Wildcats Hit Road to Face Eagles
MONTGOMERY, Ala. –For the first time in a month, the Bethel Wildcats hit the road as they travel to Montgomery, Alabama Saturday to face the Faulkner University Eagles. Kick-off in Billy D. Hilyer Stadium is slated for 1:30 p.m. CT.
The No. 10 Wildcats are 7-1 and 2-1 in league play. Faulkner has lost four games in a row and will enter the game at 1-6 and 0-4 in the MSC.
It will be the 11th meeting between the two programs with Bethel holding a 6-4 advantage in the series. The two schools first met on the gridiron in 2008. Bethel won 59-6 last year in Wildcat Stadium.
Stats:
https://faulknereagles.com/sidearmstats/football/summary
Watch:
https://www.youtube.com/FaulknerSportsNetwork
Listen:
There will be no local radio for this game.
Tickets:
https://faulknereagles.com/sports/2021/1/14/purchase-tickets
The Match-up:
The No. 10 Wildcats enter the game at 7-1 and 2-1 in MSC action. Faulkner is 1-6 and 0-4.
Bethel is 2-0 on the road this season while the Eagles are 1-2 at home.
The teams have two common opponents in Georgetown and the University of the Cumberlands. Faulkner lost to both teams while Bethel beat UC but lost to Georgetown.
Bethel is third in the nation in scoring, averaging 44.1 points per outing.
It will be the 497th game in program history with Bethel's record at 201- 287 -8. Win number 200 came two weeks ago with Bethel's 44-7 victory over Roosevelt.
Last Game:
Bethel:
It was a day of comebacks at Wildcat Stadium Saturday. Hundreds of alums came back for Homecoming and the Bethel football team rewarded them with a second half comeback of their own to beat Cumberland University 24-7.
Trailing 7-0 at the half, the Wildcats scored 24 unanswered points in the second half.
Cumberland took the lead late in the first quarter on a five- yard run by Treylon Sheppard. The 58-yard drive was capped off by the extra point from Jack Kanter.
Bethel got on the board at the 6:53 mark of the third quarter. Joaquin Collazo III hit Jaylen Taylor with a 22-yard touchdown pass. After an Andrew Welch point after the game was tied at seven all.
The Cats took the lead two seconds into the fourth quarter when Mitchell Faulkner finished a 69-yard drive with a two-yard run.
Collazo upped the Cat margin to 21-7 with a 23- yard touchdown pass to J.D. Dixon with 6:35 left in the game.
Welch put icing on the Homecoming Cake with less than a minute left with a 33-yard field goal to make it 24-7.
The Wildcats outgained the Phoenix 383-208 in total yards. The biggest difference was in passing yards with Bethel holding a 247-75 margin. Bethel's defense held CU to just 68 yards in total offense in the second half.
Collazo was 26-of-31 in passing for 247 yards and two touchdowns. Terrance Roberts led Bethel in rushing on 12 carries for 63 yards. Dixon caught nine passes for 85 yards. Taylor had six receptions for 64 yards. Roberts had four catches for 33 yards. Seven different Wildcats had two or more receptions in the win.
Bethel's defense was led by Xavier King with 10 total tackles. Brian Hughes followed with nine stops. Brody Franks contributed with eight total tackles. Darrien Lewis had two tackles for losses, a sack and seven tackles. Dee Hines had a big interception in the game.
Coach Mike Jasper was excited about the hard-fought win. "I'm pumped about how our guys handled adversity today! Coach Mathis and his staff had a solid game plan and played keep away a bit there, but our defense never backed down and stayed the course until the offense could capitalize on our opportunities. The fans were electric. The atmosphere was amazing! It was a blessing to see so many Wildcats come back home! Excited to enjoy this a little while and then get ready for a tough road game ahead against Faulkner."
Faulkner:
Faulkner scuffled through the second half Saturday on the way to a 27-3 loss to No. 11 Georgetown. After giving up a field goal on the Tigers' first possession, Faulkner answered with an eight-play drive that traversed 52 yards and resulted in a 39-yard field goal from Caden Davis to the tie the game.
Georgetown added another field goal in the first quarter to take a 6-3 lead and then saw Gehrig Slunaker go over the top to J.C. Shegog for 47 yards and a touchdown early in the second quarter, moving the advantage to 13-3.
Faulkner's best drive of the game started at the 9:50 mark of the second quarter. The possession sputtered early but a roughing the passer penalty gave the Eagles new life, setting them up at their own 48. Raequan Beal hit Brody Smith for 17 yards and then connected with Kaleb Jones for 17 more to get the ball to the Georgetown 17. A pair of Styles Hughes runs got the Eagles to the 6 and set up a third down play. Beal found Smith who made a one-handed catch and turned up field to fight toward the end zone. As he attempted to power toward the goal line, the ball popped out and Georgetown recovered the fumble at its own 4.
The luck got no better for the Eagles three plays later. Marvin Payton sacked Slunaker who fumbled the ball. Myles Boyd attempted to recover the ball but it squirted into the end zone where a Georgetown offensive player recovered it and was tackled. The officials determined that Boyd had established possession of the ball outside the end zone and then lost possession into the end zone, resulting in a touchback rather than a safety.
Georgetown gave itself some breathing room in the third quarter when it completed an eight-play, 69-yard drive with a Darius Neal rushing touchdown of 25 yards. The final blow landed with 7:13 left in the game as Neal scored on a five-yard run.
The Eagles tallied 149 yards of total offense on 44 plays while Georgetown ran 71 plays for 400 yards. Jerrell Williamson topped the Eagle defense with 11 total tackles. Ty Simpson had an interception in the game.
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 were 11-1 last year. 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 33 -16 overall and 20-13 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.
Rob Gray is in his 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.
Gray spent the 2019 campaign as the pass game coordinator and defensive backs coach before departing to work with Charles Henderson High School in Troy, Alabama, in the Fall of 2020. As Faulkner's 2020 season moved to the spring semester of 2021, Gray returned to the program as associate head coach while also leading defensive backs.
With Gray as head coach, Faulkner has produced two first team all-conference and six second team members. Academically, the Eagles have had two CoSIDA Academic All-District and 18 MSC All-Academic Team members.
Did You Know?
- Joaquin Collazo was named the MSC Offensive Player of the Week again this past week. It is the third time this season and seventh time of his career he has captured the award.
- Three other Wildcats have won the award this season. Demetrice Gilbert, Jaylen Taylor and Andrew Welch were named Player of the Week earlier this season.
- Coach Michael Jasper was among those inducted into Bethel's Athletic Hall of Fame last week. Coach Jasper was inducted as a result of his playing career at the school. He was joined by:
Dave Jesse-Men's Basketball
Ariel Montague-Women's Track
Tom & Patty Kahlden- Contributors
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
- 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 are available with audio coverage again this year on WEIO, 100.9 and www.thefarmradio.com
Other games and sports are carried on the Wildcat streaming service at: https://bethelathletics.com/watch
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
Hometown Health
Hometown Hangout
Next Week:
The Wildcats will remain on the road traveling to Campbellsville.