KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Byron McNair's first start as a college quarterback was a success thanks in large part to his backfield buddies.
 
McNair threw for 141 yards and a touchdown in Kansas Wesleyan's 34-16 Kansas Conference victory over Avila on Saturday afternoon at Zarda Family Multisport Complex. His effort was bolstered by the Coyotes' relentless ground game that steamrolled the Eagles' defense for 250 yards on 50 attempts.
 
Tyler Boston rushed for 119 yards on 16 carries – a whopping 7.4 yards per carry – and a touchdown that helped ease the pressure on McNair in his debut. Nick Allsman added 80 yards on 14 carries – a 5.7 average – and a touchdown and Mark Benjamin had 19 yards on four carries and a score.
 
"(The running game) looked really good, obviously," KWU coach Matt Myers said on his postgame radio show. "We came out in the second half and ran the ball really well (147 yards). We won the time of possession. When your offense can stay on the field like that your success rate just inherently goes up."
 
McNair was 11 of 18 passing with one touchdown and an interception, the touchdown a 16-yard strike to Jacquante Pitts late in the third quarter. He also had 16 yards rushing on 11 carries.
 
"McNair's first game starting he's obviously going to make a few mistakes here and there," Myers said. "That's something to learn from, he got some good experience. He ran the ball well in a couple big spots picking up yards that were super important for us.
 
"He helped us convert third downs and keep our offense on the field and moving."
 
KWU (5-2 overall, 1-0 Bissell Division) outgained Avila in total yardage 391-244. The Coyotes were especially good stopping the Eagles' rushing attack – minus-1 yard on 22 carries.
 
"I thought we tackled really well and got the ball on the ground a couple of times (two fumble recoveries) but we dropped three picks," Myers said.
 
Eli Williams, Avila's standout quarterback, was 30 of 49 for 245 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions.
 
Avila (1-6, 0-1 Bissell) scored first on a field goal with 7:49 left in the opening quarter but KWU tallied the next 17 points. The Coyotes responded to the field goal with a nine-play, 68-yard scoring drive – Benjamin going the final 10 yards for the touchdown with 3:57 left in the quarter.
 
Josh King-Bradley sacked Williams and jarred the ball loose on Avila's next possession, the Coyotes recovering at the Avila 18-yard line. They had to settle for Kalon Cope's 27-yard field goal, though, making it 10-7 with 8 seconds left in the quarter.
 
Wesleyan extended its lead to 17-3 on Boston's 27-yard touchdown run with 9:23 left in the half. McNair scrambled 18 yards for a first down on the play prior to Boston's scoring jaunt.
 
Williams threw a 24-yard touchdown pass to Kareem Chambers that trimmed the KWU lead to 17-10 but the Coyotes scored on the final play of the half as Cope converted another 27-yard field goal that gave them a 20-10 at the break.
 
McNair's touchdown toss to Pitts extended the lead to 27-10 with 3:43 left in the third quarter and finished off a 68-yard, eight-play drive.
 
The Coyotes' final points came on the fourth play of the fourth quarter when Allsman scored from the 2 with 13:04 left, the drive covering 53 yards on eight plays that made it 34-10.
 
Avila scored a cosmetic touchdown with 37 seconds left on Williams' 3-yard pass to Jahkese Watkins.
 
The Coyotes play Saint Mary at 5 p.m. next Saturday on Bissell Field in JRI Stadium and the Graves Family Sports Complex. It will be part of KWU's Homecoming and Family Weekend.
 
The Spires (2-5, 0-1 Bissell) lost to Ottawa 28-17 Saturday in Leavenworth and have lost three of their last four games.