Dark clouds seemed to loom over Kansas football stadiums Saturday, but the darkest of clouds for Tabor was the inability to stop the run. Friends ran for a total of 342 yards, beating Tabor 35-21 at Joel H. Wiens Stadium in Hillsboro .
The 14-point margin was an improvement from 2009. Tabor fell to the Falcons 65-17 in the third game of last season.
Friends? Jeron Trotter gained 240 yards on 21 carries and three touchdowns as Friends scored 28 unanswered points in the second half for a 28-7 advantage.
Tabor struck first on a four-yard touchdown pass to Duray Gardener from Joey Erickson to take a 7-0 lead at the 4:50 mark in the first quarter. The 12-play, 72-yard drive featured a big plays and a couple dropped balls.
Erickson found Kelsei Brown for a 23-yard pass to move to the Friends 23. Following the completion, Brown and Gardener dropped two passes before Tabor scored.
Friends scored its first of four straight touchdowns on a nine-yard hand off to Trotter to tie the game at seven. Friends reached the Bluejay red zone with a 37-yard pass from Jayme Bristow to Doug Pierce.
The second straight score came from Trotter, his second of the game, from 16-yards out. The Berner gave the Falcons a 14-7 lead with 8:31 to play in the third quarter. On the scoring drive, Friends? Jayme Bristow found Mike Hyde for a 25-yard pass from the Falcons 37 to the Tabor 38. Trotter followed for five and 15-yard runs, moving the Falcons to set up the score.
Touchdown number three came way of a Bristow quarterback run from the one-yard line. The ensuing kick by Berner was blocked by Tabor?s Artravious Addison. Trotter began at the Falcons? 36, carrying down to the Tabor 23-yard line for a 41-yard pick up. The Falcons? tailback in the three running back power I formation broke free for an added 15-yard gain to the Tabor eight.
Friends opened the fourth quarter with the fourth consecutive touchdown, a 30-yard bomb from Bristow to Pierce extending the Falcon?s lead to 28-7 with 14:02 left.
Tabor moved closer, scoring quickly on a 2:07 drive, capped with a 54-yard touchdown from Erickson to Brown. The Rothwell kick moved Tabor to within two touchdowns at 28-14.
Friends answered with four handoffs, the final one for a 70-yard touchdown scamper by Trotter to end Friends? scoring at 35-14 at the 4:47 mark.
Tabor scored once more with 1:18 remaining on a three-yard James Monroe hand off.
On the following kick off, Tabor used trickery to try to recover onside kick. Tabor huddled before the kick off, coming out charging in a group led by Rothwell. The freshman kicker kicked the ball ahead 15 yards which was recovered by Friends Cody Butts.
Tabor (1-2, 1-2) travels to Peru State Saturday.
