Coyotes taken down by Blue Jays

Fans tailgating before the game

Kansas Wesleyan head coach Matt Middleton was visibly frustrated by his team’s performance through much of the first three quarters of Saturday night’s Family Weekend matchup. But despite the rocky start, the Coyotes showed grit—and nearly pulled off an unlikely comeback. Ultimately, though, they came up just short in a 28-19 defeat to Tabor at Gene Bissell Field/JRI Hospitality Stadium. The loss dropped KWU to 4–1, while Tabor improved to 2–3 on the season.

Game Flow & Key Plays

KWU got off to a solid start, leading 6–0 in the first quarter on two field goals by Talon Cope (30 and 28 yards). Tabor answered late in the first quarter when quarterback Ahmad Bailey hit A.J. King for a 2-yard touchdown pass with just 47 seconds remaining, giving the Bluejays a 7–6 lead at quarter’s end. The second quarter was quiet—no team scored. In the third quarter, Tabor broke things open. Bailey and King connected on three touchdown passes (6, 28, and 65 yards), the last one cutting across the field with 1:25 left in the quarter, giving the Bluejays a commanding 28–6 lead going into the final period.

At that point, Tabor seemed in control. But the Coyotes mounted a fierce rally. On the first play of the fourth quarter, KWU’s D’Heaven Domena powered in a 3-yard touchdown run, closing the gap to 28–13. KWU then recovered an onside kick—but the momentum was halted when they fumbled at the Tabor 44-yard line. Tabor went three-and-out on the next drive, and KWU responded with a 14-play, 94-yard drive culminating in a 2-yard touchdown by Henry Austad with about 2:00 left. The extra point, however, failed, leaving the score at 28–19. KWU recovered a second onside kick, but their final drive stalled at Tabor’s 17-yard line. Cope’s 33-yard field goal try missed wide left with 41 seconds to go.

Despite the loss, Middleton expressed pride in his team’s tenacity.

“I’m proud the kids didn’t quit,” he said. “Anybody can be a frontrunner, but how do you handle things when adversity hits?”

He acknowledged there were “times we were trying to fight through some implosions,” but the fight-back gave him hope.

Stat Lines & Defensive Effort

Coyote student athletes gathered at halftime for Commissioner Cup. 3-Peat

KWU actually outgained Tabor in total offense, 380 yards to 330. On the ground, the Bluejays were limited to 107 rushing yards on 33 attempts (3.2 avg).  Defensively, Myles Elam paced the Coyotes with 14 tackles, while Taylor Collins had 11 and Jamison Price logged 9. On the offensive side, Austad completed 26 of 37 passes for 200 yards and also led the team in rushing with 82 yards on 11 carries plus a touchdown. Domena added 71 yards on 13 carries and a score. Will Wilcox was the top receiver for KWU with seven catches for 82 yards.  Meanwhile, Tabor’s standout was A.J. King, who caught 12 passes for 155 yards and all four of Bailey’s touchdown passes.