Cats Host Tigers on Pink Out Day
WILLIAMSBURG, Ky. - The No. 6 Bethel Wildcats will host No.19 Georgetown Saturday at Wildcat Stadium. Kick-off is slated for 1 p.m. with the Catwalk scheduled for 11:15 a.m. It will be Pink-Ot Day and National Breast Cancer Awareness Day.
Bethel will be attempting to win the 200th game in program history.
Watch:
https://www.bethelathletics.com/watch
Listen:
https://www.thefarmradio.com/farm-sports-and-events
Stats:
https://bethelathletics.com/sports/fball/2023-24/boxscores/20231007_33qs.xml
Tickets:
https://bethelathletics.com/tickets
The Match-up:
It will be the 17th meeting between the two programs. GC has a 12-4 advantage in the series.
The Wildcats are 5-0 overall and 1-0 in the MSC. Georgetown is 2-1 and 0-0.
Bethel leads the country in scoring, averaging 52.2 points per outing. Bethel has won 17 straight regular season games.
It will be the 494th game in program history with Bethel's record at 199-286 -8.
Last Meeting Between the Two:
The Wildcats beat the Tigers 24-14 last year in Georgetown.
The Tigers took the opening kick-off and marched 69 yards on 12 plays and took the lead at the 10:24 mark. Drew Hartz threw a 13-yard touchdown to Darius Neal. The point after by Chris Cline gave Georgetown the 7-0 lead.
The Wildcats scored at the 13:29 mark of the second. Taylor Yancey threw a five- yard scoring pass to Quashawn Ford. The play capped off a nine play 56- yard drive. The point after was blocked.
The game turned into a defensive battle the remainder of the half. The Cats outgained the Tigers in total yards, 168-96 but trailed 7-6 at the break.
Bothe teams struggled in third down efficiency in the half. Bethel was just 2-of-8 while GC was just 2-of-9 in third down attempts.
The Wildcats pulled off a trick play in the third when punter Caleb Hall on a fourth and ten from his own 43- yard line passed to Darius Prather for a first down. The 22-yard pass kept the drive alive but a 22-yard field goal attempt by Austin Abbott was blocked.
The Cats would not be denied however as they would take the lead a series later. With 8:41 left in the third, Yancey finished off a 51 -yard drive with a one- yard rush. The Cats converted on the two- point try as Joaquin Collazo passed to Colby Johnson to give Bethel a 14-7 advantage.
The Wildcats extended their lead to 21-7 with 3:09 left in the third. On a defected 12-yard pass into the end zone, J D Dixon leaped high to give the Cats a 20-6 margin. Abbott's PAT gave Bethel a two-touchdown lead.
Bethel's defense dominated the third quarter holding Georgetown to just three total yards in offense.
Bethel moved the margin to 24-7 with 13:32 left in the game when Abbott knocked through a 22-yard field goal.
The Tigers scored with 9:13 remaining when Neal rushed in from five yards out. Cline's extra point made it 24-14.
The Cats would go on to win 24-14.
Bethel outgained the Tigers 418-194. The Cats had 277 yards passing and 141 rushing.
Collazo was 19-of-33 in the air for 250 yards. Terrance Roberts had a career high 121 yards on 32 carries. Dixon had six receptions for 90 yards.
Calen Warren led the Cats on defense with seven total tackles. Vonte Bates followed with five total stops. Brandon Moore, Devious Christmon and Warren had interceptions in the game.
Last Game:
Bethel:
The No. 6 Wildcats won their 17th straight regular season game with a 30-10 victory at the University of the Cumberlands Saturday night in Williamsburg, Kentucky. The Patriots entered the showdown ranked No. 19 in the nation.
Bethel's defense and the right leg of Andrew Welch were the biggest factors until Bethel broke the game open in the second half.
The Wildcats scored on their opening drive to take a 3-0 lead on a 22-yard field goal from Andrew Welch. The 49 -yard drive took just 3:16 seconds.
Bethel upped their lead to 6-0 on a 42- yard field goal by Welch with 46 seconds left in the first quarter. The kick capped off a nine play 68- yard drive.
The Wildcats moved out to a 13-0 margin on a one-yard touchdown run from Mitchell Faulkner. The score came with 5:34 left in the half. The score came after a seven play 73 -yard drive.
The No.19 Patriots kicked a 28-yard field goal as time expired in the half and Bethel's lead was 13-3 at the break.
Bethel had a 249-114 advantage in total yards in the half.
The Wildcats moved ahead 16-3 with a 29-yard field goal from Welch with 4:39 left in the third stanza. The explosive Wildcat offense came to life late in the quarter. A three-play drive of 83 yards broke the game open as the Cats took a 23-3 lead with just 1:11 left. Joaquin Collazo III hit Jaylen Taylor on an 11-yard pass. The score was set up by two great receptions by Avont Burrus during a three play 83-yard drive.
Bethel scored again early in the fourth quarter. Collazo hit Taylor again for a touchdown which gave the Wildcats a 30-3 margin. The pass capped off a seven play 70-yard drive.
Cumberlands scored a touchdown with 9:58 left to make it 30-10.
Bethel outgained UC 439-278 in total yards. The Wildcats had 186 rushing yards and 253 in the air. Collazo was 12-of-26 for 253 yards. Martize Smith, former player for UC rushed for 152 yards on 28 carries. Taylor caught six passes for 101 yards.
Brian Hughes led Bethel with nine total tackles. Brody Franks and Kedrick Walker followed with six each. Darian Burns and Jaylon Beasley both had interceptions.
It was the 13th meeting between the two programs. U of C has an 8-5 advantage in the series.
Bethel improved to 5-0 and 1-0 while the Pats dropped to 4-1 and 0-1.
The victory was the 199th in program history.
Georgetown:
The Tigers had the week off. The prior week, the Tigers lost 28-24 at Reinhardt.
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 31 -15 overall and 18- 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 Chris Oliver is in his second season at Georgetown. He is 9-4 with the Tigers. Prior to GC, he was the head coach at Lindsey Wilson where he won 105 games and the NAIA National Championship in 2020. Oliver is 114-38 in his career.
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
Hometown Health
Hometown Hangout
Next Week:
The Cats remain home hosting Roosevelt College next Saturday at noon. It will be WRAP Day and Coach to Cure MD Game.