Cats Host Eagles on Senior Day- Game Notes
The No. 4 Bethel Wildcats return home Saturday playing host to the Faulkner Eagles at 1 p.m.in Wildcat Stadium.
It will be Senior Day for the football, cheer, and band squads. Football and cheer will be saluted in pregame ceremonies beginning at 12:20 p.m. The band members will be honored at halftime. Nineteen football players will be saluted. Seven cheer members and six band members will also be honored.
It will also be Military/First Responders Appreciated Day with gates opening at 11 a.m.
All military and first responders get into the game FREE with ID.
The Cat Walk will begin at 11 a.m. in front of Crisp Arena
Bethel is 9-0 overall and 6-0 in league play. The Cats are 5-0 in home action on the season. The Eagles will arrive in from Montgomery with a mark of 4-5 and 3-3. Their recent win over Cumberland University snapped a three-game losing streak. The Eagles are 2-3 in road action on the season.
The game will be the 487th game in program history. Bethel is 193-285-8 all-time
Listen:
WEIO, 100.9 and at https://streamdb6web.securenetsystems.net/v5/WEIO
The Countdown to Kick-off Show begins at 12:30 p.m.
Live video: https://bethelathletics.com/WildcatVision
https://bethelathletics.com/sports/fball/2022-23/boxscores/20221105_3jpm.xml
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 11 a.m.
(Bethel)
The No. 6 Wildcats traveled to Columbia, Kentucky Saturday to meet the No. 3 Blue Raiders of Lindsey Wilson. The Cats snapped a Blue Raider 28 game conference winning streak with a 21-16 victory. The game came down to the very last play.
The contest proved worthy of a top ten match-up. It was the 486th game in program history and one of the if not the biggest win in regular season Bethel history.
Bethel moved to 9-0 overall and 6-0 in league play. LWC dropped to 7-1 and 5-1.
The Wildcats took the opening kick-off and drove 76 yards to take a 6-0 lead. Keegan Huddleston gave the Wildcats the lead with an eight-yard run. Austin Abbott nailed the point after to make it 7-0 at the 5:25 mark. Bethel used 16 plays on the time-consuming drive. That would be the only score of the quarter.
Lindsey Wilson tied the game with 9:05 left in the second stanza. Jbias Dawson scooted in from three yards out and Ian Sauter tied it at seven all. That would be the only score in the second quarter.
Highlighting the first half on defense for Bethel was Jalon Sanders with a blocked field goal attempt. The Cat defense forced two other field goal attempts which proved to be big as both were missed.
LWC took the opening kick-off of the third quarter and moved down the field which resulted in a 41-yard field goal by Sauter which gave the Blue Raiders a 10-7 lead. That lead didn't last long however as Bethel's Demetrice Gilbert electrified the big Bethel road crowd with a 96-yard kick-off return at the 9:26 mark. Abbott hit the point after, and Bethel led 14-10.
A key play of the game came six minutes later with the Raiders driving. A lateral which resulted in a fumble saw Bethel's Marquese Taylor scoop the ball off the turf and go 85 yards for a score. Bethel led 21-10 with 3:47 remaining in the third. After a defensive stop later in the quarter, the Blue Raiders pulled to within 21-13 on a Sauter 45-yard field goal. Bethel led by that score going into the fourth.
Both defensive units dictated the tone of the game the rest of the way. The only score came with 3:31 left when Sauter nailed a 25-yard field goal.
After LWC forced Bethel to punt, the Blue Raiders took over at their 37-yard line and moved deep into Cat territory. On a fourth and goal from the Wildcat eight-yard line and with just 11 seconds to play, Taylor knocked down a pass in the endzone to preserve the win.
LWC held Bethel to season lows in rushing at 36 and 146 in passing. The 182 yards were the lowest for Bethel on the season. Lindsey Wilson racked up 495 yards of total offense in the game.
Terrance Roberts led Bethel in rushing with 38 yards. JD Dixon caught four passes for 58 yards. Joaquin Collazo was 15-of-19 in passing for 146 yards. It marked the first game on the season Collazo did not toss a touchdown pass. Kobe Belcher led LWC with 166 yards rushing on 27 carries.
Calen Warren led the Cat defense with 13 total tackles. Sanders followed with nine stops. Brandon Moore had a huge interception. Darel Middleton had two tackles for losses.
Lindsey Wilson entered the game yielding just 44 points (1st in the nation) in all their previous seven games. They had given up just 12 total points in the second half all year. Bethel was 6th best in the country at 12.4 points per outing.
(Faulkner)
Trailing 9-0 on Homecoming at the end of the first quarter, Faulkner's defense had held its own but extended Cumberland's lone scoring drive with two flags, in what would become a theme for both teams. Meanwhile, the Eagles' offense had failed to score in seven quarters of play and had done so just once in 12 in the span of matchups against Thomas More, Lindsey Wilson and Incarnate Word. It was time for some change.
The units woke up, and at the end of the day, it was the Eagles rising from the ashes as Faulkner defeated the Phoenix 44-30 at Billy D. Hilyer Stadium to gain a crucial conference win.
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 24-14 overall and 15 -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.
Rob Gray is in second season at the helm of the Faulkner Football program.
In his first season, the Eagles climbed back into the top 25 and reached as high as No. 14 before finishing the season with an 8-2 record. His record entering the game is 12-7.
Did You Know?
The No.4 ranking is the best the program has been ranked since 2018. It is the second best in program history. The Cats were ranked No. 3 in November 2018.
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.
Bethel's Demetrice was named the MSC & NAIA Football Special Teams Player of the Week after his performance at Lindsey Wilson last week.
Demetrice Gilbert – Bethel (Tenn.) – Jr. – Defensive Back – Atlanta, Ga.
- Gilbert had a 96-yard kick-off for a touchdown in the win over Lindsey Wilson.
- Bethel was trailing 10-7 before Gilbert returned the kick.
- Gilbert earns weekly honors for the first time this season and in his career.
Bethel's Marquese Taylor was named the Mid-South Conference Football Player of the Week.
Marquese Taylor – Bethel (Tenn.) – So. – Defensive Back – Atlanta, Ga.
- Taylor had two tackles and a fumble recovery in the Wildcats' 21-16 win over No. 3 Lindsey Wilson.
- He recovered a fumble and returned it 85 yards for a Bethel touchdown.
- Taylor broke up Lindsey Wilson's final in the endzone to preserve the victory.
- He earns weekly honors for the first this season and in his career.
Special guests in attendance today include Commissioner Eric Ward, Coach Carroll and the McKenzie Middle School football squad, and special guests from the Hope Center Rehab Center.
Game Officials:
Referee – Doug Chaney
Umpire – Christian Scales
Head Line Judge – Keylon Callaway
Line Judge – Brian Hudson
Side Judge – Brian Caroline
Field Judge – Sean Walker
Back Judge – James Bradford
Clock Operator – Barry Capps
Play Clock Operator - Adam Welch
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)
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 travel to Cumberland University to battle the Phoenix. Kick-off is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. CST.
Live stats:
https://naiastats.prestosports.com/sports/fball/2022-23/boxscores/20221112_6031.xml
Live video:
https://portal.stretchinternet.com/cu/
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
Nicky Jo Stafford Real Estate