Bethel Falls to DSU in Season Opener
CLEVELAND, Miss. - The Bethel Wildcats dropped their season opener Thursday night falling 48-14 at Delta State. DSU, playing for the first time since 2019 moved to 1-0 with the victory. It would prove to be a game of missed scoring chances by the Wildcats and a game in which the Cats played hard until the end.
The Statesmen struck early. After picking off a Nolan Chowbay pass near midfield, DSU scored two plays later on a six-yard touchdown run by Rico Owens II. The point after by Connor Mantelli made it 7-0 with less than two minutes gone off the clock.
The Wildcats gambled on a fourth and four near mid-field on the next series. After an incompletion, the Statesmen took advantage again and scored a few plays later as Patrick Shegog hit Dohnte Meyers for a 36-yard touchdown. The point after failed but DSU led 13-0 with 11 minutes remaining in the first.
The Wildcats mounted a 10-play 66-yard drive to move inside the DSU ten-yard line, but Chowbay had a pass intercepted in the end zone. DSU drove 80 yards on five plays and scored again as Shegog hit Deion Dampier from 28-yards out. Mantelli hit the PAT and Bethel trailed 20-0 with 4:35 left in the period.
Ten seconds into the second quarter DSU scored on a Shegog 38- yard touchdown pass to Adam Duncan as the home team took command at 27-0. After a Bethel fumble, the Statesmen took advantage again with a 33 -yard gallop by Owens II to lead 34-0 with 12:24 remaining in the second. Bethel drove again deep into DSU territory, but Chowbay was intercepted again, this time inside the five yard line. DSU had a drive stalled after a fumble recovery by Bethel's Jalin Harris. The Cats finally struck on a Chowbay 36-yard pass to Dieuly Aristilde. The Luis Morales point after made it 34-7 with just over four minutes left in the half.
Both teams struggled in the third as mistakes hurt both squads. Highlighting the quarter for the Wildcats were fumble recoveries by Harris and Brady Franks (2). DSU did manage a score with a touchdown pass by Cole Kirk to Dampier. The 30-yard score made it 41-7. After a nice stand by the Wildcat defense the Cats used the short field for a score. Chowbay found Quashawn Ford for a 10-yard score. Morales knocked in the point after to cut the DSU lead to 41-14.
Bethel's Jacious Clark blocked a field goal attempt by Martelli early in the fourth stanza. The Statesmen scored later however with a rushing touchdown from Kory Gainwell to cap off the scoring at 48-14.
DSU had a 509 -356 margin in total yards. The Statesmen had a big margin in rushing yards at 191-65. DSU had a 318-291 advantage in passing yards. Chowbay was 18-34 in passing with 291 yards. He threw for two touchdowns but had four passes intercepted. Jakobe Griffin led Bethel with 12 total tackles while Vonte Bates followed with 11 total stops.
Coach Michael Jasper commented, "I applaud Coach Cooley and his program. They are everything I thought they would be and then some. Our guys fought hard for every minute of that game, but it boiled down to finishing play and drives in all three phases. This is a talented bunch of young men, and we will get the corrections made. Now we are ready to get back, get some rest, and then head to Waverly to contribute to the efforts there in the that community."
Coach Jasper, his staff and the team will travel to Waverly Friday to aid in clean-up and recovery efforts after the devasting flood which took place there earlier. Coach Jasper has deemed the effort as "Boots on the Ground to Aid Waverly." Anchor Transportation, the official carrier for Bethel Athletics is providing three buses to transport the squad to Waverly.
The Wildcats travel to Laurinburg, North Carolina Saturday, September 11 to meet St. Andrews. Kick-off is slated for noon CST.
Live stats:
https://bethelathletics.com/sports/fball/2021-22/boxscores/20210911_xw0p.xml
Live video:
https://portal.stretchinternet.com/sau/