CAMPBELLSVILLE, Ky. - The Fighting Tigers welcomed the sixth-ranked Bethel University to Finley Stadium on Saturday afternoon. A tough fought battle ended in favor of the team from McKenzie, Tennessee.
CU would receive the opening kickoff hoping to set the tone early. Bethel flashed their talented defensive with quarterback pressure every play, forcing Campbellsville to go three-and-out. The Wildcats would flex on their first drive going: 5 plays, 73 yards in 2 minutes.
Archelus smith would take the ensuing kickoff for a positive gain, followed by a facemask. This would put the Tigers starting their second drive at mid-field. The Wildcats were stout, forcing Campbellsville into another punting situation.
Arturo Lopez would pin Bethel at their own 4-yard line. This wouldn't be a problem as they marched right down the field, finding paydirt. Joaquin Collazo III was 9-9, for 128 yards and a touchdown through their first two drives.
CU would start to gather some momentum from a pair of runs from
Charles Collins and
Tre' Bass. They would find their first first-down. Bethel would quickly adjust and force the punt. Great play calling from BU led them right down the field, eventually taking a 21-0 lead, with 2:55 remaining in the first quarter.
Jagger Gillis found some time in the pocket, moving the Tigers down the field.
Andre Siler was on the receiving end of a couple of first-down connections. Gillis would break two tackles in the backfield and find
Luke Sheperson for the 29-yard touchdown.
Devin Neally would tack on the extra point.
At the end of the 1
st Quarter, Bethel held the 21-7 advantage. They would rack up 13 first downs, 240 yards of offense, 170 of those through the air. The Tigers grinded out 6 first downs and 86 positive yards with the football.
Bethel coming out of the quarter break would have 3
rd and long.
Noah Grey picked up the first CU sack, putting bethel behind the sticks at 4
th and 23. On CU's next drive, Gillis would hook up again with Siler for 61 yards, their second consecutive drive reaching the redzone. A defensive pass interference call would occur in the endzone, by rule the ball would be placed at the two-yard line. Gillis would withstand the pressure and deliver a dime through tight coverage to
Luke Sheperson. Campbellsville would trail 21-14 with 12:13 left in the first half.
Grover Russell and the CU defense would lockdown their side of the ball.
Jagger Gillis would have his pass tipped and intercepted at his own 34 yard-line. Given the short field Campbellsville continued their great pressure. Kale Hagen would pick up his first sack of the game to force 3
rd and long. CU would force a 4
th and 7 from the 11, ending in a 28-yard field goal. The Wildcat's would lead 24-14 with 7:07 remaining. Campbellsville couldn't find any positives on offense and the Wildcats would get the ball back. They went to the air on 3-and-10 for a huge passing play. Bethel scored again, but the PAT was no good, leaving the deficit at 30-14. CU's offense would work the two-minute drill to perfection. This drive was highlighted by a Smith run and a Siler reception. The Tigers would walk away with three points after a 33-yard Neally field goal. CU would trail BU 30-17 at the intermission.
Coming out of the half, Bethel would receive the ball and look to slow the game down. In Tiger territory,
Noah Grey would pick up another sack forcing a 2
nd and 23 from the 38. This eventually led to a
Donsha Knox interception in the back of the endzone. Bethel would match the energy with a sack of their own, forcing a Campbellsville punt. The coverage was exceptional and Lopez had to make the tackle on the Tiger 28. The secondary for Campbellsville was locked in, forcing a 4
th and 10. The 35-yard Wildcat field goal was no good.
The Tigers made some magic after Lopez was forced to punt in the end zone. It would get blocked and fall right to his feet. He would pick the ball up, break a tackle at the five and scurry up the sideline to the 34. On third and 12 from the 32, Gillis would find
Patrick Oden on back-to-back passes, moving the ball to the 50. Gillis would attempt to find Oden again, as the pass was picked off and returned to the Tiger 33.
With the short field,
Grover Russell and
Nigel Nerese would lock down the Wildcats. Bethel ran on the field goal unit and converted the 38-yard attempt. They held a 33-17 advantage with 2:09 left in the 3
rd quarter. Bass would try to swing the momentum with a couple of powerful runs before the horn sounded.
This would set the tone coming out of the break for Gillis to go to work. He flipped a pass to Smith, as he zagged his way to the endzone. The Tigers would keep the offense out there and complete the 2-point conversion to Sheperson. Campbellsville would kick the ball off, trailing by eight. CU would try to surprise the Wildcats with an onside kick. The ball wouldn't make it 10 yards and would setup BU with great field position.
The defense stood strong, forcing a 48-yard attempt. The kicker couldn't convert and CU would have another great opportunity. Both defenses continued to apply pressure and the Wildcats' would sack Gillis, sending on the punt unit.
Noah Grey would pick up another sack on the next drive. The Wildcats marched down to the 3 yard-line, where they were kept out of the endzone. They would tack on three off the foot of Andrew Welch, increasing their lead 36-25. On the following CU drive, Bethel's defense would produce their third interception. Inside of tiger territory. The Tigers held Bethel again to a field goal. After the 21-yard field goal, Bethel had the 39-25 advantage with 1:28 remaining. CU continued to drive as Gillis continued to find the hot hands of Sheperson. The pair would connect with zeros on the clock for their third touchdown of the afternoon. The final was 39-31.
Jager Gillis went 29-51, for 281 yards and four touchdowns.
Andre Siler caught 7 passes for 108 yards.
Luke Sheperson hauled in 11 passes for 88 yards and three touchdowns. On defense,
De'Angelo Davenport and
Donsha Knox combined for 23 tackles. Grey tallied nine tackles, seven of those were for loss.
The Tigers hit the road next Saturday. They travel to Pikeville to take on the Bears at 1:30 p.m. ET.
