CAMPBELLSVILLE, Ky. – The Fighting Tigers' defense kept Bethel University out of the end zone for the second straight season, as Campbellsville University cruised past the Wildcats, 44-3, Saturday afternoon in the Mid-South Conference West Division opener at Finley Stadium.

 

BOX SCORE


"It's a good solid victory for us. We got worn down at times with our injuries and heat, but our guys responded well and played hard," CU head coach Perry Thomas said. "We beat a good team. Offensively, in the box, Bethel has some personnel that can really cause you issues, and our guys fought in there well with them."

CU's secondary picked off Bethel quarterback Kerry Sellers II on the Wildcats' opening drives of each half. Freshman corner back Marquis Cain recorded the first pick at the Bethel 32 early in the first quarter.

Jacob Russell, Jarrod Harrington and Wade Holtsclaw helped move CU into scoring position to set up a 2-yard touchdown pass from Russell to Trevon Chatman, his fifth TD catch in three games.

Campbellsville used a variety of combinations to move the ball in the game with Russell and Tajh Milliken continuing to both see time at quarterback. Six different players carried the ball in the game to combine for 205 yards, while Russell and Milliken combined for 263 yards passing to seven receivers.

"I think our offense is making it tough for teams to defend us now because you don't know who the solid weapon is. It could be Chatman, it could be Demeytreus Gipson, it could be Neal Wilson with a big catch, or Harrington or any of those, and then you have AJ (Strong) when he is in there, but also Wade Holtsclaw comes in today and has a big game and Marvin Lawrence had a big game," Thomas said. "Hopefully what we're doing now is building confidence in our guys for down the road, and it's bulding some issues for the defenses that will face us because now you have to defense the field."

The Tigers added another seven points on its next drive, this time a 29-yard run by Zerric Willis for his first career touchdown for a 14-0 first quarter lead.

Bethel managed to find its way on the scoreboard early in the second quarter. The Wildcats collected their longest drive of the game, going 82 yards in 17 plays to set up a 21-yard field goal by Case Kammerzell. The successful kick came after Kammerzell missed a 26-yard try but received a second chance with CU jumping offsides. It was the Tigers' first of eight penalties in the game.

Tajh Milliken hit Demytreus Gipson on a 63-yard pass, but later fumbled on the Bethel 17 to delay CU's next score. Campbellsville responded on its next drive though after a -1 yard punt by Skylar Hary at the Bethel 49. Russell capped the short drive with a 23-yard TD pass to Gipson to make it 21-3 after Will Ward's kick. Ward added a 34-yard field goal before halftime to lead 24-3 at the break.

Bethel moved the ball 66 yards on its first drive of the second half, but Percy Minor picked off Sellers at the goal line and dashed down the CU side line 87 yards before being knocked out of bounds at the Bethel 13. The return was the third longest in CU history.

"That was the defensive play of the game," Thomas said. "That turned everything back to our favor."

Two plays later, Russell hit Harrington for a 9-yard touchdown pass. Ward's PAT was no good, making it 30-3. Neither team scored again in the third quarter.

Campbellsville added two touchdowns in the fourth quarter, scoring on a 5-yard run by Marvin Lawrence with 9:54 remaining and a 9-yard run up the middle by Holtsclaw with 2:34 to play.

CU was led on defense by seniors Blake Young and Daniel DeLeon. Young recorded 19 total tackles, the second most in school history and two shy of the single-game record. Thirteen of those were solo stops, the most by a Fighting Tiger during Perry Thomas' time as head coach. Both were career-highs for Young. DeLeon, the reigning MSC Defensive Player of the Week, had 12 stops, to maintain the team lead with 32 tackles this season.

Stephon Tanga had a career-high two sacks, while Bryson Bell collected his second career sack.

"Blake had another great game today, and Daniel, and they're expected to have great games. They're two of the best athletes in the conference and did a great job," Thomas said. "This was a total team defensive effort today though. We had a lot of guys out with injuries. We were fatigued, and the whole defense had to step up."

CU collected 93 total tackles as a team, as Bethel collected a season-high 260 yards. Sellers led the Wildcats with 124 yards pasing, while Tae Tae Nesbitt and JAquell Fitts had 50 and 46 yards rushing, respectivelty.

Campbellsville (2-1, 1-0 MSC) will travel to Jackson, Miss., next Saturday, Sept. 27, to meet Belhaven University (2-2, 0-1 MSC) and head coach Hal Mumme. Kickoff is scheduled for 2:30 p.m. EDT. The game will be broadcast live on 88.7 The Tiger in Campbellsville and Tiger887.com.



NOTES
- Campbellsville leads the Mid-South Conference at 1-0, tied with No. 6 Faulkner Univeristy and No. 21 Cumberland University.
- CU is 8-3 all-time against Bethel University (Tenn.).
- Perry Thomas is now 6-1 in MSC openers.
- CU has not allowed a Bethel touchdown in eight straight quarters.
- The last team to hold Bethel out of the end zone for four quarters was Campbellsville in a 26-0 shutout on Sept. 21, 2013.
- Blake Young's 19 tackles were two shy of the CU single-game record set by Mike Cecil Todd (21) on Sept. 10, 1988.
- During pregame, CU honored 11 faculty members with the Senior's Appreciation Award: Roscoe Bowen, Tim Rogers, Bill Cassell, Richard Ferkel, Craig Rogers, Marcus Stanfield, Amanda Ewing, Donna Wise, Susan Blevins, Larry Creason and Charles Crain.
- At halftime, CU honored the archery team from Kentucky Christian Academy, which won the 2014 NASP Elementary School National Championship and finished runner-up at the 2014 World Championships.