Another Bethel/ Georgetown Game-Need we say More -Game Notes
GEORGETOWN, Ky. – The No. 13 Bethel Wildcats travel to No. 8 Georgetown Saturday to face the Tigers in a key MSC showdown. Kick-off in Toyota Stadium is slated for 12:30 p.m. CST.
The Wildcats are 4-0 overall and 1-0 in the league. The Tigers are 4-0 and 2-0 in the conference. The Cats and Tigers along with Lindsey Wilson are the only undefeated teams remaining in the Mid-South Conference.
The game will be the 482nd game in program history. Bethel is 188-285-8 all-time. It will be the second of five road games the Cats will play this season. Bethel plays four of its first six games at home.
Live stats: https://bethelathletics.com/sports/fball/2022-23/boxscores/20221001_z6wl.xml
Live video: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC62MWilK_2_nOeIvuJ5pNPg
Last Meeting & Series:
It will be the 16th meeting between the two programs with the Tigers holding a 12-3 advantage in the series. The Wildcats outlasted the Tigers last year in Wildcat Stadium. With the thriller going down to the wire, the Cats eked out a 25-24 victory over the visitors from the Commonwealth.
Bethel took the lead in the first quarter on a spectacular catch by Dieuly Aristilde. He leaped to catch a Nolan Chowbay pass at the 8:54 mark. Luis Morales nailed the point after to give the Cats a 7-0 lead. With 48 seconds left in the quarter, GC's Brandon Burgess tied the game with a 17-yard run. Those plays would be the only scores of the first half.
Georgetown scored a touchdown on its first series out of the break and added a safety to score nine unanswered. The Cats appeared to be in trouble with 39 seconds in the third. A safety gave the Tigers a 16-7 margin.
Another Chowbay pass to Aristilde early in the fourth put Bethel on the board again to make 16-14 Tigers. With 9:18 left, Morales nailed a 30-yard field goal to give Bethel a 17-16 lead. Georgetown came back with a Burgess six yard run to retake the lead at 22-17. Burgess then hit Jake Johnson on the two-point conversion and the Tigers led 24-17. The Wildcats rallied with a 68-yard drive which was capped off by a De'Ontay three-yard run. Bethel trailed 24-23. Without hesitation, Coach Mike Jasper sent the troops out to go for two. This time it was James Dixon with a remarkable reception to give the Cats a thrilling 25-24 win.
With less than a minute left, Georgetown tried to get something going, but Jerwin Young squashed that with a batted down pass on fourth down. BU took the knee to finish it off and for the second time this season upset a Top 10 team at home.
Chowbay was 13-of-32 in the air for 325 yards. Tate was Bethel's leading rusher with 74 yards on 21 carries. The 4th leading rusher in Bethel history now has 2,900 career rushing yards. Aristilde caught six passes for 136 yards.
Burgess highlighted the Tiger attack with his three rushing touchdowns.
Jakobe Griffin, Bethel's leading tackler on the season led the Cats with seven total tackles. Fellow linebacker, Brody Franks followed with six total stops. Vonte Bates contributed with six tackles. Brandon Moore had an interception in the big win.
Last Week:
(Wildcats)
The Wildcats used 373 yards passing and 159 on the ground to beat UPIKE 45-16. The Wildcat defense did their job as well holding the high scoring Bears to a season low sixteen points. Pikeville arrived in McKenzie averaging 50.5 points per game.
The Wildcats led 10-3 at the end of the first quarter and 17-3 at the half. Bethel outscored the Bears 21-7 in the third stanza and cruised to the win.
Bethel's Joaquin Collazo erased a 3-0 deficit with a 64-yard first quarter touchdown pass to Davius Prather. The point after by Austin Abbott gave the Cats a 7-3 lead. With under a minute left in the first quarter Abbott drilled a 35-yard field goal and Bethel led 10-3.
Collazo and Quashawn Ford teamed up for 21-yard scoring pass in the second quarter to give Bethel the 14-point cushion at the break.
Collazo hit J D Dixon on a 38-yard touchdown pass to give the Cats a 24-3 lead in the third quarter. Calen Warren added to the lead with a 50-yard interception return. Abbott's point after gave Bethel a 31-3 margin. Collazo and Prather struck again from forty-two yards out and Bethel led 38-3. After a UPIKE score, Taylor Yancey scrambled in from two yards out and the Cats went on to win 45-16.
Collazo was 26-of-34 for 399 yards. Terrance Roberts led Bethel in rushing with 73 yards. Dixon caught ten passes for 165 yards. Prather finished with four receptions for 124 yards.
Vonte Bates led the Wildcats with six total tackles, three pass breakups and an interception. Jaylon Sanders had four total tackles and two sacks. Brandon Moore had an interception.
With his ten receptions and 165 yards against Pikeville, Bethel's Dixon rewrote the record books in career receiving yards.
The sophomore from Waverly Central High School in Waverly, Tennessee passed former Wildcat great, Quincy Walden who held the record with 1, 577. Dixon now has 1, 579 receiving yards in now only his sophomore season.
Bethel's Collazo III was named the Mid-South Conference Offensive Football Player of the Week.
Bethel had 13 penalties for 128 yards. The Bears were penalized five times for 62 yards.
(Tigers)
Head Coach Chris Oliver knew he was inheriting a talented, experienced defense before the 2022 season began. That defense has taken its play to another level after shutting out Cumberland, 24-0, for the Tigers first shutout since November 2018.
Georgetown set the tone early defensively by turning Cumberland away on a 4th down from the Georgetown 23-yard line. This turnover on downs happened on the 1st Phoenix possession of the game. Cumberland would not get inside the Georgetown 30-yard line the rest of the game.
The Tigers took over and turned in a 10-play, 77-yard touchdown drive thanks to 49 all-purpose yards from Darius Neal and a 6-yard touchdown catch by Dillon Warren to put Georgetown ahead 7-0. Neal led Georgetown on the ground with 87 yards on 11 carries. After a 6-play Cumberland series, Georgetown got the ball back and put points on the board once more. Chris Cline knocked through a 33-yard field goal, capping a 14-play drive, and giving GC a 10-0 lead. The teams would trade possessions and punts until Georgetown got the ball with 40 seconds left in the 1st half. The Tigers took the ball at its own 46-yard line after a poor Cumberland punt and started moving. After a timeout with 12 seconds left, the Tigers pulled out some trickery. Drew Hartz rolled right and pitched it behind to LaDarion Montgomery on a reverse. Montgomery sprinted down the left sideline untouched for a 24-yard score and a 17-0 GC lead going into the half.
Cumberland's defense stiffened up in the 3rd quarter, holding the Tigers to just six yards on their 1st 3 possessions. Georgetown's defense was equally up to the task, holding the Phoenix to just 26 total yards on 17 plays in the quarter. Georgetown found life at the end of the 3rd offensively as Gehrig Slunaker hit Aaron Maggard over the middle for a 19-yard gain on the final play of the quarter to give the Tigers momentum going into the 4th. The duo would hook up for another 14 yards just two plays later to put Georgetown at the Cumberland 41. The home run shot finally came for the offense on the next play as Gehrig Slunaker tossed a long ball that JC Shegog came down with in the end zone and a 24-0 Tigers lead early in the 4th quarter.
Cumberland would only get the ball two more times for a total of 51 yards. Georgetown ran out the final 2:41 to seal the win, the first shutout in 34 games, and a 4-0 start to the Chris Oliver era. Chad Holleran had a career day for the Tigers, recording 17 tackles, two pass breakups and a QB hurry. Davon Starks paced the secondary with nine tackles, two forced fumbles (both recovered by CU) and an interception. The interception marked the 12th takeaway by the Tigers defense on the year. DJ White and Jacob Harmon twice combined for QB sacks to lead the charge up front for a defense that has now allowed just 33 total points in four games.
Head Coaches:
Michael Jasper is in his fourth year as the Head Coach of the Wildcats.
Before becoming the head coach Jasper served as the Assistant Head Coach and worked with the defensive line. Prior to that he held the titles of Offensive Line Coach and Run Game Coordinator and oversaw the strength and conditioning program.
In 2021, the Wildcats were 7-4 overall, 4-3 in the Mid-South Conference and 2-1 against opponents ranked in the top eight in the country. Coach Jasper's career record is 19-14 overall and 10 -12 in conference play.
Before joining the Bethel staff, Jasper served as Offensive and Defensive Line Assistant at Bishop Timon High School in Buffalo, N.Y.
Mike spent three years in the National Football League with the Buffalo Bills, New York Giants and Carolina Panthers.
Coach Jasper played for the University of Tennessee at Martin in 2005 and was a starter on their 2006 Ohio Valley Conference championship team. After redshirting at Middle Tennessee State University, Coach Jasper joined the Bethel University Wildcats and was as an offensive and defensive lineman from 2008-2010. He was the first-ever Wildcat drafted to the NFL in 2011 with his selection by the Buffalo Bills.
He graduated from Bethel University with a bachelor's degree in university studies. He and his wife Allison along with their children Davis Reid, Millie Claire and Samuel David reside in McKenzie. Their rescue dog is named Caine.
Jasper is the 12th head coach in Bethel football history.
Coach Chris Oliver is in his first year as head coach of the Tigers. He was the head coach at Lindsey Wilson from 2009-21. While at LWC achieved the following:
- 020 National Championship
- 2020 AFCA National Coach of the Year
- 105 wins in 12 years at Lindsey Wilson: most wins by any Kentucky college in that span
- 5 Mid-South Conference Championships (2014, 2017, 2019, 2020, 2021)
- 5-time Mid-South Conference Coach of the Year
- 7 NAIA playoff berths, six quarterfinals
- 3 NAIA playoff semifinals (2019, 2020, 2021)
- 107 consecutive (current) appearances in the NAIA Top 25 rankings
Overall Coaching Record (years): 109-34 (12 years)
Did You Know?
The 2022 Football Media Guide is available now on the Bethel Athletic page. Keep up with the Cats this season with the on-line version at https://en.calameo.com/bethel-university/read/003316375f35c839aee6f
Find out all you need to know about this year's team and their opponents. Bio's Records, Stats, and current rankings are all available. Get all the information about YOUR Wildcats!!!!!!
Seventeen different states are represented on the Bethel squad.
Homecoming will be celebrated this year on October 22. The week includes the 2022 Hall-of-Fame Induction ceremonies. The Cats will host Thomas More University. Kick-off is slated for 1 p.m.
2022 Bethel University Football Staff
Head Coach - Michael Jasper (4th season)
Associate Head Coach/Defensive Coordinator - Chris Springer (5th season)
Assistant Head Coach/Offensive Coordinator - Jay Bright (2nd season)
Offensive Assistant - Montgomery Allison (1st season)
Defensive Line Coach - Troy Brewer (1st season)
Director of Sports Performance - Brighton Hill (1st season)
Senior Defensive Analyst - Terrell Jackson (2nd season)
Defensive Run Game Coordinator/Linebackers Coach - Dustin Kincaid (3rd season)
Assistant Offensive Line Coach - Austin Kisrow (1st season)
Special Teams Coordinator/Defensive Backs Coach - Cody McCallister (4th season)
Pass Game Coordinator/Wide Receivers Coach - Greg Meyer (1st season)
Half Backs/Tight Ends Coach - Bret Peterson (2nd season)
Assistant Special Teams/Assistant Wide Receivers Coach - Hunter Scott (1st season)
Running Backs Coach - Jake Sisk (1st season)
Assistant Defensive Line Coach - Jamel Warren (1st season)
Next Week:
The Wildcats return home to host the University of the Cumberlands. It will be the only night game of the regular season with kick-off scheduled for 7 p.m.
Live stats:
https://bethelathletics.com/sports/fball/2022-23/boxscores/20221008_5o6r.xml
Live video:
https://bethelathletics.com/watch
Listen:
Game Coverage: Catch the action on WEIO, 100.9 and at https://streamdb6web.securenetsystems.net/v5/WEIO
Tickets:
Tickets & Fan Attendance:
Ticket/fan policy - all are welcome.
Purchase tickets in advance at: https://bethelathletics.com/bethel-box-office
Tickets can also be purchased digitally at the gate. It will be a cashless gate.
Gates open at 5:30 p.m.