Cats Pull Off Upset of No. 9 Reinhardt
WALESKA, Ga, - The (RV) Bethel Wildcats and the No. 9 Reinhardt Eagles met for the eighth time Saturday. As in the past, it was another intense and hard-fought affair.
Reinhardt scored and went for two to lead 8-0. Bethel's Taylor Yancey scored on a one-yard effort to make it 8-6. Bethel's two point conversion attempt failed.
What appeared to be a high scoring affair with both teams scoring on their first possessions, turned into being anything but that. Both defensive squads were stout after those first two scores.
In the second quarter, Bethel's defense stopped the Eagles on a fourth and three from inside their own 15-yard line. Timothy Hamilton defected a RU pass attempt to deny the Eagles. Later the Cats, forced RU into a 26-yard field goal attempt which was missed. The Eagles led 8-6 at the half.
On their second possession of the third quarter, the Cats finally got the big play they were looking for. Joaquin Collazo hit J D Dixon on a 47-yard pass which gave Bethel a first and goal at the RU seven-yard line. One play later, Collazo found Dixon for the score to put Bethel up 12-8. Austin Abbott nailed the point after to give the Cats a 13-8 lead. Reinhardt moved down the field and had a fourth and goal at the Bethel one yard line, but Bethel's defense did it again with a gigantic stop. The Cats led 13-8 after three.
In the fourth quarter, Bethel's defense came up big, time after time. The Eagles moved into Bethel territory, but Amari Chapman came up with a huge fumble recovery giving Bethel possession. Later the Cats came up big again with a stop on downs and took over at the RU 45-yard line. Bethel, behind the running of Reinhardt transfer Terrance Roberts, moved deeper into RU territory which set up an Austin Abbott 37-yard field goal which gave Bethel a 16-8 advantage. Appropriately it was the Cats defense which had the last statement as Demetrice Gilbert picked off an Eagle pass to ice the game.
Coach Michael Jasper commented, "I cannot say enough about our program right now. These guys have a ton of grit and showed it today against one of the top teams in the nation. My hat is off to Coach Miller and the entire Reinhardt program. Their guys always play with a ton of heart and fight tooth and nail but so do we. We may not get a lot of respect, but our kids deserve it. My staff and everyone at Bethel University deserves it. If they will not give it, then we will continue to just take it."
Individual and team stats will be posted when made available.
The Cats return home to battle Point University next week. The game begins at 1 p.m. with Bethel holding a 1-0 margin in the series. It will be Henry County Schools Day. Gates open at 11:30 a.m. The Wildcat Walk will begin at 11:20 a.m.
Game Coverage:
Live video: https://bethelathletics.com/watch
Live stats: https://bethelathletics.com/sports/fball/2022-23/boxscores/20220910_bbev.xml
Radio: https://streamdb6web.securenetsystems.net/v5/WEIO
Tickets: https://bethelathletics.com/tickets
Golden Boosters and sponsors for Bethel Athletics this year are:
West Tennessee Public Utilities
Smith & Smith Optometry
Copies Unlimited
Steven Morton & State Farm Insurance
Trevathan's Electrical Services
Maddox Insurance LLC
Block City Pizza
Carroll Bank & Trust