Campbellsville -Bethel Season Football Finale -Recap by Bill Sorrell
MCKENZIE, Tenn. - Records fell during Bethel's 46-21 Senior Day victory over Campbellsville on Nov. 13.
Senior quarterback Nolan Chowbay threw 30 touchdown passes this season breaking the school record held by Sam Castronova, who had thrown 28 in 2018. He passed for 3,232 yards this season also a school record.
His touchdown passes and yards per game (293.8) led the Mid-South Conference Bluegrass Division.
Freshman wide receiver J.D. Dixon set the single-season school record with 1,116 receiving yards, breaking Isaiah Hookfin's record of 1,052 in 2003. Dixon had 54 receptions and 14 touchdowns. His receiving yards ranked sixth in the NAIA and led the Bluegrass Division. His receiving touchdown total also led the Bluegrass Division.
Dixon was named Mid-South Conference Bluegrass Division Offensive Freshman of the Year.
Senior running back De'Ontay Tate finished his career with 3, 427 rushing yards, fourth all-time in school history. He rushed for 13 touchdowns this season. His rushing touchdowns led the Bluegrass Division.
Junior linebacker Jakobe Griffin made 311 tackles during his career. He had 102 tackles this season and set the school single season record with 126 in 2019. His 9.3 tackles per-game was second in the Bluegrass Division. Only three other Bethel players had more than 300 career tackles.
Senior defensive back Vonte Bates finished the season with 99 tackles. His 9.0 tackles per-game was third in the Bluegrass Division. Freshman linebacker Brody Franks also made 99 tackles this season. Junior defensive back Devious Christmon finished third in school history with 12 career interceptions.
"It means a lot to me to break the record," said Chowbay. "First off I would like to say thank you to my offensive line for giving me enough time to make the plays I did. Also thank you to the wide-outs and backs for doing what they do to help make it possible. I would like to thank my coaches at Bethel and all that they did for me and what they continue to do."
Finishing with a 7-4 overall record, 4-3 in the Bluegrass Division it was the first winning season for Bethel head coach Michael Jasper, who is in his third year as head coach.
"I'm blessed by it, but I know that we are not satisfied. We didn't quite reach our goals, but we have got a lot of young men coming back and we are fired up and ready to get this off-season," said Jasper.
Bethel was well-represented on the All-Mid-South Conference Bluegrass Division team.
Named first team were Jarious Abercombie offensive line, Cole Lyles offensive line, Dixon wide receiver, Tate running back, Griffin linebacker, Bates defensive back, Christmon defensive back.
Making second team all-conference Bluegrass Division were
tight end Quashawn Ford, defensive lineman Jared Gentry, Chowbay quarterback.
Jasper was excited to get a victory in the last game.
"I'm blessed to be able to send these seniors out on the right note. That kind of capped the season off," said Jasper, whose team had three NAIA losses and one to NCAA Division 2 Delta State and was 2-1 against the top eight NAIA teams.
"I think we are a lot better team that what's shown. I don't want to talk about the inner workings of how rankings work but we started off behind the 8-ball and we never quite got the respect that we deserved. We dropped a game last week (Thomas More) that we shouldn't have lost. We should have won that game against Lindsey Wilson (which finished ranked No. 1 in the final NAIA poll) which is a great football team," said Jasper.
"I think if we could have taken care of the football a little better this season, I think the outcome would be a lot different and I think we would be getting ready to play next week (in the playoffs).
"The rule of thumb is that four-loss teams don't make it into the NAIA playoffs. We dropped three division losses so that is pretty much out of the round for us. I think we are worthy of a playoff spot, but we have to go out there and make the wins and losses show that. I think our body of work is definitely worthy of an at-large bid but that is not my decision to make. I have to go out there and coach these guys to the best of my ability and have them play to the best of theirs and next year I don't think we will be left out of the fold."
Bethel freshman linebacker Gabe Gray said, "Unfortunately this year we are not going to be able to participate in the playoffs but next year we have the talent, we have the guys to go get it done."
Said Jasper, "We have got a lot of great players in this program. I look forward to the future, but I'm also blessed with what we had this season.
De'Ontay Tate has been a phenomenal player for us. I hate to see him leave. Those seniors really stepped up and bought out, Dieuly Aristilde, De'Ontay Tate, Nolan Chowbay. Keyshawn Brummett on defense bought out for us and many more. Austin Brock, he was killing it on special teams and getting in at receiver and throwing some great blocks. Also J.D. Dixon the young freshman. He is one of our best players and he is a guy that is going to be the consummate professional about his business each and every day. It showed up in his performances on the field this year."
Dixon said setting the record for receiving yards is "a real honor for me. I feel like I worked for the stuff I accomplished and like they say hard work pays off. I felt like I did all I could do for our team every game."
After multiple turnovers against Thomas More, the Wildcats focused on ball security during preparation for the Campbellsville game.
"I took the time to kind of float around and coach and make sure that I was getting those coaching points hammered home, take care of the football, throwing the ball away on the pass game, not throwing interceptions, then keeping the ball high and tight. The name of the game is football, and you can't win without it," said Jasper.
The Wildcats spotted Campbellsville a 7-0 lead in the first quarter built a 32-point lead at the end of the third quarter.
"We played four quarters of football. I feel like we have not played a full game of football. Today we played a full game of Bethel football," said Gray, emphasizing that preparation turned it around from the week before against Thomas More.
"Every guy came to work this week. They had the mindset that we are going to come in and we are going to execute. We all came together as a group and played as a team. No guys were being selfish. We got the job done. We have a powerful offense, and we have a powerful defense as well. Both sides of the ball, we are solid."
Campbellsville head coach Perry Thomas said, "We just got beat by a better team. They are older than us right now. We play a ton of freshmen, and we just have to get more seasoned and continue to grow up. I thought they were more dominant. They are a better, stronger team right now."
Bethel had 487 yards total offense (206 rushing, 281 passing) to the Tigers' 299 total offensive yards (156 rushing, 143 passing). The Wildcats converted 5 of 12 third downs (41.7 percent) while the Tigers converted 6 of 17 third downs (35.3 percent).
Bethel redshirt freshman quarterback Colton Qualls, who was playing in his first game, said, "We came out a little bit slow on offense then got our feet under us and we got rolling on offense and hit on all cylinders. We had a very powerful passing game. A bunch of credit to our O-line. They always hold the pockets. Also in the run game, they'll split one wide open and give Tate a good lane to run. Tate passed those records here for the school. That is always good to see. J.D. Dixon also broke a few records. Those two have been a really powerful combination for us this year, being able to run it and throw it. We came out and dominated where we needed to. "
Tate rushed for 135 yards on 24 carries and scored a touchdown. Dixon caught 4 passes for 155 yards. Chowbay completed 7 of 16 passes for 249 yards and 3 touchdowns.
Campbellsville running back De'Anta Sipp, who made first-team All-Mid-South Conference Bluegrass Division, rushed for 121 yards on 29 carries. Freshman quarterback Rennie Prim, Jr., completed 10 of 26 passes for 114 yards and scored a rushing touchdown.
"D'Anta Sipp our tailback did a great job," said Thomas, who was also pleased with the defensive play of Heath Carden, who had 4 tackles, and Hakeem Dillard, who had a team-high 8 tackles along with D'Agp Brumfield who also had 8. Thomas said Sipp and Carden did "a great job."
Jasper said the Wildcats stayed the course.
"They are a college football team. Those guys are on scholarship too and Coach Perry is a heck of a coach. Defensively for us it was stopping the outside run charge. They were trying to get going on the GT counters and a couple of buck sweeps and get the outside zone rolling. Once we started setting that edge and flying to the football, we were able to tame that deal and offensively once we started executing. We dropped a couple of big passes; the score could have been a lot bigger than indicative of what it was. I think once we settled in offensively and started connecting in our passing game, our run game was there and stop the outside run charge, I think our team settled in nicely," said Jasper.
The Tigers scored first after a 73-yard drive. A Prim pass to Andre Siler went for 33 yards to the Bethel 41. Four straight rushes by Sipp got the Tigers to the Bethel 16 before Prim completed a 4-yard pass to Patrick Oden to the Bethel 12. Prim than ran 12 yards for the touchdown. After Devin Neally's extra point kick the Tigers led 7-0 with 6:21 left in the first quarter.
A 46-yard kickoff return by Bethel's Mike Malone started the Wildcats' 44-yard touchdown drive from the Tigers 44. Tate rushed for 32 yards on 3 carries to the 12. After a 6-yard run by Ray'Quan Wilson and a 1-yard loss by Tate, Chowbay hit Dixon for a 7-yard touchdown. Luis Morales' PAT tied the game at 7 with 3:33 left in the first quarter.
The Tigers drove to the Bethel 1. A 45-yard pass from Prim to Michael Walker highlighted the drive that ended when Sipp fumbled on the 1. Christmon forced the fumble and recovered it.
"When I fumbled on the 1-yard line I feel like that turned the tide of the game. If I hadn't made that fumble and scored that touchdown it is a different game on the scoreboard," said Sipp.
A 64-yard touchdown pass from Chowbay to Aristilde zenithed a 99-yard drive. The Wildcats took a 14-7 lead with 14:22 left in the second quarter when Morales kicked the extra point.
Chowbay's 57-yard touchdown pass to Dixon and Morales' extra point increased Bethel's lead to 21-7 with 10:11 left in the second quarter. Tate had 2 rushes for 24 yards in the drive.
At the Campbellsville 35, the Tigers' Patrick Oden fumbled after he caught a 7-yard pass from Prim. Afiz Bhadmos forced the fumble and Griffin recovered for Bethel at the 37.
Chowbay's 35-yard pass to Aristilde put Bethel on the Tigers 2-yard line. Tate rushed for 1-yard then ran for one. Caleb Hall's 2-point conversion pass to Riley Wood gave Bethel a 29-7 lead with 8:20 left in the second quarter.
Campbellsville's Kel Hawkins then returned Bethel's kickoff 97 yards for a touchdown. Neally kicked the extra point and the Tigers trailed 29-14 with 8 minutes left in the first half.
When the Wildcats got the ball back, Chowbay was sacked for a 13-yard loss and fumbled. G'Vaughn Webb recovered for the Tigers at the Bethel 9. The Wildcats' defense held and Sipp had rushes for 5 yards but losses of 3 yards on two plays. From the Bethel 7, Neally attempted a 24-yard field goal attempt, but it was wide right.
The Wildcats then scored on an 80-yard drive, highlighted by Chowbay's 73-yard pass to Dixon to the Campbellsville 4. Tate ran 3 yards to the 1 then scored from there with 3:27 left in the second quarter. Morales increased Bethel's lead to 36-14.
In the third quarter, Bethel stopped the Tigers on fourth and one at the Wildcats 27. Kegan Huddleston ran 10 yards then ran 49 yards to move Bethel to the Tigers 14. Tate then rushed for 14 yards for a touchdown with 7:43 left in the quarter. Morales made it a 43-14 Bethel lead.
A 70-yard drive padded Bethel's lead. Tate's three rushes for 17 yards, an 18-yard pass from quarterback Taylor Yancey to Dixon got to the Campbellsville 9. Yancey was sacked for nine yards by Sharif Muhammad before Morales made a 35-yard field goal for a 46-14 lead with 38 seconds left in the third quarter.
The Tigers scored after Tyshaun Thomas forced a fumble by Yancey and recovered on the Wildcats 11. Chris Gatewood ran 11 yards for a touchdown. Neally's extra point made it a 46-21 game with 13:18 left in the fourth quarter.
"They don't quit," said Thomas of his team. "We had plenty of opportunities to quit in this game, but they kept battling back and came up with some big plays. I thought our guys gave a great effort. Bethel just responded. We couldn't score when we got those key turnovers in the red zone. That allowed them to get the big victory."
Campbellsville senior wide receiver Howard Smith said the season has "been a grind. We had a lot of young players. We try to bring experience for the people that stayed but through Covid we had some people leave but other than that we had some young fighters despite the record. I love these guys. They battled every day and to me it's progress to bigger things to come.
"I learned about my team today is what I see every day we step on the field. They battle through thick and thin no matter what the score is. These guys are going to fight. I can't wait to see them when they finally hit their stride. The strength of our team is our work ethic. No matter the score, no matter what happens, no matter whose injured our work ethic is still there every day of practice Monday through Thursday, in the weight room and sometimes on the weekends with the younger guys. Our work ethic is there. All we have to do is put the pieces together."
Thomas said a strength of the team is its youth and energy.
"I don't know if you call it a strength but for us it has been. These seniors haven't allowed these young guys to quit. We only have eight seniors, so our future is fine."
Campbellsville finished with a 1-8 record, 1-6 in the Bluegrass Division. It was the fifth straight loss for the Tigers.
Sipp said that it had been a "trying season" but that the "younger guys got better and better every game and competed. We are just a few plays away. It's a blessing. All glory to God. I learned that it takes time to bond. It takes time to build a family. This is my first year with the team, but I appreciate all of them." Sipp is in graduate school and played previously at Kentucky Christian. He said the team grew consistently weekly and that the freshman "gained a ton of experience."
Qualls said that the learned "that it is not only our first team, but we also have players that can come in there and get the job done; players that come off the bench and they come out there and fight their hardest. It was the first game I showed up in. I had a chance in there and made the best of it. Once I got in there today, I got to see the field a little bit and scrambling out of the pocket a little bit helped me today.
"We came out a little slow but once we got clicking, we were really throwing it good. Our starters came out and played a good half of ball. Chowbay is a really good quarterback. He'll go in there and throw some shots and get hit if he needs to. He gets the job done. Our younger guys got in and got to experience a little bit."
Gray said that freshman linebacker Brody Franks, Chowbay and Qualls were impact players for Bethel.
Franks said the Wildcats minimized errors, came together as a whole and played as a team.
"Our team is full of playmakers that strive to win," Franks said. "Bethel protected the ball more than last week. We had a solid week of practice and preparation and came out and ended on a solid note. I feel like me as a player and our team learned and handled how to overcome adversity well."
Thomas said all the seniors were impact players against Bethel.
Smith said that the Tigers' 4-2-5 defense impacted. Defensive line starters include Jayran France, Thomas, Webb, Jermaine Moore.
"The whole defense. They are showing up and they played their game."
Smith also said that Prim was an impact player.
"That boy is something people are going to fear later on. He is just a freshman. He is really going to be something special. Rennie is going to be a really big problem (for other teams) in the future."
Said Sipp, "I want to give props to the O-line (Lane Bottoms, Ethan Gossage, Charlie Spencer, Caleb Edmiston) They did their thing but that young defense as well, they did their thing, all of them. We have got guys like Heath (Carden) on special teams that didn't start the season off as a punter. It is not just one guy, it's a team game."
Older guys on the team have provided leadership said Sipp.
Smith said, "You could point to the older guys, but I think everybody polices everybody on this team. Everybody wants to strive for the best. You are going to see freshmen being vocal. You are going to see seniors being vocal, so everybody wants to win but it's going to take more time and eventually Campbellsville is going to put it together and be a reckoning force like we used to be.
"We have had our down years. We have had a couple of one-win seasons, but Campbellsville will be back and a force to be reckoned with. Coach Thomas is a great coach, and he has some great coaches around him. There are great players here. They are just going to keep adding to the puzzle until they fix it."
Said Sipp, "If this staff and this team stays together a couple of years you are going to be looking at a championship team."
Fumbles and turnovers stymied the Tigers, who run a 1-back set spread, against Bethel.
"But like Coach Thomas always says it comes with the territory playing the game. People are going to make plays; mistakes are going to happen. We just have to respond and today we did not respond back enough, and we ended up losing to a pretty good football team," said Smith.
Aristilde had 3 pass receptions for 111 yards. Yancey completed 3 -of -4 passes for 32 yards. Huddleston rushed for 93 yards on 11 carries. Wilson had three receptions for 15 yards. Brandon Moore had two kickoff returns for 42 yards, Malone one kickoff return for 46 yards. Caleb Hall had five punts for 173 yards, averaging 34.6 yards per punt. Austin Abbott averaged 51.25 yards on his eight kick offs that totaled 410 yards.
Defensively, the Wildcats were sparked by Franks who made a team-high nine tackles. Calen Warren had seven tackles, Griffin five, Brandon Moore five. Jacob Hamer had one sack for five yards, Darian Burns one sack for three yards. Jerwin Young and Burns each had two tackles for losses of four yards.
This season Gray said that he learned a lot of new things about himself and as a football.
"I am a freshman. I came in and things aren't expected. I didn't know what was going to happen," said Gray, who wants to build for next season.
"The way we can build on next season is to come together more than we have. This is a brotherhood. I feel a lot of connections here. I made not only teammates but brothers, so we are going to all come together, come to work every day, have the mindset that we are just going to go out, go beat everybody because we are a playoff team in my opinion. I think voters are going to start realizing that Bethel is the real deal."
Qualls is looking forward to the off-season to get bigger and add weight and get stronger he said.
Jasper said that the Wildcats' big focus as a team is learning how to take care of the football and then executing at a high level and "continuing to play at our standard."
For redshirt freshman Cameron Smith, he said it was a great experience to practice every day and get better every day and compete with his teammates.
While he did not get to play, he said, "You get to enjoy the victories from the sideline." He plans to work out during the off-season with a lot of conditioning and get ready for next season.
Smith will miss being with his teammates next season.
"People will think because of our record we wouldn't have too much fun but that is what I am going to miss the most having fun every day in the locker room," said Smith.
Gray has appreciated his coaches this season.
"Our coaches are not only coaches but people that we can come to talk to. They are our mentors, our guidance, our counselors. We can come to them and not only them be our football coach but a person we can look up to."
Jasper is "extremely excited" about next season for what he has coming back.
"We have got a lot of great talent. We have got a lot of good leaders coming in just getting ready to rock and roll. I am going to start hitting West Tennessee and those other high school programs. We have got great football in this area. It's a lot of fun to be able to recruit this area and I'm excited to get out on the trail now that Covid is kind of slowing down and everybody is getting back to normalcy. I'm excited to hit the road and have a normal recruiting season," said Jasper, who will have to replace seniors Tate, Malone, Chowbay, Aristilde, Wood, Hayden Brophy, Michael McClain, Cole Lyles, Brock, Brummett, Jared Gentry.