MULVANE, Kan. – The McPherson football team scored two touchdowns in the first 2:16 in Friday night’s AVCTL Division III matchup against Mulvane. They never looked back on their way to a 47-13 road win.
After receiving the opening kickoff, the Bullpups had a run play that went for negative yards and a false start that set up 3rd and 16. Mulvane gave five yards back on an offsides and on the third play of the game, Carter Bengtson found Jaxon Hoover who finished off a 69-yard touchdown to put the Bullpups up 7-0 just two minutes and one second into the game.
The barrage was extended on Mulvane’s first play from scrimmage as Carter Melton read a underneath pass from Mulvane QB Jeter Tatum, intercepted the pass and returned it 31 yards untouched for the pick-six to put the Bullpups up 14-0 with 9:44 remaining in the first quarter.
A 44-yard field goal from Hoover gave McPherson a 17-0 lead after the first quarter. Dane Becker had a seven-yard touchdown run in the second quarter to give McPherson a 24-0 lead with 2:54 left in the first half. McPherson got the ball back and as time expired, Hoover connected on another field goal from 25 yards to put the Bullpups up 27-0 at the break.
Becker had another seven-yard touchdown run just past the midway point of the third quarter to give McPherson a 34-0 lead and Colt Chapman stepped in front of a Tatum pass for an interception and a 34-yard pick-six as McPherson led 40-0 after the third quarter.
Mulvane got their first score on a 23-yard pass from Tatum to Hudson Myers with 11:08 to play in the game. McPherson answered quickly on a 48-yard pass from Bengtson to Becker, who scored his third touchdown of the night to extend the lead back to 40 at 47-7. Tatum added a five-yard touchdown run for Mulvane with 1:16 remaining for the 47-13 final.
The Bullpups racked up 363 yards for the night as Bengtson was outstanding throwing the football again. He went 9-14 for 184 yards and two touchdowns. Hoover was the leading receiver with three catches for 85 yards and the 69-yard touchdown to start the game. Becker was the leading rusher with nine carries for 73 yards and two scores. The Bullpup defense held Mulvane to just 50 yards in the first half, but the Wildcats were able to rack up points and yards in the fourth quarter. They ended with 237 yards of total offense. Tatum was 13-24 passing for 140 yards and a touchdown.
McPherson kept pace in the number two spot in the 4A West standings, moving to 5-1 overall and 4-0 in AVCTL Division III. Mulvane dropped to 3-3 and 1-2. McPherson has another battle coming up on Friday night against Tonganoxie. The Chieftains are 4-2 after a 40-8 win over Bonner Springs in Week 6.
Score by Quarters
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | F | ||
| McPherson | 17 | 10 | 13 | 7 | 47 | |
| Mulvane | 0 | 0 | 0 | 13 | 13 |
Scoring Summary
1st Quarter: McPherson: Hoover 69 pass from Bengtson (Hoover kick) (9:59) (McPherson 7-0)
1st Quarter: McPherson: Melton 31 interception return (Hoover kick) (9:44) (McPherson 14-0)
1st Quarter: McPherson: Hoover 44 field goal (2:03) (McPherson 17-0)
2nd Quarter: McPherson: Becker 7 run (Hoover kick) (2:54) (McPherson 24-0)
2nd Quarter: Hoover 25 field goal (0:00) (McPherson 27-0)
3rd Quarter: McPherson: Becker 7 run (Hoover kick) (5:23) (McPherson 34-0)
3rd Quarter: McPherson: Chapman 34 interception return (kick blocked) (4:36) (McPherson 40-0)
4th Quarter: Mulvane: H. Myers 23 pass from Tatum (Osborn kick) (11:08) (McPherson 40-7)
4th Quarter: McPherson: Becker 48 pass from Bengtson (Hoover kick) (9:54) (McPherson 47-7)
4th Quarter: Mulvane: Tatum 5 run (PAT failed) (1:16) (McPherson 47-13)
Final Stats
McPherson
Rushing: Becker 9-73, 2 TD; Bengtson 6-69; Milleson 7-39; Nelson 2-(-2)
Passing: Bengtson 9-14-184, 2 TD
Receiving: Hoover 3-85, TD; Becker 2-49, TD; Linn 2-32; Hoffman 2-18
Kicking: Hoover 5-6 XP; 2-2 FG
El Dorado
Rushing: Grizzle 13-74; Ensley 9-18; Tatum 12-5, TD
Passing: Tatum 13-24-140, TD, 2 INT
Receiving: H. Myers 5-64, TD; Hargrove 6-60; Smith 2-16
Kicking: Osborn 1-1 XP; 0-1 FG
