By Scott Cox
McPHERSON, Kan. (MacBulldogs.com) – The McPherson College Bulldogs open the 2024 season on the road, traveling to Hillsboro, Kan. to take on the Tabor College Bluejays at Joel H. Wiens Stadium. MC won four of its first five games in 2023 before being plagued with injuries.
A LOOK AT THE ‘DOGS
The Bulldogs return a huge amount of production from last season’s squad as quarterback Tristan Szabo returns from injury for his senior season. Szabo threw for 2,323 yards and 22 touchdowns in just nine games.
In addition to the quarterback position, the Bulldogs also bring back their leading rusher from last season in Brysen Kerby, along with the top receiver in Traven Lewis-Johnson. Kerby scored a team-high six rushing touchdowns and ran for 558 yards, while Lewis-Johnson caught 28 passes for 561 yards and five scores.
On the defensive side of the ball, the Bulldogs notably return 2023 second team All-American Nehemiah Figueroa, who finished with a team-high six interceptions, a mark that placed him tied for third in the NAIA a year ago. Figueroa also tallied 39 solo tackles, including four tackles for loss. The defensive line will look to apply pressure to the opposition, leaning on returner Jacob Goad, who’s back for his senior campaign. Goad led the Bulldogs with 3.5 sacks.
SCOUTING THE BLUEJAYS
The Bluejays finished the 2023 season with a 3-8 record, including losses in their first five games.
William Green played in eight games a season ago, throwing for a team-best 1,216 yards and 11 touchdowns. The Bluejays will have to replace their 2023 leading rusher Jordan Bolden and will do so with some new faces. Devin Jones returns after catching 28 passes last season for 263 yards and a team-high five touchdowns, while Deonte Hill led them with 388 receiving yards.
Defensively, McPherson native, Jayton Alexander picked off three passes for the Bluejays last season, returning one for a touchdown in last season’s matchup against the Bulldogs. They also return two of their three leading tacklers from a season ago in Brooks Gardner and Christian Tuiasosopo.
THE SERIES VS. TABOR
The Bulldogs have won four of the last five games between the two teams, including a 51-17 drubbing in the 2023 season opener at McPherson Stadium. However, the Bluejays have had past success as they won four straight meetings from 2015 to 2018. Traveling to Hillsboro has been nice recently for the Bulldogs though as they have come out on top of the last two games played at Tabor and are 5-5 in the last 10.
LAST MEETING
MC won their second straight game against the Bluejays in 2023, thanks to a monster performance by Tristan Szabo. Szabo threw for a career-high 405 yards and three touchdowns, while rushing for a team-high 71 yards and a score. Brysen Kerby added to the rushing attack with 66 yards on 10 carries, including a pair of touchdowns. Alex Hill led the Bulldogs, hauling in eight catches for 128 yards and a touchdown.
Defensively, the Bulldogs held Tabor to just 214 yards of total offense, intercepting quarterback Tyson Dozhier twice with Nehemiah Figueroa and Avery Crawford on the receiving end.
The Bluejays led 10-0 early, following a pick six by Jayton Alexander, but from there the Bulldogs took over in all three phases of the game scoring 37 unanswered points to grab control and seal the victory.
QUOTING FISCUS
“We are looking forward to the start of competition! Our guys in the program have worked hard in the offseason and throughout fall camp. It’ll be good to see how we respond when the lights come on and the scoreboard’s alive. We have a very high-level respect for other conference members, starting with Tabor College and Coach Gardner. That is a program that knows how to win and we have to play our best football.”
2023 BULLDOGS BY THE NUMBERS
Home: 3-2
Away: 2-4
When scoring:
0-6 points: 0-0
7-13 points: 0-2
14-20 points: 0-1
21-27 points: 0-2
28-34 points: 2-1
35+ points: 3-0
When allowing:
0-6 points: 1-0
7-13 points: 0-1
14-20 points: 2-1
21-27 points: 1-0
28-34 points: 1-2
35+ points: 0-2
When scoring first: 4-0
When opponent scores first: 1-6
When leading at halftime: 4-1
When trailing at halftime: 0-5
When tied at halftime: 0-0
KCAC PRESEASON RANKINGS
The Bulldogs were picked to finish tied for fourth in the KCAC’s Kessinger Division by the coaches, and fifth in the division by the media. Evangel and Friends tied for the top spot in the division, while Southwestern came in third and Bethel tied for fourth with the Bulldogs.
On the other side, Kansas Wesleyan and Ottawa tied for first in the coaches’ poll while the Coyotes secured the top spot in media poll.
CHASING HISTORY
With a win, head coach Jeremiah Fiscus would move into second on the all-time wins list with 25 wins in his career at McPherson College. He would pass David Cunningham who coached the Bulldogs for five seasons between 2002-2006. Sid Smith is the all-time winningest coach in McPherson history with 57 wins over 16 seasons from 1953-1966.
A BULLDOG WIN WOULD…
… be back-to-back season opening wins for the first time since 2018
… be their fifth win in the last six tries against Tabor
… improve them to – on the road under Jeremiah Fiscus
… be the 25th head coaching win for Coach Fiscus
UP NEXT
The Bulldogs are at McPherson Stadium, home of Paul Family Field for the first time this season, hosting Sterling College next weekend (Sep. 7). MC slipped past the Warriors 34-31 in 2023 in Sterling.
COACH FISCUS
Jeremiah Fiscus enters his sixth year as the head coach of the McPherson College Football team in 2024.
The 2022 season proved to be a promising one, as Fiscus led the Bulldogs to a 5-5 record, but four of those five setbacks came to the top teams in the KCAC by a combined five points.
In his five years at McPherson, Fiscus has coached 57 All-KCAC players, including six first-team selections and 14 players landing on the All-KCAC second team. He has also coached three NAIA All-Americans, including 2020 KCAC Special Teams Player of the Year, Melvin Reed, and 2022 KCAC Player of the Year, Jonathan White.
Coach Fiscus is a former Bulldog who played for the college from 2006 – 2007 under coaches Dave Cunningham and Brian Ward.
Upon graduation from McPherson, he was hired as a graduate assistant at Northwestern State University in Natchitoches, Louisiana, where he was the running backs coach. After earning a master’s degree in sports administration from Northwestern State in 2010, Coach Fiscus was hired as a graduate assistant at Texas Christian University in Fort Worth. While at TCU, he earned another master’s degree, this one in educational administration, and worked for head coach Gary Patterson as assistant offensive line coach and recruiting assistant.
In his two seasons at TCU, the Horned Frogs won two Mountain West Conference championships, in addition to winning the Rose Bowl and the Poinsettia Bowl. He coached two All-Conference offensive linemen and the MWC offensive player of the year, Andy Dalton.
After two years with the Horned Frogs, Coach Fiscus was hired by Henderson State University in Arkadelphia, Arkansas. He spent six seasons with the Reddies in a multitude of positions. He worked as director of equipment operations, team travel coordinator, NFL liaison, OL/TE/FB coach, recruiting coordinator, and offensive coordinator. During his time there, the Reddies won three GAC championships, had three NCAA D2 playoff appearances, and twice were #1 in scoring offense in NCAA D2 football.
Coach Fiscus is a 2003 graduate of Stafford High School in Kansas and was a multi-sport standout, lettering in track and field and football. After high school, he attended Dodge City Community College, playing for the Conquistadors from 2003-2005. After getting his associate degree at DCCC, Coach Fiscus transferred to McPherson College, where he played for two seasons and finished his education, graduating in 2008 with a Bachelor of Science in education.
Coach Fiscus is married to Jessie, and they have two daughters, Lennox (2016), and Laiken (2019), and a son Leonard (2021).
