Tabor disposed of preseason favorite McPherson College on Saturday in relatively easy fashion, 30-14.

"We're nothing flashy, but we still get there," coach Mike Gardner said. "That's the secret to our success. We don't have the star player, but we rely on a total team effort rather than individual performances."

It appeared the Bluejays' sojourn might be derailed when McPherson's Erik Johnson hooked up with Deke Belcher for a 17-yard touchdown strike that put the Bulldogs on top 7-0 less than four minutes into the game.

Adding to its momentum, McPherson successfully executed an onside kick, recovering the ball on its own 45 -yard line.

Showing no signs of panic, the Bluejay defense stiffened and forced a Bulldog punt.

Tabor drove 35 yards before running out of downs. But Brian Kimsey, arguably the player of the game, pinned McPherson deep in its own territory for the first of numerous times-the 16-yard line on this occasion.

"It's kind of funny, when you need a really big play your punter is the one who steps up," Gardner said.

Tabor's defense pushed McPherson backward, eventually forcing a punt from the 2-yard line.

Caleb Marsh returned the ball to the Bulldog 26. Five plays later, Roger Butler ran the ball in from four yards out to tie the score at 7 early in the second period.

The play was bittersweet, though. Butler left the game with a shoulder injury. His replacement, Ted Telemaque, was more than willing to seize that opportunity.

Tabor began its next drive just 46 yards from pay dirt, and it took just six plays before Ricky Ishida plowed into the end zone from four yards out to stake Tabor to a 14-7 lead with 7:24 left in the half.

Minutes later, McPherson was dealt a blow when Johnson was sacked by Brian Durowaiye at the Mac 28-yard line, knocking the quarterback out of the contest.

"It was a blitz and Durowaiye just got a good shot on him," Gardner said. "It wasn't anything dirty, but once he went down, we knew it limited their offense.

"I hope Erik is all right. He's a really classy competitor in every aspect."

Tabor's defense continued to deny the Bulldogs, holding them to fewer than 50 yards total offense in the first half.

Gardner said the Bluejays performed as a true team.

"Each and every man on this team has to do his job every game," he said.

The second half began with another stalled Bluejay drive, but this time Kimsey stuck the ball out of bounds at the McPherson 4-yard line.

Three plays yielded just three yards, forcing another McPherson punt. Tabor took over on its own 48-yard line, setting the stage for Telemaque.

Following a six-yard gain on first down, the Bluejay junior raced down the west sideline for a 46-yard touchdown. Marcus Manny's third extra-point kick made the score 21-7 with 9:18 left in the third quarter.

"Ted has more speed than a lot of people anticipate," Gardner said. "He did a really nice job in this game."

Tabor continued to shut down the Bulldog offense and even got into the scoring column.

After a Kimsey punt forced McPherson to set up shop on its 6-yard line, the swarming Bluejay defense pressured reserve quarterback Sean Eason into an intentional grounding penalty in the end zone, resulting in a safety. Tabor led 23-7 with 6:17 left in the third quarter.

Tabor then took the free kick on its own 43-yard line and drove 57 yards in 13 plays with Ishida scoring on a five-yard quarterback keeper.

Gardner said his offensive line deserved much of the credit.

"We've scored several touchdowns on quarterback sneaks (this season) and that's just a tribute to those guys up front," he said. "James Pizano, Bobby Hurd, Cody Dick, Dan Rains, Andy Curtis and Grant Myers have all done a nice job and helped us to win some big ball games."

The Bulldogs did manage one last drive against a mostly second-team defense, scoring on a four-yard run by Nick Greggs. The kick was good, but Tabor still led 30-14 with 10:03 to play.

Gardner said the defense, for the most part, performed in championship style.

"We put ourselves in a couple of bad situations, but we came out of it. Our guys stepped up and we got stops when we needed to," he said.

Tabor played ball control through much of the fourth quarter, and settled for the 30-14 win.

"McPherson was a very athletic team," Gardner said. "Their coaches do a good job of preparing. For us to play the way we did, and to really show that we could finish a game, was nice."

Telemaque carried the ball 24 times for 119 yards while Butler had eight carries and 24 yards before his injury.

Ishida benefitted from several short fields, but finished the day 16-for-23 passing for 161 yards.

Layne Frick returned from his injury to lead the Bluejays with five receptions for 84 yards.

Tabors' defense allowed McPherson just 203 yards of offense in 53 plays. C.J. Hill led the effort with eight tackles.

With the victory, Tabor sports a 7-0 record for the first time in school history. The Bluejays are 6-0 in the Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference. McPherson falls to 3-4 overall and 3-3 in conference play.

"We're a little dinged up," Gardner said. "But this was a nice win for us."

Coming-Tabor travels to Newton Saturday to face rival Bethel College. Bethel has lost two straight after beginning the season 4-0.

"This will be the first game we'll have gone into thinking we might be lacking a little bit, personnel-wise," Gardner said. "They've been looking forward to playing us at Bethel for several weeks.

"It's going to be one of those games where you know you have to be at the top of your game or it'll be a long afternoon."

A Tabor victory would clinch the conference title. Kickoff will be at 1:30 p.m.