Cats Continue Winning Surge with Road Win at Campbellsville
CAMPBELLSVILLE, Ky. – The No. 6 Bethel Wildcats ran their record to 7-0 with a 39-31 win at Campbellsville Saturday afternoon. The Cats moved to 4-0 in the MSC. Campbellsville dropped to 2-5 and 0-5.
The Cats got on the board first, scoring on a 13-yard Terrance Roberts run at the 12:18 mark. The run capped off a 74 -yard drive. The Wildcats led 7-0 after an Austin Abbott point after.
Bethel struck again with 7:24 remaining in the period. Joaquin Collazo hit Quashawn Ford from 31 yards out to give the Wildcats a 13-0 margin. Abbott's PAT made it 14-0. The Cats used seven plays in the 96-yard drive.
Bethel turned up the pressure again with another score at the 2:55 mark. Collazo hit Avont Burrus on a 13-yard pass play to make it 20-0. Abbott nailed the point after to up the Cat lead to 21-0. The score capped off a 73-yard drive.
Campbellsville's Luke Sheperson found Jager Gillis on a 29-yard touchdown pass to put the Tigers on the scoreboard. A point after by Devin Neally at the 45 second mark made it 21-7 Bethel.
The Tigers scored again early in the second. Sheperson and Gillis teamed up again on a short pass to make 21-14.
Austin Abbott hit a 28-yard field goal to up the Cat margin to 24-14.
Ford finished off a 66-yard drive with a one-yard run and Bethel led 30-14. Abbott's point after was no good.
Campbellsville cut into the Bethel lead with a 33-yard field goal by Neally with just under two minutes left in the half. The teams went to the locker room at 30-17.
Bethel's Andrew Welch hit a 38-yard field goal late in the third quarter to give the Cats a 33-17 advantage. Those would be the only points scored in the quarter.
The Tigers scored an early touchdown in the fourth and went for two which was good and Bethel's lead was shaved to 33-25 with 13:03 left in the game.
On the ensuing drive, Bethel moved into CU territory but a 48-yard field attempt by Abbott was no good.
After the Bethel defense held, the Wildcat offense had another opportunity. Welch nailed a 21-yard field goal to up the Cat lead 36-25.
Welch added another field goal with under two minutes left to give Bethel the 39-25 lead.
CU scored in the waning seconds as the Cats won 39-31.
Bethel had a 589-376 margin in total yards. Bethel had a 337-281 advantage in passing and a 252-95 advantage in rushing yards.
Terrance Roberts had 22 carries for a career high 161 yards. Collazo was 21-of -35 for 337 yards and the two touchdowns. JD Dixon had four receptions for 96 yards.
Jakobe Griffin led the Cat defense with nine stops and an interception. Brandon Moore had eight total stops. Darian Burns had six tackles and picked off a Tiger pass. Vonte Bates had six total tackles. Devious Christmon had six stops and had his 14th career interception. He is second in career picks which is two behind all-time leader Hunter Pingston.
Coach Michael Jasper commented, "It was a great game for Coach Thomas and his Tigers. Those guys came out and stayed the course. Outside the first quarter, they really got after us. Our guys fought hard and got the win, but we have a lot of work to do. That wasn't our brand of football and we have to execute far better. It's on me to get them ready to play and I will do a better job moving forward."
Next Week:
Homecoming will be celebrated next week. 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. See a related story on the Hall-of-Fame on the athletic page at www.bethelathletics.com
Live stats:
https://bethel.prestosports.com/sports/fball/2022-23/boxscores/20221022_hzpw.xml
Watch:
https://bethel.prestosports.com/watch
Listen:
https://streamdb6web.securenetsystems.net/v5/WEIO
Tickets & Fan Attendance:
Ticket/fan policy - all are welcomed.
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.