The Braves lost their second straight game, falling 26-13 to Avila University at AdventHealth Field last Saturday afternoon. OU finished the game with 315 yards of offense, 77 yards passing and 236 yards rushing. Avila had 282 yards of offense, 239 yards passing, and 43 yards rushing. The Ottawa defense forced three Avila turnovers, two fumbles and one interception.

Jordan Clay had season highs in rushing attempts (31) and rushing yards (173) in the contest against Avila on Saturday.

Ottawa is averaging 14 points per game and 261.2 yards of offense, 132.3 rushing and 128.9 passing. Opponents are scoring 28.9 points per game and averaging 377 yards of offense, 199 yards rushing and 178 yards passing.

Taylor Eggers leads OU in passing. He is 114-for-237 through the air for 1,090 yards and seven touchdowns. Eggers has thrown 15 interceptions and is completing 48.1 percent of his passes. Jordan Clay leads OU in rushing with 582 yards on 150 attempts. He is averaging 3.9 yards per carry and has scored six touchdowns. Clay is averaging 64.7 yards rushing per game. De'Anthony Curtis leads OU in receiving with 43 receptions for 406 yards. He has two receiving touchdowns and is averaging 45.1 receiving yards per game. AJ Hemphill has 92 tackles this season, averaging 10.2 tackles per game. Ethan Fuentes is second on the team in tackles with 65. He has 2.5 sacks, one forced fumble, and one recovered fumble. Christian Coggs has 50 tackles, and 2.5 sacks.

AJ Hemphill is eight tackles (98) away from having 100 tackles for a second consecutive season. He would be just the second Brave in OU program history to have two seasons with 100 or more tackles. The first was Colby Johnson. He had 129 tackles in 2021 and 120 tackles in 2020. Hemphill had 136 tackles in 2023.

Saturday is the 85th meeting between Ottawa University and Kansas Wesleyan University. Ottawa leads the series, 44-35-5. OU snapped its eight game losing streak to KWU last season with a 27-24 overtime victory over the Coyotes in Ottawa. Ottawa has lost four straight to Kansas Wesleyan in Salina. The Braves' last win over the Coyotes in Salina was on Nov. 1, 2014. OU won the game, 48-20. The first ever meeting between the two teams happened on Oct. 19, 1908 in Ottawa. OU won the game, 30-5.

Kansas Wesleyan University was 2-3 when former head coach Matt Myers stepped down on Oct. 9. Chris Snyder and David Leonard were named co-head coaches. Since that time, KWU has reeled off three straight wins and are in the driver seat in the Bissell Division. The Coyotes have a record of 5-4.

The Coyotes enter Saturday's game coming off a 28-14 victory over Tabor College in Salina last Saturday. The Coyotes had 395 yards of offense, 115 yards passing and 280 yards rushing. The KWU defense held Tabor to 37 yards rushing on 26 attempts and 215 yards passing.

Kansas Wesleyan is scoring 28.4 points per game. The KWU offense is averaging 328.6 yards of offense, 206.6 yards rushing and 122.0 yards passing. Opponents are scoring 23 points per game and averaging 349.9 yards of offense per game, 160.2 yards rushing, and 189.7 yards passing.

KWU is ranked 36th in the NAIA in scoring 256, 45th in points per game (28.4), 46th in total offense (2,957), ninth in rushing yards (1,859), seventh in rushing attempts (358), 14th in rushing yards per game (206.6), 26th in yards per rush attempts (5.2), 19th in rushing touchdowns (20), 29th in rushing first downs (86), 34th in fourth down percentage (.500), 16th in kick return average (23.8), 29th in punt return average (10.9), 10th in field goals (9-11), 18th in field goal percentage (.818), 39th in PATs (29-32), 20th in fumbles-lost (15-11), 13th in fumbles recovered (8), 29th in defensive INTs (11), 13th in tackles (632), and 27th in sacks (22).

KWU plays two quarterback. Byron McNair is 45-for-86 for 599 yards, two touchdowns and one interception. Richard Lara is 46-for-78 for 499 yards, five touchdowns and one interception. McNair is completing 52.3 percent of his passes. Lara is completing 59 percent of his passes.

Luke Armstrong is KWU's leader in rushing. He has 942 rushing yards this season and is only 58 yards away from 1,000. Armstrong is averaging 104.7 rushing yards per game and 8.0 rushing yards per carry. He has scored 11 touchdowns and has four fumbles, losing three. Earl Gray leads the Coyotes in receiving yards with 283. He has a team high 18 receptions and is averaging 31.4 receiving yards per game. Gray has two receiving touchdowns.

Myles Elam is KWU's leader in tackles with 84. He is averaging 9.3 tackles per game. Elam has 1.5 sacks. Quatama Massaquoi is second on the team with 50 tackles, one forced fumble, two interceptions, two pass break ups, and one blocked kick. Colby Klieman has 47 tackles, two interceptions, and one pass break up.