SALINA – For the first time in program history, Raven Football is headed to the NAIA National Championship game. The No. 7 Ravens defeated the No. 6 Kansas Wesleyan University Coyotes 43-21 at the Graves Family Sports Complex on the KWU campus on Saturday.
A powerful rushing attack and a swarming defense made the difference in the game. The Ravens, powered by 286 rushing yards on 31 carries by Marquis Stewart, enforced their will on the Coyotes, turning a 20-14 halftime lead into a 22-point win.
The Ravens scored the game's first two touchdowns. Shaefer Schuetz connected with Aaron Jackson for a 10-yard touchdown pass as the Ravens went up 7-0, then Stewart ran in from 19 yards out to push the lead to 13-0.
The Coyotes answered with two touchdowns of their own, taking a 14-13 lead in the second quarter. The Ravens responded with a nine play, 78-yard drive that was capped off by a Charlie Nihart touchdown run to put the Ravens up 20-14 at half. Nihart finished the game with 91 yards on 13 rushes as the Ravens accumulated 399 yards on the ground in the game.
The Ravens grabbed control of the game in the third quarter. KWU's Demarco Prewitt fumbled on the first play of the second half, setting up a short Ravens drive that ended with a Zach Renfro touchdown run.
The defense remained strong on the next two Coyotes drives, forcing an interception by Jalen James and a KWU punt. The offense took advantage of the positive field position on both drives, with a Stewart touchdown run and another Schuetz-to-Jackson toss to give the Ravens a 40-14 lead in the third quarter. Late in the quarter, Prewitt scored for the Coyotes to make it 40-21, but it was the last score of the day for KWU.
The Ravens continued to use the ground game to kill the clock in the fourth quarter. Jacob Young was true on a 26-yard field goal in the fourth quarter, giving the Ravens the final spread of 43-21.
The Ravens had 162 more offensive yards than the Coyotes (491-329), a team that averaged 508 yards and 50.4 points per game entering Saturday's contest. Defensively, Brett Shepardson was named the Defensive Player of the Game with 11 tackles. Jalen James added nine tackles and Matt McCullough had seven tackles.
Stewart was named the Offensive Player of the Game. His 286 yards on the ground are a new single-game school record, breaking Jamie Mueller's previous record of 257 yards against Westmar College in 1984.
The Ravens improve to 13-1 on the season and will take on No. 1 Morningside (14-0) on Dec. 15 in Daytona, Fla. Top-ranked Morningside defeated two-time defending NAIA Champion St. Francis 34-28 in overtime in Saturday's other semifinal game.
