The Braves fell 23-20 to Kansas Wesleyan University last Saturday in Salina, Kan. Ottawa outscored the Coyotes 17-3 in the fourth quarter but were not able to complete the comeback. OU finished the game with 443 yards of offense, 199 yards passing and 244 yards rushing. KWU had 285 yards of offense, 80 yards passing and 205 yards rushing.

Ottawa's offense is scoring 14.6 points per game and averaging 279.4 yards of offense per game, 135.9 passing and 143.5 yards rushing. Opponents are scoring 28.3 points per game and averaging 367.8 yards of offense per game, 199.6 yards rushing and 168.2 yards passing.

OU is ranked 48th in the NAIA in rushing yards (1,435), 22nd in rushing attempts (367), fifth in penalty first downs (26), 30th in fourth down conversions (12-39), 21st in kick returns (No.-Yards) (41-789), 48th in kick return average (19.2), 35th in punts (No.-Yards) (47-1615), 41st in fumbles -lost (13-7), 37th in fumbles recovered (7), 25th in tackles (649), 38th in penalties (54), 24th in penalty yards (446), and 46th in time of possession (30:40).

Taylor Eggers leads the Braves in passing. He is 133-for-275 for 1,280 yards and eight touchdowns. Eggers has thrown 15 interceptions and has completed 48.4 percent of his passes. Jordan Clay is OU's leader in rushing. He has 156 rushes for 606 yards and six touchdowns. Clay is averaging 60.6 yards rushing per game and averaging 3.9 yards per rush. De'Anthony Curtis leads the Braves in receptions with 53. He has 548 receiving yards and three touchdowns. Curtis is averaging 54.8 receiving yards per game. AJ Hemphill leads the team in tackles with 102 and is averaging 10.2 tackles per game. He has two sacks and 8.5 tackles loss. Ethan Fuentes is second on the team in tackles. He has 72 tackles, 2.5 sacks, 13 tackles for loss, one forced fumble, and one recovered fumble. Christian Coggs has 57 tackles on the season. He is averaging 6.3 tackles per game, has three sacks, and 14 tackles for loss.

AJ Hemphill is the second Brave in program history to have 100 or more tackles in a season twice in his career, 136 in 2023 and 102 in 2024. The first was Colby Johnson. He had 129 tackles in 2021 and 124 tackles in 2020.

Saturday is the 46th meeting between Ottawa University and Tabor College. The Braves lead the series, 31-14, but the Bluejays have won the last two games. OU has lost three straight to Tabor in Hillsboro and have a road record of 14-5 against the Bluejays. The last time Ottawa won in Hillsboro was on Nov. 15, 2014. The Braves defeated, then no. 18, Tabor 17-15. The first ever meeting between the two teams happened on Nov. 1, 1969. OU won the game, 36-7.

Tabor College is 5-5 overall and has a 3-1 mark in the Bissell Division. Tabor's only loss in division play was against Kansas Wesleyan University. The Bluejays enter the game on Saturday coming off a 24-20 win over the University of Saint Mary in Hillsboro last Saturday. It was Tabor's second straight win in Hillsboro.

The Bluejays are scoring 19.6 points per game and averaging 233.8 yards of offense. They are rushing for 74.8 yards and throwing for 159 yards per game. Opponents are scoring 27.2 points per game and averaging 367.7 yards of offense per game. They are rushing for 214.5 yards and passing for 153.2 yards per game.

Tabor is ranked ninth in the NAIA in penalty first downs (25), 51st in third down conversions (47-147), 20th in fourth down conversions (15-26), 18th in fourth down conversion percentage (58%), 24th in punt return average (12.4), 34th in field goals (7-11), 44th in field goal percentage (.636), first in PAT (100%), 12th in average per punt (40.8), 22nd in red zone % (.850), 37th in fumbles recovered (7), 46th in defensive INTs (9), 25th in interception returns (No.-Yds) (9-183), 13th in interception return average (20.3), ninth in defensive touchdowns (4), 24th in tackles (655), 27th in penalties (52), 16th in penalty yards (397), and eighth in time of possession (33:59).

Willie Green leads the Bluejays in passing. He is 166-for-307 through the air for 1,554 yards and nine touchdowns. Green has thrown 12 interceptions and is completing 54.1 percent of his passes. Sean Hunter is TC's leader in rushing. He has rushed 81 times for 327 yards. Hunter is averaging 40.9 rushing yards per game. He has scored one touchdown and has three fumbles. Devin Jones leads the team with 35 receptions. Deonte Hill is TC's leader in receiving yards with 428. Jones is averaging 3.5 receptions per game and Hill is averaging 47.6 receiving yards per game. Moises leads the team in touchdown receptions with three. Dusty Daigle leads the team in tackles with 97. He has two sacks, nine tackles for loss, two forced fumbles, and four pass break ups. Brooks Gardner is second on the team in tackles with 86. He has two sacks, eight tackles for loss, one interception, and two pass break ups. Cam Pair has 61 tackles, one forced fumble, one recovered fumble, one interception, two pass break ups, and one blocked kick.