Football Cats Fall to Pikeville on Homecoming
MCKENZIE, Tenn. -The Bethel Wildcats dropped their second straight MSC game with a 35-19 Homecoming loss to the Pikeville Bears Friday night in McKenzie. The tale of the game was time of possession as UPIKE controlled the ball with their running game for an impressive 41 minutes. UPIKE had 275 yards on the ground.
The Bears rolled up 488 yards of total offense and held Bethel to 239 yards. Bethel had a season low 64 yards in rushing.
The Bears led 14-0 before Rodrigo Campos hit a 41 yard field goal with 7:53 left in the second quarter.
The 14-3 score stood until Jacob Murphree hit Caleb Nelson on a two-yard touchdown pass early in the third quarter. After a successful point after by Campos the Wildcats trailed 14-10. UPIKE answered with a late third quarter touchdown and upped their margin to 21-10. Campos nailed a 40-yard field goal with 11 seconds left and the Cats went to the fourth stanza trailing 21-13.
The Bears scored a touchdown early in the fourth and took a 28-13 lead. The Wildcats fought back with a nine-yard touchdown pass to Tremaine Osborne from Murphree but the point after by Campos was no good. Bethel trailed 28-19 with 9:17 left. Pikeville put the game away with a nine-play 75 yard drive and won 35-19.
Osborne caught seven passes for 67 yards. Bethel's Jakobe Griffin led all tacklers with 12 total tackles. Archie Williams and Vonte Bates followed with 11 total tackles while David Riggin had 10. Caleb Hall punted five times for a 41.2 game average.
Coach Michael Jasper said, "We are very disappointed in our performance. Our execution and focus was not where it needed to be. The guys played hard, but missed assignments and opportunities proved to be our downfall. We have to finish plays, drives, and games if we want to be successful."
Bethel dropped to 3-2 while the Bears won their third in a row and moved to 3-2 on the season.
The Wildcats return to action Thursday night playing host to Cumberland University. Kick-off is slated for 7 p.m. It will be the 31st meeting between the two programs. The Wildcats have met CU more than any other opponent in program history.
The Countdown to Kick-off Show with Dave McCulley and Zach O'Kelley airs at 6:30 p.m. on WEIO, 100.9 and at www.thefarmradio.com
Live radio: https://www.thefarmradio.com/
Live video: https://www.bethelathletics.com/f/WildcatVision.php
Live stats: http://www.dakstats.com/Websync/Pages/Webcasts.aspx?association=10