Football 10/5/2018 11:36:00 AM Jordan Alves

Homecoming Preview: Tigers host No. 10 Bethel University on Saturday night at 7:01 p.m. FST

CAMPBELLSVILLE, Ky. — Fighting Tiger football enters the week with a two-game win streak and is hosting No. 10 Bethel University for Homecoming on Saturday night.

Homecoming kickoff is scheduled for 7:01 p.m. Finley Standard Time to honor the late coach, Ron Finley. Fans can tune into the Tiger Tailgate Show beginning at 6:30 on 88.7 The Tiger and WLCU-TV's coverage begins at top of the hour.

Campbellsville (2-3, 1-0 MSC) has won two straight games – 30-29 over Point University and 35-27 over Kentucky Christian. No. 10 Bethel has played one of the toughest schedules in the country and enters with a 5-0 record and 1-0 inside MSC play as well.

In addition to the football game, Homecoming festivities begin at Noon ET on campus. For all information on Homecoming events, check out www.campbellsville.edu/homecoming.

Tiger Clawz:

Homecoming 2018 features the 2-3 Campbellsville Tigers and the undefeated 10th- ranked Bethel University Wildcats.
The Tigers started the year 0-3 but have won two straight games the last two weeks. CU is looking to even its record at .500 on Saturday.
On Homecoming, the Tigers hold a 16-14 record.
CU is celebrating Homecoming once again by honoring the late Ron Finley. He passed away on Oct. 5, 2009 - which the nine-year anniversary was yesterday.
Including Saturday, the Tigers have played Bethel on two of the last three Homecoming games. The Wildcats took down the Tigers in the 2016 matchup, 59-53.
Last season, Campbellsville lost on Homecoming to No. 9 Georgetown in 2OT, 31-24.
The last time Campbellsville won on on Homecoming came in the 2015 season as the Tigers beat Pikeville, 42-34. That was the last of four straight wins on homecoming.
Campbellsville's Noah Bicksler was named the Mid-South Conference Special Teams Player of the Week after nailing two field goals, three PATs and finishing with a punt
average of 42.3 yards. He also had a career-high three touchbacks on kick offs.
Ormoni Zanders rushed for his second-straight 100-yard game - which was the first time since Wayne Coffey had three-straight 100-yard games in 2011.
Edwin Ford, Jr. also had a career day against Kentucky Christian with 13 tackles.
Darius Moore also had 13 tackles, 1.5 tackles for loss and recovered his second fumble of 2018.
Defensive back BJ Pelt has 10 career interceptions - which ranks him tied for 6th in program history. William Mulder and Mark Carroll both lead CU football with 16.

Series Facts:

Saturday is the 15th meeting between CU and Bethel - the Tigers lead the series, 10-4.
While playing the series at Finley Stadium, the series is in Bethel's advantage, 4-3. While playing in McKenzie, Tenn., the Tigers are a perfect 7-0.
CU shutout Bethel, 26-0, four years ago in McKenzie, Tenn. The scoreless ledger marked the seventh shutout win in CU history. It was also the third shutout in the series.
The first shutout against Bethel came in the second meeting on Sept. 16, 1995. CU forced eight turnovers in an 19-0 win for the Wildcats' first trip to Campbellsville. The second came shutout was a 47-0 win by Bethel in 2006, but was later forfeited by the Wildcats.
The longest win streak in the series belongs to Campbellsville, five games from 1994-96, 2003-04. The two teams did not play from 1997 to 2002 and 2008-2011.
Last season, the Tigers won in overtime, 43-37. It was the first game CU played in almost a month as two games against Warner and Ave Maria were canceled due to hurricanes.

Scouting the Wildcats:

Bethel has played one of the toughest schedules in all of NAIA football this year and has come away unscathed so far. The Wildcats are a perfect 5-0 and 1-0 inside Bluegrass.
The Wildcats upset No. 2 Reinhardt in the season opener, 31-21, to start the year with one of their four wins over a ranked opponent. After rolling past Pikeville, 62-31, the Wildcats defeated a receiving votes Keiser University team, 52-7.
The last two weeks have been the most impressive. Bethel defeated No. 19 Southeastern University, 40-35, and No. 9 Georgetown College, 50-49, in four OTs.
Bethel ranks No. 5 in the nation in scoring with 48.2 points per game and No. 8 in rushing yards per game (248).
De' Ontay Tate is No. 24 in rushing yards per game averaging 97.9 per outing.
J'Kobi Reddick ranks No. 1 in the nation in punt return per attempt at 28.6.
Sam Castronova is No. 4 in pass efficiency at 191.0.
Jeremy Johnson is No. 13 in total tackles for loss at 8.50.

Noah Bicksler is finding his stride:

Campbellsville's Noah Bicksler had a solid afternoon in the Tigers' 35-27 win over Kentucky Christian on Saturday and was named the Mid-South Conference Special Teams Player of the Week.
Bicksler, a sophomore kicker for the Tigers, tallied nine points in CU's win after making field goals of 29 and 33 yards, respectively. In addition, he made all three PATs after Campbellsville touchdowns.
Bicksler also had a solid day punting and on kick offs. He added 168 yards on four punts for an average of 42 yards, while also averaged 61.6 yards per kickoff. His three touchbacks were also a career-high.
Overall, Bicksler is tied for sixth in the MSC with just under one field goal per game.

Zanders has back-to-back career games:

Ormoni Zanders has become one of the best go-to options for freshman quarterback Josh Davis out of the backfield. He rushed for a career-high 125 yards on 19 attempts against KCU last week.
In the pas t two weeks, Zanders has surpassed 100 yards for the first time in his career and it's the first Tiger running back to do so since Wayne Coffey in 2011.
Zanders had 115 yards vs. Point University and 125 against KCU with two total TDs.
Overall on the year, he's averaged 5.4 yards per rush and 76 yards per game.

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Players Mentioned

#30 Noah Bicksler: K; 5' 10"; Redshirt Sophomore; Elkton, Ky.

#48 Edwin Ford, Jr.: DB; 6' 0"; Junior; Powder Springs, Ga.

#20 Darius Moore: LB; 5' 11"; Junior; Attalla, Ala.

#38 Ormoni Zanders: RB; 5' 9"; Redshirt Freshman; Cincinnati, Ohio

#10 Josh Davis: QB; 6' 1"; Freshman; Georgetown, Ky.

Players Mentioned

#30 Noah Bicksler
: 5' 10"; Redshirt Sophomore; Elkton, Ky.
: K

#48 Edwin Ford, Jr.
: 6' 0"; Junior; Powder Springs, Ga.
: DB

#20 Darius Moore
: 5' 11"; Junior; Attalla, Ala.
: LB

#38 Ormoni Zanders
: 5' 9"; Redshirt Freshman; Cincinnati, Ohio
: RB

#10 Josh Davis
: 6' 1"; Freshman; Georgetown, Ky.
: QB