptions for 369 yards. He has scored two touchdowns. DeVante' Gabriel leads the team in tackles with 54. He has two sacks, five tackles for loss, one forced fumble and two recovered fumbles. Lucas Rockford is second on the team in tackles with 43. He has four tackles for loss, one interception, and one recovered fumble.
