By Chris Parker, junior

The Falcon football team continued to pick up steam with dominating victories over Bethany College and the University of St. Mary in weeks seven and eight of the season.

On Saturday, Oct. 24, Friends went to Lindsborg to face Bethany and came out with its first shutout in a 46-0 win.

“One thing that had been eluding us was the shutout,” head coach Monty Lewis said. “It was probably as close to a complete game as we’ve had yet.”

The Falcons' defense now ranks at the top of the Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference in points allowed per game and pass defense per game. Friends is second in rushing defense behind Bethel College. This kind of dominating defensive performance is something Friends had been building toward all season.

There was some history going into the game. The last time Friends went to Lindsborg in 2007, it came away with a 26-21 loss.

“It’s always fun to shutout the Swedes,” Lewis said.

On Oct. 31, the Falcons returned home to play St. Mary. Though St. Mary was not strong in the standings, Lewis still worried about the game.

“To me, even though we were at home, this was a trap game,” Lewis said.

The Falcons jumped to an early lead against St. Mary and were up 21-0. Friends would go on to win 45-21.

The win was a good boost for the Falcon football team as it ran its winning streak to seven since the McPherson loss in week one. It also ended a two-game road trip for the Falcons and kept Friends undefeated at home for the year.

“It was nice to get back to the friendly confines of Adair-Austin Stadium,” Lewis said.

Now the Falcons are in the stretch run with a road game this week against Kansas Wesleyan University and then senior day at home against Ottawa University to finish off the year.

Even though Kansas Wesleyan sits at 4-4 overall, do not think the Falcons are overlooking the Coyotes.

“People think this is a trap game, but no, no, no,” Lewis said. “Beating Kansas Wesleyan in Salina is always a chore.”

Last season Friends was down 10 points in the second half in Salina before scoring 28 unanswered points to beat Kansas Wesleyan. The game secured Lewis’ 100th win.

Friends is beginning to peak at the right time after finally gaining an identity.

“We didn’t have an identity (against McPherson),” Lewis said. “Getting whipped will get you an identity pretty quickly.”

Having an identity and being consistent have allowed the Falcons to settle into a steady way of doing things.

“The routine has become extremely redundant around here and that is by design,” Lewis said.

Lewis went on to say that, with the routine, the Falcons have had a chance to focus more on the finer points of the game and the mental aspect.

Friends must beat Kansas Wesleyan this week and then beat Ottawa by 19 points on senior day to lock up the KCAC’s automatic bid to the playoffs, but Lewis knows that his team is ready.

“I tell the guys the reason we recruited you is for these last two weeks,” Lewis said.

Friends will play Kansas Wesleyan at 1:30 p.m. in Salina on Saturday, Nov. 7, then the following week return home to play Ottawa at 1:30 p.m.