Thresher football team prepares to host 15th-ranked McPherson

By Mark Schnabel
Newton Kansan
The Bethel College football team will face another tough challenge this week when the Threshers face the 15th-ranked (NAIA) McPherson Bulldogs at 1:30 p.m. Saturday at Thresher Stadium.
Bethel fell to 2-6 overall, 2-5 in Kanasas Collegiate Athletic Conference play, with a 21-20 loss to Southwestern last week. McPherson is coming off a 43-10 win over Tabor. The Bulldogs moved up a spot in the NAIA poll with the win.
With two games remaining, McPherson is on the bubble for an NAIA playoff spot. The sole loss for the Bulldogs came against Ottawa 44-41 in double overtime.
“This will be quite a challenge for us,” Bethel coach Mike Moore said. “They have a very good football team. They are legit. The have some very good skill players. They have some wide receivers who are as good as anyone we’ll see. They have a kick returner who is one of the best in the nation. They have a very good quarterback. They have a very good football team and are very well coached.”
McPherson quarterback Shane Mascarenas is 153 of 247 passing for 2,399 yards with 28 touchdowns and eight interceptions. He threw for five touchdowns in last week’s win over Tabor. Mascarenas is fifth in the NAIA in passing yards per game at 299.9.
Junior running back Aaron Lafitte has 140 carries for 777 yards and 15 touchdowns. Leading receivers include Andy Skinner with 43 catches for 720 yards and 12 touchdowns; Stephen Harrison with 41 catches for 742 yards and eight touchdowns; and Josh White with 24 catches for 343 yards and two scores.
Harrison is second in the NAIA in kickoff returns with a 31.5 yard average and a touchdown.
Jeff Paulson leads the McPherson defense with 63 total tackles, followed by Will Powers with 58 and Thomas Stauts with 49. Scott Jones has 6.5 sacks. Shelton Thigpen has five interceptions.
“They run a lot of one-back sets,” Moore said. “They aren’t quite as spread out as Ottawa. They are very similar to Saint Mary. They play a lot of four-man fronts on defense, similar to what we run. That makes it a little easier to prepare for. They run some of the same blitz packages as we do.”
McPherson is on a five-game winning streak. The Bulldogs have scored at least 41 points in every game except for a 21-0 win over Sterling.
“They’ve played well all season,” Moore said. “We’ve seen them on film almost every week. We’re going to have to be able to run the ball, which we have done well the last few weeks until last week. We’re going to have to keep the ball out of their hands. We’re going to have to find a way to put pressure on their quarterback.”
Bethel’s Garrett Hiebert has hit 133 of 285 passes for 1,676 yards, 15 touchdowns and nine interceptions. Hiebert also has 122 rushing yards with three touchdowns. Jarret Abell has 141 carries for 503 yards and two touchdowns.
Lance Francis has 40 catches for 540 yards with four touchdowns. Lee Voth-Gaeddert has 30 catches for 431 yards and seven touchdowns.
Chris Bloss leads the team in tackles with 51, followed by Caleb Stephens with 44, James McCartney with 43 and Joel Maple with 40. McCartney has 6.0 sacks, followed by Maple with 4.5. Stephens and Jesse Mueller each have 3.5 sacks.
David Daugherty and Darin Derstein each have three interceptions.
Voth-Gaeddert is averaging 38.4 yards a punt. He also will take over most of the kicking duties this week. He had been doing kickoffs and the longer field goal attempts. Bethel had been struggling with field goal and PAT kicking the past couple of weeks.
Bethel is coming off its fourth loss by a touchdown or less. Only Ottawa has beaten Bethel by more than one touchdown.
“It’s been a little bit difficult,” Moore said. “What’s helped us this year is 21 seniors, 15 or 16 of them have been here all four years. They know what it feels like to have success.”
Bethel will be without receiver Andrew McNary this week due to injury. Bethel will get back linebacker Andrew Wiederholt, who has been out since the Friends game in week four.