The 2011 Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference football season is made up of 10 college athletic programs that compete in the Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference (KCAC) under the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) for the 2011 college football season.
The season began play on August 27 when the Sterling Warriors played William Jewell, followed by the Victory Sports Network College Fanz First Down Classic.
The regular season ended play on November 12, 2011, with every team in the conference playing a game against another conference team. The final game of any team in the conference was November 19, 2011 when Ottawa lost in the first round of postseason play.
Conference teams and information Conference rules require each team to play all other teams within the conference and two other regular season non-conference game for a total of 11 games. Previously, the conference only allowed a 10-game season.
School Mascot Head coach Location Stadium Bethany Terrible Swedes Jamie Cruce Lindsborg, Kansas Lindstrom Field Bethel Threshers Travis Graber North Newton, Kansas Thresher Stadium Friends Falcons Monty Lewis Wichita, Kansas Adair-Austin Stadium Kansas Wesleyan Coyotes Dave Dallas Salina, Kansas Salina Stadium McPherson Bulldogs Joe Bettasso McPherson, Kansas McPherson Stadium Ottawa Braves Kent Kessinger Ottawa, Kansas Peoples Bank Field Saint Mary Spires Lance Hinson Leavenworth, Kansas Saint Mary Field Southwestern Moundbuilders Ken Crandall Winfield, Kansas Richard L. Jantz Stadium Sterling Warriors Andy Lambert Sterling, Kansas Smisor Stadium Tabor Bluejays Mike Gardner Hillsboro, Kansas Joel Wiens Stadium
Preseason outlook The 2011 Spring coaches' poll placed three teams in the conference in the "Top 25" of the NAIA. McPherson received a No. 9 ranking, Ottawa was ranked at No. 10, and Kansas Wesleyan at No. 20. Sterling and Friends also received votes in the poll.
The 2011 preseason coaches' poll in August dropped McPherson from No. 9 to No. 12. Ottawa maintained its position as No. 10 and Kansas Wesleyan dropped from No. 20 to No. 21. As with the spring poll, both Sterling and Friends also received votes.
Schedule Schedule is subject to change.
Index to colors and formattingKCAC member wonKCAC member lostWinning team in bold
Week 0
Called "Week 0" or "Week Zero" because of the few number of games played, usually considered to be "specially scheduled" such as the traditional College Fanz First Down Classic, although any game played this week is considered a "regular season" game. Both KCAC teams that played this week lost.
Sterling vs. William Jewell
The Sterling College Warriors began the 2011 season with a loss to NCAA Division II William Jewell. Sterling scored first with two field goals by kicker Doug Dunn in the first quarter but was no match as William Jewell rolled on with 33 points.
Sterling gave up five fumbles and only accumulated 227 yards of offense. It was the first football game for William Jewell since leaving the NAIA to join the NCAA. William Jewell gave up two fumbles and scored three rushing touchdowns during the game, leaving the final score 33–6
#10 Ottawa vs. No. 23 Baker
Nationally ranked at No. 23, Baker University upset No. 10 ranked Ottawa University in the 2011 College Fanz First Down Classic played at Liston Stadium in Baldwin City, Kansas. Ottawa scored first when Shane Gimzo completed a 9-yard run for a touchdown with 9:02 remaining in the first quarter. It was the only lead Ottawa would hold for the entire game, which they lost when Baker's Tyler Hatcher ran the kickoff return for 82 yards for a touchdown and Andrew Kimrey completed the PAT kick. Later that same quarter, Baker's Reggie Harris ran a 62-yard punt return for a touchdown to take the lead.
Ottawa got close several times with the score at the end of the first half with Baker leading 16–17.
Baker held Ottawa scoreless in the second half of play while scoring three touchdowns and a field goal. Baker recovered two fumbles and intercepted two passes to win with a final score of 41–16.
Week 1
At the end of this week's play, only two teams won games: Bethany and Tabor held a record of 1–0. The Friends Falcons wait until week 2 for their first game, placing their record at 0–0 at the end of this week. Sterling and Ottawa played the previous week and this week, losing both games and having a record of 0–2, and all other teams in the KCAC held a record of 0–1 by the end of play in Week 1.
Bethel vs. No. 8 William Penn
William Penn began the game ranked No. 8 nationally and proceeded to statistically dominate the Bethel Threshers, starting with a 48-yard pass from Taylor Parsons to DeMarco for a touchdown in the first quarter. William Penn accumulated 589 yards in total offense where Bethel only managed 174 and failed to score the entire game. Bethel gave up two fumbles and an interception where William Penn did not commit any turnovers.
#22 Benedictine vs. Sterling
Sterling lost its second consecutive game and its home opener to No. 22 ranked Benedictine. Benedictine achieved 265 yards in total offense where Sterling managed only 76. Both teams combined for 17 punts in the game for a total of 337 yards punting. On defense, Sterling managed one interception for 20 yards but also lost a fumble on offense.
The only scores came from Benedictine's two touchdowns and extra points in the first and second quarter, leaving the final score at 14–0.
Nebraska Wesleyan vs. Saint Mary
Saint Mary opened the season dominating statistically the visiting team from Nebraska Wesleyan in most every category, but still ended up losing the game by a score of 58–34. Saint Mary achieved 22 first downs and recorded 503 yards of total offense, 485 by passing. However, Saint Mary also gave up 5 interceptions during the game plus an additional fumble. Nebraska Wesleyan only managed 355 yards of total offense and 16 first downs, but it was more than enough to win the game.
Southwestern Assemblies of God vs. Bethany
Neither the Southwestern Assemblies of God Lions nor Bethany Terrible Swedes cleared 300 yards in total offense in their matchup, but Bethany was able to pull down the win in the first game of the season for both teams. Both teams recorded three touchdowns during the game, but Bethany's kicking game brought in two extra points and the defense scored a safety to end the game 29–21. Both teams also scored a touchdown apiece on defense: the Lions by advancing a recovered fumble, and the Swedes by returning an intercepted pass.
#20 Kansas Wesleyan vs. No. 19 Southern Nazarene
An estimated 2,000 fans were in attendance when Southern Nazarene piled on 615 yards of total offense with two rushing touchdowns and four passing touchdowns in first game of the 2011 season for both schools. The Crimson Storm defense added another touchdown to the mix when Matt Pruitt managed a 61-yard interception return in the fourth quarter, and kicker Ian Sanders added an additional ten points with his foot.
Kansas Wesleyan scored three touchdowns with kicker Jesus Ochoa successful on three PATs and a 35-yard field goal. Kansas Wesleyan did manage to average 5.1 yards per carry on the ground compared to Southern Nazarene's 4.5 yards per carry, but the Coyotes achieved 385 yards of total offense and averaged 4.1 yards per pass, compared to Nazarene's 8.5. While Wesleyan scored first and was ahead 14–10 at the end of the first quarter, they could not maintain the lead and Nazarene won by a final score of 49–23.
#12 McPherson vs. No. 11 Missouri Valley
#11 Missouri Valley proved its ranking above No. 12 McPherson with a 47–10 thrashing in its home opener against last year's KCAC champion. Missouri Valley took the lead in the first quarter when Lorenzo Dennard completed 5-yard run for a touchdown and held the lead for the remainder of the game. Missouri Valley scored seven touchdowns: five on the ground, one by air, and one more on defense while accumulating 486 yards of total offense. McPherson could only manage one touchdown and 136 yards of total offense and could not convert a single third down situation in 14 attempts.
Local McPherson sportswriter Steve Sell noted before the game that McPherson's team was "full of unknowns" and noted that the more challenging opponent scheduled early in the season is different from previous years.
#9 Georgetown (KY) vs. No. 10 Ottawa
Georgetown College traveled from Kentucky to Kansas and defeated the Ottawa Braves in a close game that ended with a final score or 21–19. Georgetown's Zach Sowder scored two rushing touchdowns, the first a 1-yard run in the first quarter, and the second a 64-yard run in the second quarter. Ottawa's Clarence Anderson also scored two touchdowns, the first a 6-yard pass from Bobby Adamson and the second an 85-yard kickoff return.
Both teams produced comparable statistics throughout the game, but the difference-maker in the score was that two of Ottawa's extra point attempts were blocked by the Georgetown defense.
Tabor vs. Haskell
Tabor's James Monroe scored three rushing touchdowns and teammate Brandon Johnson ran for two more in Tabor's 48–0 rout of Haskell Indian Nations. Tabor's kicker Anthony Pacheco added 10 more points through the game and quarterback Tim Rozzell ran for one more.
Tabor managed 492 yards of total offense while keeping Haskell at 108, with −9 yards in total rushing. Haskell also committed four turnovers in the game.
Week 2
All games played during week 2 of the 2011 season were conference games. Only Bethany (2–0) and Friends (1–0) are undefeated for the season so far. Southwestern, Ottawa, and Sterling are also undefeated in conference play but have lost games in non-conference play. The remaining teams have all lost one game in conference play—of the remaining, only Tabor holds a non-conference win while the rest have failed to win a game as of the second week of the season.
Friends vs. Saint Mary
The Friends Falcons came from behind a 21–10 deficit in the fourth quarter and defeated Saint Mary 24–21. The previous year, Friends went in the game ranked No. 19 but lost to unranked Saint Mary by a score of 38–35.
Friends produced less total yards of offense, but led a more balanced attack between rushing and passing. Saint Mary managed 304 yards of total offense made up of 282 by air and 22 by ground. The Friends defense did manage to get three interceptions during the game.
Friends later forfeited the game due to the use of an ineligible player. Friends head coach Monty Lewis was suspended for one game by the school's athletic department.
Kansas Wesleyan vs. No. 10 Ottawa
Ottawa managed its first win of the season after dropping two games achieve an overall record of 1–2 for the season after week 2, and they did so by taking the lead against Kansas Wesleyan in the first quarter when Clarence Anderson caught a 5-yard pass from Bobby Adamson for a touchdown and held the lead for the remainder of the game. In addition to 4 offensive touchdowns for Ottawa, Donald Anderson took a 77-yard interception for a touchdown in the third quarter.
Ottawa was especially able to take advantage of mistakes made by Wesleyan's punt team with a dropped snap and then a blocked put, gaining possession twice deep in Wesleyan's field.
Southwestern vs. Bethel
Southwestern won its first game of the season by defeating Bethel 45–10.
Bethel scored first when Marquis Sykes completed a 15-yard run for a touchdown in the first quarter, and Brandon Lluis converted the extra point. Lluis also hit a 25-yard field goal in the third quarter, but the rest of the game went to Southwestern. The Moundbuilders averaged nearly 8 yards per play on offense as they racked up 485 yards in 62 plays from scrimmage. They achieved 21 first downs and 6 touchdowns (5 rushing, 1 passing) with Austin Ledy successful on 6 extra point kicks plus a 36-yard field goal in the fourth quarter.
Tabor vs. Sterling