Kansas Wesleyan Football Shows Growing Pains and Promising Signs Through First Three Games

Kansas Wesleyan University’s football team has opened the 2026 season with a 2-1 record, showing growing pains and promising signs in its first three games. The Coyotes began the season with a tough 33-13 loss to Ottawa University on Aug. 29 at the Braves’ home stadium.

In Week 2, Kansas Wesleyan responded well with a dominant 76-6 victory over the Bethany Swedes at JRI Stadium in Salina. Two Coyotes, AJ Woods and Caleb Deal, earned KCAC honors that week. Deal went 3-for-6 for 109 yards and two touchdowns. He also rushed eight times for 117 yards and two more touchdowns.

Freshman AJ Woods was perfect on the night, going 4-for-4 on field goals and 8-for-8 on PATs while scoring 20 points. Woods also handled kickoffs for the Coyotes, averaging 63.1 yards per kickoff with four touchbacks. The performances of Woods and Deal helped Wesleyan win its 12th straight meeting in the all-time series, score the most points by one team in the series, and earn the largest-margin victory in the 116 all-time meetings.

The Coyotes earned their second straight win over Avila University, 35-28, in a tight overtime game in Kansas City.  Redshirt freshman Troy Sylve played a major role in the victory, rushing for 102 yards and three touchdowns, including the overtime game-winning touchdown. The team rushed for 216 yards in total on the night.

When asked about the road win, Caleb Deal said, “That was a big win for us, especially with the struggles in the beginning of the game. It was big for us to get the win in OT and not give up when things got hard.”

Kansas Wesleyan entered the season following a 7-4 campaign in 2025. The team also entered 2026 with several important positions to replace, including quarterback Henry Austad and running back D’Heaven Domena. Six defensive starters returned, including Callum Armstrong and Gavin Skerik.

The Coyotes also have quite a few new faces coming in, including junior Caleb Deal, who stepped into the quarterback role as Kansas Wesleyan looks to build on last season’s success. Deal spoke about the struggles at the start of the season, adjusting to the offense, and what he expects from the Coyotes this season.

When asked what the team learned from the opening loss to Ottawa, Deal said, “I felt like, as a whole, the team learned about our strengths and weaknesses. That when things go wrong we need to bounce back and learn from our mistakes, and that’s exactly what we did in weeks 2 and 3.”

Deal felt the biggest challenge was coming together as a team and playing as one instead of as individuals. He also felt that the team has started to come together and that things are starting to click offensively and defensively.

Through the first three games of the 2026 season, the Coyotes have shown that growth can come from both wins and setbacks. After learning from their opening loss to Ottawa, Kansas Wesleyan responded with back-to-back victories, showing improvement in both its offensive and defensive play. With new players stepping into important roles and returning veterans providing experience, the Coyotes are continuing to build their identity as a team. If the progress seen in the past two games continues, Kansas Wesleyan will look to carry that momentum into the rest of the season and build on the success of its 2025 campaign.

Photos by shotbyshay