MCKENZIE, Tenn. – The Bethel Wildcats scooted out to a 16-0 lead against visiting Edward Waters College Saturday and held on to win their season opener 19-13 at Wildcat Stadium. Freshman Demetrice Gilbert (FR/Atlanta, GA)'s interception sealed the deal to preserve the victory.
The pick was one of three for the Wildcats. Erin Francis (SO/Atlanta, GA) and Joshua Burns (SR/Orlando, FL) also had interceptions for the home squad.
Both teams failed to score in the first quarter. Bethel moved the ball inside the EWC ten-yard line but a fumble ended the scoring opportunity.
Freshman Dalton McCann (FR/Munford, TN) put Bethel on the board at the 13:04 mark of the second quarter with a 28-yard field goal. Later in the quarter Bethel's Taye Davis (JR/Lebanon, TN) capped off a 12 play 81 -yard drive with a one yard plunge to hand Bethel a 10-0 lead at the half.
A 22-yard touchdown pass from Sam Castronova (JR/Buffalo, NY) to Marvin Rudd (SO/Memphis, TN) handed Bethel a 16-0 margin at the 4:56 mark of the third stanza. The point after attempt by McCann failed.
The Tigers scored on a Kyveon Jones 72-yard touchdown run less than two minutes later. Christoni Robinson nailed the point after to pull his team to within 16-7.
McCann knocked in a 21-yard field goal in the early minutes of the fourth quarter to give the Wildcats a 19-7 lead. EWC answered with a Tyler Mahla nine yard touchdown pass to Jamal Hughes at the 3:40 mark to make it 19-13. The point after by Robinson was no good.
After Bethel's offense failed to convert on a crucial third down attempt the Tigers had one final thrust before Gilbert's interception sent the crowd home happy with the victory.
Bethel outgained the Tigers 375 to 312 in total yards. Bethel had 252 yards in passing while EWC had 194. The Cats had a slight margin in yards rushing at 123-118.
Jones led EWC with 82 rushing yards. Davis led Bethel with 76 yards on 17 carries. Castronova was 21-of-32 in the air for 252 yards. Bethel's Josh Williams (SO/Mt. Juliet, TN) had seven receptions for 116 yards. Hughes had 10 catches for 82 yards for the Tigers.
EWC's Joey Williams led all tacklers with 10 total stops. Jeremy Beaulieu (SO/Jacksonville, FL) led Bethel with eight total tackles. Anthony Patrick (JR/Nashville, TN) followed with seven stops. Francis had six while Chris Beavers (SO/Thompson Station, TN) had five total tackles.
Coach Chris Elliott commented, "It wasn't a pretty game but all in all we are happy of course with the win. EWC played hard just like we did. We lost offensive lineman Cole Andrews (SR/McEwen, TN) early in the game and that hurt us but our young kids hung in there and stayed the course. I though Sam (Castronova) made some good decisions and Williams had some huge catches for us. McCann just joined us last Sunday so we were pleased how he reacted to game situations and in the end we liked his efforts." Elliott added, "We have a lot to work on but we feel we have a talented team and how we improve from week one to week two will be a big key."
The Wildcats travel to Lakeland, Florida to battle Southeastern Saturday at 6 p.m.
