WILLIAMSBURG, Ky. – The No. 23 Bethel Wildcats dropped their second straight Bluegrass Division game losing 49-21 to the No. 11 Cumberlands Patriots Saturday in Williamsburg. With the loss the Wildcats fell to 3-3 overall and 0-2 in the MSC. The Patriots moved to 5-0 and 2-0.
The Wildcats bounced back with a huge first half effort after the big loss to Lindsey Wilson last week but a 42 point unanswered run by the Patriots was too much to overcome in the end.
The Cats jumped out to a first quarter lead on a Blake Meadors 16 yard touchdown pass to Braden Simmons. Rodrigo Campos knocked through the point after to give Bethel a 7-0 lead at the 11:21 mark. After a tying score by the Patriots, the Cats struck again as Meadors hit Simmons at the 4:17 mark from 12 yards out and the Wildcats led 14-7.
Bethel extended their lead early in the second stanza as Meadors connected on a 37-yard touchdown toss to Caleb Nelson and Bethel grabbed a 21-7 lead with 14:52 left in the half. UC scored and cut the Bethel lead to 21-14. With Bethel driving deep into UC territory the Patriots picked off a Meadors pass and ran it back 55 yards setting up another score and the teams were tied at 21-21. UC threatened late in the quarter but Bethel's Devious Christmon came up with a big interception and the teams went to the locker room tied at 21.
UC took their first lead with a touchdown with 10:11 left in the third quarter to grab a 28-21 lead. The Wildcats snapped right back and had a chance to score but again the Patriots picked off a Meadors pass at the UC ten yard line. Special teams played a part in CU's next score. After a punt was downed at the Bethel one yard line the Cats gave up a score on a Chris Witherspoon fumble which was recovered by the Patriots in the end zone and CU grabbed a 35-21 margin with just 21 seconds left in the third quarter.
After Bethel failed to convert on a fourth and one at the CU 49 yard line the Patriots took over and marched 49 yards to score and grabbed a 42-21 lead with 7:41 left in the game. The Wildcats mounted a late drive but Christian Arrambide had a pass picked off on a Wildcat fourth and goal from the UC six yard line. The Patriots promptly moved down the field and scored with just over a minute left to add to their lead at 49- 21.
UC had a 528-396 advantage in total yards. Bethel had 292 yards in passing but just 104 yards in rushing. UC had 171 yards in the air and 357 on the ground. Dieuly Aristilde led the Wildcats with eight receptions. Bethel's Marcello Walton had 51 yards in rushing. Josiah Robbins had 188 yards in rushing and threw for three touchdowns for the Patriots. Weston Hayes caught two passes for touchdowns and had two rushing scores for the home team.
Jakobe Griffin led Bethel with 15 total tackles while Jeremy Johnson followed with 10 total stops.
Bethel returns home Saturday to host the Georgetown Tigers. Kick-off is slated for 1:30 CST. It will be the seventh meeting between the two programs with Georgetown holding a 4-2 advantage in the series. The Tigers are 2-0 in McKenzie. Both Bethel wins have been in Georgetown including last year's dramatic 50-49 overtime thriller. One of the biggest recognized wins in Wildcat history was Bethel's 45-44 win in the first round of the NAIA Championships.
It will be Pink Out Day with activities in support of it being Breast Cancer Awareness Month.
Catch the action on WEIO, 1009 and www.thefarmradio.com.
Live video:
http://www.bethelathletics.com/WildcatVision
Live stats:
http://www.dakstats.com/Websync/Pages/Webcasts.aspx?association=10
