Top 20 Showdown Looms in Williamsburg
WILLIAMSBURG, Ky. - The No. 6 Wildcats hit the road Saturday traveling to Williamsburg, Kentucky to meet the No.19 Patriots of the University of the Cumberlands. Kick-off is slated for 6 p.m. CT.
The Match-up:
It will be the 13th meeting between the two programs. U of C has an 8-4 advantage in the series.
Both teams enter the game with 4-0 marks. It will be the first MSC game for each squad.
Bethel leads the country in scoring, averaging 57.8 points per outing. Bethel has won 16 straight regular season games.
It will be the 493rd game in program history with Bethel's record at 198-286 -8.
Game Coverage:
Live video: https://cumberlandspatriots.com/watch/?Live=725&type=Live
Live stats: https://cumberlandspatriots.com/sidearmstats/football/summary
Last Meeting Between the Two:
The Cats handed head coach Michael Jasper a birthday present with their 43-13 win over the visitors from the Commonwealth last year.
UC got on the board first blocking a Bethel punt. UC's Damon Byrnes-Mitchell blocked the punt, which was recovered by Adam Foulk, who ran it into the endzone for a score putting Cumberlands in front 7-0. The Wildcats responded with a 14 play, 80 yard drive which was capped off by a one yard rushing score by Quashawn Ford. The point after was no good. Bethel trailed 7-6 after one.
The Wildcats took the lead at the 11:36 mark of the second quarter on a Terrance Roberts 12-yard touchdown run. The two-point conversion attempt failed but Bethel led 12-7. Joaquin Collazo found Avont Burris from 20 yards out and the Cats extended their margin to 18-7. Austin Abbott nailed the point after and Bethel led 19-7. After UC scored to pull the Patriots to within 19-13, the Cats took a 22-13 lead on a 36-yard field goal by Abbott as time expired in the first half.
Bethel scored 21 unanswered points in the second half to win 43-13. Scores included a Taylor Yancy five-yard scoring run. Collazo teamed up with Kenny Williams on a six-yard touchdown pass. Collazo then connected on a 52-yard scoring strike to Davius Prather with 9:46 left for the final points of the night.
Bethel put up a season high 642 yards in total offense. The Cat defense held UC to just 150 yards in total yardage.
Collazo was 30-of-55 in passing for 463 yards. Roberts had 94 rushing yards. Burrus caught seven passes for a career high 165 yards. Prather had three receptions for 77 yards while Cobey Johnson caught five passes for 77 yards.
Vonte Bates and Brody Franks led the defense with six total tackles each. Brandon Moore had an interception for the Wildcats.
Last Game:
Bethel:
The Wildcats scored a season low 48 points last week but still won comfortably beating visiting Thomas University 48-14. Bethel entered the game as the nation's highest scoring team in the nation at 63.0 points per outing.
The Wildcats jumped out to a 17- 0 lead. Joaquin Collazo III and J. D. Dixon teamed up for a 37 -yard pass to give the Cats a 7-0 lead on the first play from scrimmage. Demetrice Gilbert returned a punt for 59 yards for a score and Bethel lead 14-0 lead after Andrew Welch's point after. Welch hit a field goal upping the Bethel margin to 17-0.
Those scores would be a precursor to what would follow. Collazo would throw four more touchdowns in the game. Dixon would catch two more giving him three on the day. Jaylen Taylor caught a pass for a score as well. Martize Smith had a rushing touchdown. Smith led the Wildcats with 64 rushing yards.
Collazo was 17-of- 21 in passing for 231 yards. The senior is 44-of-54 in the air in the last two games.
Bethel rushed for 235 yards and passed for 270 and finished with 505 total yards. The Cat defense held TU to 110 yards on the ground and 93 in the air.
Bethel's defense was led by Jerwin Young, Jamel Goulbourne and Brody Franks who had five tackles each. Javonte Carter, Tim Hamilton, and Christian Cantrell had four total stops each. Franks, Goulbourne, Young, Hamilton and Cantrell had sacks in the win. Ten Wildcats had tackles for losses in the game.
Cumberlands:
The Patriots knocked off #14 Reinhardt 20-19 in the pouring rain two weeks ago to move to 4-0 on the season. UC's defense stepped up time and time again, forcing a season-high seven turnovers, while the offense outrushed the Eagles 215-167 and doubled RU's time of possession. The Pats had the week off this past week.
Head Coaches
Michael Jasper is in his fifth year as head coach of the Wildcats. Coach Jasper also serves as Associate Athletic Director of Internal Operations.
Before becoming the head coach, Jasper served as Assistant Head Coach and worked with the defensive line. Prior to that he held the titles of Offensive Line Coach and Run Game Coordinator, as well as overseeing the strength and conditioning program.
The Wildcats are coming off an 11-1 season. Jasper picked up his first conference coach of the year honor after guiding Bethel to its sixth overall title. The undefeated regular season was the first in program history. Bethel was ranked No. 4 in the national poll. Coach Jasper was named NAIA Region 1 Coach of the Year.
Coach Jasper's career record is 30 -15 overall and 17- 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 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 bachelors degree in university studies. Mike and his wife Allison, along with their children Davis Reid, Millie Claire and Samuel David reside in McKenzie.
Their rescue dog is named Caine.
Coach Shan Housekeeper is in his second season as the Head Football Coach of the Patriots after being hired in January 2022 to be the sixth Patriots coach. In his first season at the helm, Houskeeper led the Patriots to a 5-5 record, including a 24-23 win over #11 Georgetown.
Prior to Cumberlands, Housekeeper spent 14 years on the coaching staff at Georgetown College
Not only has Housekeeper been a standout coach for the Tigers, he was a standout linebacker for Georgetown from 1999-2002 helping the Tigers to a pair of NAIA National Championship titles as well as a pair of NAIA national runner-up finishes. He was a two-time NAIA First Team All-American for the Tigers and in 2001 was named the Don Hansen Linebacker of the Year. After graduating from Georgetown, Housekeeper spent one season with the Lexington Horsemen helping them to a National Indoor Football League championship.
Housekeeper graduated from Georgetown in 2003 with a degree in Business Administration and Communication Arts. He is married to his wife Tabetha and they have three kids Zaden, Zyler, and Zimmery.
Did You Know?
- Sixteen different states are represented on the Bethel squad.
- Six Wildcats were named to the MSC Preseason Watch list. Joaquin Collazo III, J D Dixon, Cortez Eatmon, K J Hicks, Jaren Rainey and Jaylen Taylor were all honored.
- Coach Michael Jasper will be among those inducted into Bethel's Athletic Hall of Fame in October. The No. 8 Wildcats will meet Cumberland University on October 21. The ceremony will take place that weekend. Coach Jasper will be inducted as a result of his playing career at the school. He will be joined by:
Dave Jesse-Men's Basketball
Ariel Montague-Women's Track
Tom & Patty Kahlden- Contributors
More information on the event and each inductee and how tickets can be purchased will be released soon. Congratulations to the inductees and the athletic department and University looks forward to an October week and weekend to remember.
- The 2023 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://www.calameo.com/bethel-university/read/003316375ff645033edbb
- Fans can purchase a Gold Lot Season parking pass for 90.00. The Gold Lot is located directly behind the stadium entrance. Fans can also park in the Purple Lot for 50.00. The Purple Lot will be located directly north of the stadium. If spaces are still available after season passes are sold, they will be sold on a game-to-game basis at 10.00 each. Both lots will be staffed by Bethel security and lot attendants. There remains free parking on campus in front of Crisp Arena and areas north of the stadium and the reserved parking areas. To secure your parking pass in advance, visit the ticket and parking links on the main athletic page. https://bethelathletics.com/tickets
- Also, visit our website under tickets on how you can purchase a tailgate ticket for selected games and share a pre-game meal with family and friends.
https://bethelathletics.com/tickets
- Bethel University Athletics and Worthy Road Studios, a leader in sports streaming, announced a partnership between the two for coverage of Bethel Athletic events beginning this year.
Under the newly announced partnership, Worthy Road Studios will stream all home football games and selected home basketball games.
The agreement will feature upgraded production. Features such as slow-motion instant replays and different camera angles will be included.
Worthy Road Studios also produces live broadcast of the Jackson Rockabilly Baseball team, Union University, Trenton Peabody, Jackson Christian, University School of Jackson and Trinity Christian Academy sporting events. The Ballgame Blitz, the best source for West Tennessee, is all produced by Worthy Road Studios.
Be sure to like and follow Worthy Road Studios, the Ballgame Blitz on Facebook and subscribe to Worthy Road Studios YOU TUBE Channel.
The Ballgame Blitz is also on Twitter, so you can follow the sports broadcasts there as well.
Bethel games will also be available with audio coverage again this year on WEIO, 100.9 and www.thefarmradio.com
Other games and sports will be carried on the Wildcat streaming service at: https://bethelathletics.com/watch
2023 Bethel University Football Staff
Michael Jasper - Head Coach
Chris Springer - Associate Head Coach, Defensive Coordinator
Jay Bright - Assistant Head Coach, Offensive Coordinator
Dustin Kincaid – Special Teams Coordinator/LB Coach/ DOFO
Terrell Jackson - Senior Defensive Analyst
Bret Peterson - Halfbacks/ Tight Ends
Troy Brewer - Defensive Line
M D Daniels- Pass Game Coordinator/ WR
Kyle Wallace- Defensive Backs
Jamel Warren- Linebacker Assistant
Bryce Missey-Running Backs
Davius Prather- Offensive Assistant/ WR
Cobey Johnson- Offensive Assistant/ QB
Kiel Parkhurst- Offensive Line Assistant
A.B. Holloway- Defensive Assistant
Caleb Hall- Special Teams Assistant
Carrie Staal- Marketing Content Director
Golden Boosters and sponsors for Bethel Athletics this year are:
West Tennessee Public Utilities
Smith & Smith Optometry
Steven Morton & State Farm Insurance
Trevathan's Electrical Services
Carroll Bank & Trust
Nicky Jo Stafford Real Estate
City Florist
Anchor Transportation
Centennial Bank
Mazza Painting
Next Week:
The Cats return home to face the Tigers of Georgetown. Kick-off is slated for 1 p.m. with the Catwalk scheduled for 11:15 a.m. It will be Breast Cancer Awareness Day at the stadium.