The 12th-ranked Bluejays overcame four turnovers and an officiating crew that flagged Tabor 15 times for 164 yards to knock off 20th-ranked Sterling College, 28-14, at Smisor Stadium in a battle of undefeated Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference rivals.

"I'm so proud of my kids for overcoming adversity," an emotionally exhausted coach Mike Gardner said after the game. "We were sloppy on offense, we were sputtering and we had penalties. But the bottom line is, when we needed a drive at the end of the game we got it."

Early, the game resembled a pair of prize fighters sparring in an attempt to find a weakness.

Tabor's first drive ended when quarterback Ricky Ishida's pass was picked off by Rico Hardrick at the Bluejay 44-yard line.

But the Bluejay defense answered the bell-which became a recurring theme throughout the afternoon-and forced a Warrior punt.

Sterling threatened on its second possession, but a 47-yard field-goal attempt fell short.

Tabor's offense sputtered once again as Ishida threw another interception, this one by Chris Schneider as the first quarter ended in a scoreless tie.

In Tabor's first drive of the second quarter, Ishida and the gang finally got going.

Behind the relentless running of Roger Butler and a pair of Ishida passes, Tabor drove 64 yards in 10 plays and opened the scoring when Ishida found tight end John Garcia in the back of the end zone from six yards out for a touchdown.

Marcus Manny kicked the extra point and Tabor led 7-0 with 7:32 left in the first half.

After Sterling lost 11 yards on three plays, a Warrior punt gave Tabor possession at the Sterling 44-yard line. On third and 11, Ishida hooked up with Layne Frick for 25 yards taking the ball to the Warrior 20-yard line.

Ishida then hit Garcia for 16 yards and Butler finalized the drive from four yards out with 4:31 to play in the half.

Manny's kick sailed wide, but Tabor led, 13-0.

When Sterling was forced to punt again after three plays, return specialist Caleb Marsh misplayed the ball and Sterling recovered the ball at the Warrior 44-yard line.

Gardner said what appeared to be a Bluejay strength coming into the contest turned into a glaring weakness on Saturday.

"We have to do a better job with our punt-return game," he said. "We came into this thing as the No. 3 team in the nation in punt returns, but we were bad. We didn't get it done and we had to overcome that, too."

Given a second chance, Sterling went to an option pass, with running back Andy Wesner connecting with Josh Oberle behind the Bluejay secondary for a 55-yard touchdown with only 1:18 left in the half.

Ryan Heughan kicked the extra point and Tabor limped to the locker room with a 13-7 half-time advantage.

The first half could have been worse in light of Tabor's three turnovers and 70 penalty yards. But the defense allowed only four rushing yards on 17 carries and 71 yards of total offense-including the 55 on Sterling's score.

Gardner said even he was surprised at the effectiveness his defense displayed against Sterling's vaunted veer offense.

"Honestly, I didn't think we could slow them down that much," he said. "The kids just played hard, they played with passion and emotion, and they played for each other-and that's what we preach at Tabor College."

The second half opened with a game of cat and mouse as each team tried in vain to sustain a drive-that is, until Tabor took over with 1:55 to play in the third quarter at the Sterling 45-yard line.

Ishida first hooked up with Ben Brown for a 14-yard gain, then followed that with a pass to Jeff MacKinnon, who made a spectacular one-handed catch in traffic for a gain of 23 yards to put the ball at the Warrior 8-yard line.

Butler crossed the goal line two plays later. His 2-point conversion run gave Tabor a 21-7 lead heading into the fourth quarter.

Looking to energize his offense, Sterling coach Andy Lambert inserted replacement quarterback Tyler Degenhart.

Two possessions later, Degenhardt found Adam Langvardt for a 44-yard reception, setting up a one-yard touchdown run by Wesner with 5:03 to play and cutting Tabor's lead to 21-14.

But the Bluejays answered with an 11-play, 80-yard drive. Butler carried 10 times for 70 yards, including a 15-yard game-clinching touchdown with 37 seconds left to secure the 28-14 win.

Butler's touchdown was his 14th rushing touchdown of the season, breaking the school's single-season record of 13 set by Bay Lawrence in 1971.

"Our offensive and defensive lines sure did step it up today," Gardner said. "When we needed a drive we got it and took five minutes off the clock in the process."

Tabor's high-octane offense rolled up 457 yards, led by Butler's 198 yards on 35 carries-his seventh career 100-yard game. Ishida connected on 18 of 29 passes for 204 yards.

But the big story was the defense, which held Sterling-the nation's No. 2 rushing team at 287 yards per game-to 54 yards on 36 carries and 114 yards passing.

Defensive end Alex Wallace said he wasn't surprised with the success, given the defensive scheme the Bluejays employed.

"Honestly, I really felt like we'd be able to stop their running game," Wallace said. "All week in practice I really felt like the coaches were preparing us very well. We just lined up and did what they told us to do and it paid off."

Gardner said they did focus on Sterling's veer.

"We knew we had to stop the veer and we stopped their option game," he said. "(Sterling) is very well coached, but I thought our kids had a good week of practice and we had a good game plan and executed it.

"We fell asleep on the one trick play and on the option pass but other than that, I thought we did OK."

Tabor's swarming defense was led by Jake Schenk, with seven tackles. Wallace and Tyler McKim added six tackles.

Although the game wasn't nearly as close as the final score indicated, Gardner said his team has plenty to work on this week.

"We need to find a way to shore up our penalty situation because it's ridiculous," he said. "We just have a lot of work to do and we have a long ways to go."

Overcoming a seemingly slanted officiating crew and four turnovers, Gardner said he was thrilled to get the victory.

"I wouldn't have guessed we could beat them if we had four turnovers," he said. "But our kids came through when they had to.

"This game isn't any more important then our first four games this year though," he added. "What is important is that we beat a team that was averaging 43 points per game and almost 300 yards rushing. That makes it a great win to have."

With the win, Tabor's 14th consecutive KCAC road victory, Tabor improves its record to 5-0 overall and sits by itself on top in the KCAC at 4-0.

Coming- Tabor looks to keep its record unblemished this Saturday when the McPherson Bulldogs come to Reimer Field for homecoming. Kickoff is scheduled for 2 p.m.