MCKENZIE, Tenn. – In a MSC Bluegrass Division match-up at Wildcat Stadium Thursday night it was all Lindsey Wilson as the No. 10 Blue Raiders beat the No. 14 Bethel Wildcats 58-3.
On Military Appreciation Night it was the Blue Raiders who had the fire power scoring in various methods to beat the Cats handily. LWC moved to 5-0 and 2-0 in the league. Bethel dropped to 3-2 and 0-1. Lindsey Wilson is 3-0 in McKenzie and took a 4-2 lead in the series between the two foes.
After a 33 yard field first quarter goal by Bethel's Rodrigo Campos the Raiders struck for two first quarter touchdowns to take a 14-3 lead. Cameron Dukes ran for a score and hit Jaleel Warren with a nine yard touchdown pass. Jared Dougherty hit both point after attempts.
Jaylen Boyd scored on a three yard rush just 20 seconds into the second quarter to give the visitors from the Commonwealth a 21-3 lead. Four minutes later Dukes connected on a 25-yard pass to Jay Gaudlock and after the PAT by Dougherty the Blue Raiders had a 28-3 advantage. With 1:10 remaining in the half Lindsey's Luke Bowman scooped up a Bethel fumble and ran 57 yards for a score and LWC led at the break 34-3.
Any chance for Bethel to climb back in the game was dimmed on the first possession of the third quarter. The Blue Raiders took the opening kick-off and marched 61 yards and used over five minutes to score. Dukes scored on an 11-yard scramble and LWC led 41-3. With 8: 42 left in the quarter, LWC's Stevie Miller picked off a Bethel pass and ran 34 yards for another score. Leading 48-3, Lindsey's Dougherty drilled a 26 yard field goal to up the lead to 51-3. In the final stanza LWC tacked on a final score with a quarterback keeper by Payton Veraldi from two yards out and after the Dougherty PAT the Blue Raiders won 58-3.
Lindsey Wilson outgained Bethel 426-162 on the night. They had 244 yards rushing while Bethel had just 54 yards on the ground on 42 rushes. LWC had a 182-108 margin in passing.
Boyd led LWC in rushing with 115 yards on nine carries. De'Ontay Tate led Bethel with 49 yards on 14 carries. Gaudlock led LWC with three receptions while Bethel's Dieuly Aristilde led the Wildcats with five catches.
Damani Jenkins and Miller shared total tackle honors with six each for the Blue Raiders. Jakobe Griffin led the Wildcats with 13 total tackles while Jeremy Beaulieu followed with 11 tackles.
Coach Michael Jasper shared his thoughts after the game. "We didn't play very well tonight and I thought Lindsey Wilson really played outstanding. We couldn't generate a solid running game and that hurt us. When you run 42 times and have just 54 yards on the ground you are not going to win. We also made too many mistakes and you cannot make mistakes especially against a team like Lindsey." He added, "We will get back to practice and work to prepare for an excellent Cumberlands University squad."
Bethel resumes action at No. 11 Cumberlands (KY) on October 12.
