HILLSBORO, Kan. - The Bethel College Football team moved to 8-1 following their 31-14 point win over Tabor. The Thresher offense compiled 387 yards, 316 on the ground. Tabor finished their day with only 158 yards on 68 plays and were just 1/18 on third downs.
It took Bethel only one drive to get their first touchdown. DJ Ciers had a 14-yard rush that put Bethel on Tabor's side of the field. Chantz Scurry finished the drive off with a 34-yard rushing touchdown. The 7-play, 62-yard drive only took two minutes and 46 seconds off the clock.
The Thresher defense forced a Bluejay punt on their first series. On Bethel's second drive, Tabor's Wyatt Leppke snagged a DJ Ciers pass out of the air and took the interception to the endzone for six points. The return went for 43 yards and was Ciers' seventh interception of the year.
Luckily for Bethel, Ciers shook off the early game jitters and got his first touchdown of the day on the Thresher's next drive. It took the Threshers three plays to get the ball down the field. The first two being Chantz Scurry handoffs that went for 14 combined yards, the third being an electric 42-yard Ciers scramble. DJ found the endzone on the 42-yard run, putting the Threshers up 14-7 to end the first quarter.
Each offense exchanged fourth-down punts to begin the second quarter of play. Reggie Langford found something his offense was missing, leading to Bethel taking a 14-point lead after another long touchdown drive. Ciers again made his presence known on this possession. Ciers took off two times, both going for 15+ yards. His second run found him in the endzone for the second time in the first half.
The rest of the opening half was a defensive battle as six drives took place, none resulting in points. Tabor broke this streak after quarterback Gustavo Villareal punched the football into the endzone and put his offense on the board. The touchdown followed a forced fumble by the Bluejay defense. The score took the game into halftime, Bethel leading 21-14.
The Threshers and Bluejays exchanged six unsuccessful possessions to start the second half. It looked as if Tabor was about to continue that streak until Trey Palmer came up with his sixth interception of 2022. Palmer's interception gave Bethel the ball at Tabors 46 yardline. The Threshers rallied off two long runs from Ciers and Kashius McCray. Ciers finished the job with a one-yard scoring run.
Ciers' third touchdown of the day occurred with just 4 minutes left in the third quarter. The Bluejay's attempt at an immediate response fell flat. Bethel went into the fourth with a 28-14 lead.
Bethel grew their lead to 31-14 after they began the quarter with another scoring drive. Logan DeMond ended this drive with a 35-yard field goal, set up by a Tucker Smith 39-yard grab.
Tabor spent the remaining 13 minutes trying to get points on the board, but the Thresher defense stood tall throughout this test. The game clock hit triple zeros, with Bethel taking home the victory.
The Thresher passing attack wasn't needed much as they were able to get what they wanted on the ground, running for 316 yards. DJ Ciers unsurprisingly led the team in rushing yards with 119 total. Tucker Smith led the team in receiving with 39 yards coming on his lone catch.
Kade Miller led the Thresher defense in tackles with seven, Josh Seabolt and Doug Grider finished with six and five respectively.
The Threshers will return to action Saturday, November 5th for a one o'clock matchup against Saint Mary. This matchup sees Bethel returning to Thresher Stadium for the final time of the year as they recognize their seniors. You can purchase tickets for this matchup on the Bethel Athletic site, or you can plan on watching live on the KCAC Network at KCACnetwork.com/Bethel.
