LEBANON, Tenn. – Bethel University and Cumberland University always seemingly have wild games and Saturday's game in Lebanon was no different. The Wildcats and the 24th ranked Phoenix battled back and forth until CU eventually prevailed 52-21.
The Wildcats trailed 14-0 with just over three minutes left in the first quarter but J'Kobi Reddick returned a kick-off 87 yards for a Wildcat touchdown and the game was on. Bethel's Dalton McCann drilled the point after and Bethel trailed 14-7. Kris Parker's one-yard run and Dezmon Huntley's touchdown pass to Denarius Toliver had given the Phoenix a 14-0 lead.
Bethel's Sam Castronova threw two touchdown passes in the second quarter. The first came at the 4:15 mark as he found Marvin Rudd wide open for a 75-yard score. The scoring pass was the longest of the season for the Wildcats. The latter score was a 30-yard strike to Vonte Bates with the clock expiring to close the half. Joseph Rushin and Huntley had two scoring passes for the home squad and Bethel trailed 28-21 at the half. Rushin found Luke Turner for one of the scores while Huntley who had left the game with a minor injury came back to hit Kendall Johnson for the other tally.
Bethel's defense held CU to a Pablo Travecedo 29-yard field goal in the third quarter and trailed just 31-21 going into the fourth.
Unfortunately for the Wildcats CU scored three unanswered touchdowns in the final fifteen minutes to break the game open and win 52-21. Kimlee North had runs of nine and 62 yards for TD's. Rushin put icing on the cake for Phoenix with a 35-yard scamper for the final score.
CU outgained the Wildcats 672 to 450. CU had 564 yards with over 200 of those coming in the final quarter against a tired Bethel defense. Bethel had an advantage in passing yards at 337-108.
Taye Davis, a Lebanon native had a big day rushing for 110 yards on 18 carries. Rudd had four receptions for a career high 111 yards. Anthony Patrick led Bethel with 10 total tackles. Parker (177) North (154) and Huntley all had over 100 yards rushing in the game for CU.
The Cats suffered their sixth straight defeat with the loss. Bethel fell to 1-6 overall and 0-3 in MSC action. CU improved to 6-2 and 2-1.
Coach Chris Elliott said, "We played with a lot of heart and energy but again simply made too many mistakes. Fumbles, an interception and mental mistakes just killed us. We did a lot of good things and continue to improve. We played a lot of young people and they will get better with every snap. We will continue to work and get ready for our next game."
Bethel's Darwin Kelley Jr. left the game early in the third quarter. He was removed from the field on a gurney and taken to an area hospital. Coach Elliott announced after the game the injury wasn't as serious as it first appeared. Kelley is a freshman from Winter Haven, Florida.
The Wildcats stay on the road next week traveling to Cincinnati Christian for a 12:30 p.m. kick-off.
