Box Score STERLING – Kansas Wesleyan is 2-0 on the young season and it's easy to understand how the Coyotes got there. As they say, numbers don't lie.
KWU has outscored its first two opponents 119-0 after a 49-0 Kansas Conference victory over Sterling Saturday night at Smisor Stadium. The 12th-ranked Coyotes led 21-0 after one quarter, 35-0 at halftime and cruised in the second half.
It's the first time the Coyotes have posted back-to-back shutouts since 2002, and only the second time since 1942, when the Coyotes posted five straight shutouts.
The formula for success was the same as it was a week early against Friends – a balanced and lethal offense, dynamic special teams play and a defense that doesn't bend, break or blink.
Nick Allsman (SO/Belleville, Kan.) ran for 95 yards and a touchdown; Mark Benjamin (SO/Houston, Texas) ran for two scores; Tony White (SR/Cincinnati, Ohio) threw for 86 yards and two touchdowns and rushed for 42 yards; and Rhadarious Lomax-Spivey (FR/Aurora, Ill.) scooped up a blocked punt and ran 20 yards for a touchdown – the second special teams score in two weeks.
And there's the defense that has been overwhelming and scarcely tested.
"We have the mindset everyday of just trying to get better at one little thing," senior linebacker Lucas Rockford (SR/Springfield, Ill.) said. "All those little things build up, build into the whole defense. We have a lot of trust in our guys, a lot of four-year guys, a lot of seniors and a lot of depth as well and it works."
It certainly did Saturday – once again.
Sterling (0-2) ran 55 plays but managed just 146 yards – an average of 2.7 yards per play. Quarterback Daniel Jackson was 8 of 24 passing for 95 yards and an interception while under constant pressure from KWU's relentless pursuit. The Coyotes also intercepted a Drew Ellis pass on a halfback option in the third quarter.
Rockford said depth is the key.
"It keeps us fresher, it keeps us healthier, it keeps bodies flowing," he said. "And it doesn't really give the offense a chance to get a look at one guy, you have to deal with three or four guys at a time.
"Friends ran 60 plays last week and (Sterling) ran 55," KWU coach Matt Myers said. "That's (115) plays and we didn't give up one point, which is extremely hard to do. Like I've said we're deep up front, we are deep at linebacker, we are deep on the back end. We have a lot of confidence in those guys to run them out there and make plays."
Sterling's best scoring opportunity came early in the fourth quarter. Jackson and David Timmons combined on a 62-yard pass to the KWU 16-yard line but on third down from the 6 Jackson threw a pass to the end zone that was intercepted by Bilbare Jones (SR/Memphis, Tenn.).
Offensively the Coyotes consumed 443 total yards – 313 rushing and 130 passing. White completed 11 of 18 passes and the two scores – a 17-yarder to Patton Germann (SO/Salt Lake City, Utah) in the second quarter and a 19-yard strike to Woody Banks (SO/Lewisville, Texas) in the third quarter. It was Banks' second touchdown reception in two weeks. Backup quarterback Richard Lara (SO/Bakersfield, Calif.) threw a 33-yard scoring pass to Jacquante Pitts (SR/Miami, Fla.) in the fourth quarter.
Allsman has 193 yards rushing and four touchdowns in the first two games including a 3-yard scoring run with 18.4 seconds left in the half Saturday. Benjamin scored his touchdowns in the first quarter on runs of 28 and 6 yards, finished with 84 yards on 12 carries and credited the offensive line for his success.
"Without my big nasties I ain't going nowhere," he said. "(The scores) came off my O-line, my receivers putting in blocks for me and I just finished off that."
The special teams play of the night came in the first quarter on Sterling's second punt. After nearly blocking the first the Coyotes broke through again. The ball bounced back and towards the sideline where Lomax-Spivey emerged from a crowd, picked it up and raced into the end zone.
"I thought we could probably get a punt block this week," Myers said. "So, coach (David) Leonard drew it up and it was exciting to see. I was glad we got the score off of it."
The Smisor Stadium grass turf was slippery from rain before the game making it difficult for players on both teams to cut and accelerate.
"A little choppy out here," Myers said. "Hopefully we get a little better weather next week and we start ripping it down the field again and making some bigger plays through the air."
The Coyotes are back home next Saturday for a game against Bethel starting at 7 p.m. on Gene Bissell Field at JRI Stadium at the Graves Family Sports Complex. KWU has won the last 13 games against the Threshers. Bethel (3-0) defeated Friends 28-16 Saturday night in Wichita.
