WINFIELD, Kan. – The McPherson Bullpups scored on their first play from scrimmage on Friday night and rolled to a 54-24 win over Winfield, wrapping up a 5-0 season in the AVCTL Division III.
AJ Bullocks returned the opening kick to the McPherson 45-yard-line and on the first play from scrimmage, Carter Bengtson connected with Ashton Malm on a play-action 55-yard touchdown pass to put the Bullpups up 7-0 just 18 seconds into the game. With 2:05 remaining in the first quarter, Bengtson connected with Brody Hoffman on a 30-yard pass as McPherson took a 14-0 lead after one quarter.
Bengtson found Hoffman again early in the second quarter on a nine-yard touchdown pass to put McPherson up 20-0. Winfield would score on their next drive as freshman quarterback Bryce VenJohn threw his first career touchdown pass on a 10-yard connection with Levi Tate. The Bullpups were quickly back on the board as Bengtson had a nine-yard touchdown run with 3:08 remaining in the first half to put the Bullpups ahead 27-7. A quick defensive stop gave the ball back to McPherson and they finished their first half with five touchdowns on five possessions when Takoda Linn caught a 33-yard pass from Bengtson for a score.
McPherson held a 34-7 lead at halftime. The Bullpup defense made a stop on Winfield’s first drive of the second half. Much like the first quarter, a big play from Bengtson to Malm started the second quarter. They connected on a 53-yard pass down to the Winfield four-yard line. Two plays later, Brody Milleson was into the end zone for a four-yard touchdown, putting McPherson up 41-7. Malm would add another 31-yard touchdown reception from Bengtson with 2:07 remaining in the third to give the Bullpups a 48-7 lead after three quarters.
Winfield outscored McPherson 17-6 in the fourth quarter. McPherson made stop on the Vikings on a 4th-and-goal play at the two-yard line, but Winfield got a safety on the next play. After the free kick, Dane Chattam scored on a 56-yard touchdown run to cut the lead to 48-17. McPherson scored with 1:09 remaining on a 4-yard run for Yurem Ordonez as the Bullpups crossed the 50-point mark for the first time this season. Winfield played to the buzzer, getting a 16-yard touchdown run from Elijah Bergesen with nine seconds remaining for the 54-24 final.
For the second straight game, Bengtson had a season and career high in passing yards with 338 yards on 17-23 passing and five touchdowns. Malm had a season-high 153 yards on five catches with two scores. McPherson finished with 486 total yards and 148 rushing yards for the night. Winfield racked up 297 yards with 183 on the ground. Chattam ran for 156 yards and a score and VenJohn went 10-24 for 104 yards and a score.
With the 5-0 record in the AVCTL, McPherson wrapped up the league title. They also moved to 7-1, which no matter what guaranteed them no worse than the number two seed in the west. However, for the second straight week, Great Bend was dominated by their opponent, falling 55-14 against Junction City and dropping out of the top spot, finishing their regular season at 6-2. At 7-1, McPherson has a winning percentage advantage over Wamego, who finished 6-1. Factoring all of those things in, McPherson wrapped up the #1 seed in the 4A West standings. They will have home field advantage as long as they stay alive in the playoffs through the semifinal round. McPherson will host El Dorado in the first round on Friday night at 7:00 at Brubaker Family Stadium.
Score by Quarters
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | F | ||
| McPherson | 14 | 20 | 14 | 6 | 54 | |
| Winfield | 0 | 7 | 0 | 17 | 24 |
Scoring Summary
1st Quarter: McPherson: Malm 55 pass from Bengtson (Hoover kick) (11:42) (McPherson 7-0)
1st Quarter: McPherson: Hoffman 30 pass from Bengtson (Hoover kick) (2:05) (McPherson 14-0)
2nd Quarter: McPherson: Hoffman 9 pass from Bengtson (kick blocked) (10:49) (McPherson 20-0)
2nd Quarter: Winfield: Tate 10 pass from VenJohn (Emerson kick) (6:30) (McPherson 20-7)
2nd Quarter: McPherson: Bengtson 9 run (Sawatzky kick) (3:00) (McPherson 27-7)
2rd Quarter: McPherson: Linn 33 pass from Bengtson (Sawatzky kick) (0:29) (McPherson 34-7)
3rd Quarter: McPherson: Milleson 4 run (Sawatzky kick) (9:32) (McPherson 41-7)
3rd Quarter: McPherson: Malm 31 pass from Bengtson (Sawatzky kick) (2:07) (McPherson 48-7)
4th Quarter: Winfield: Safety (9:20) (McPherson 48-9)
4th Quarter: Winfield: Chattam 56 run (Eli Tagg pass from VenJohn) (9:02) (McPherson 48-17)
4th Quarter: McPherson: Ordonez 4 run (run failed) (1;09) (McPherson 54-17)
4th Quarter: Winfield: Bergesen 6 run (Emerson kick) (0:09) (McPherson 54-24)
Final Stats
McPherson
Rushing: Milleson 10-56, TD; Ordonez 9-51, TD; Bengtson 5-32, TD; Becker 3-12; Barrera-Prado 1-(-2)
Passing: Bengtson 17-23-338, 5 TD
Receiving: Malm 5-153, 2 TD; Hoffman 5-84, 2 TD; Linn 3-54, TD; Puhalla 2-23; Becker 1-14; Chapman 1-10
Kicking: Hoover 2-2 XP; Sawatzky 4-5 XP
Winfield
Rushing: Chattam 16-156, TD; Bergesen 10-45, TD; Brown 1-(-2); C. Reams 1-(-2); VenJohn 2-(-14)
Passing: VenJohn 10-24-104, TD
Receiving: Tate 5-49, TD; El. Tag 3-32; Ecot 1-18; Chattam 1-5
Kicking: Emerson 2-2 XP
