Jackson, MS-Saturday's matchup with the Eagles will be the first ever meeting between Belhaven and Faulkner. Faulkner is in just their second season of football and first in Mid-South Conference play. The Eagles are led by second year head coach Jim Nichols. Nichols actually began his duties a year prior to the first season of games in order to help get the program off the ground. Last year, Faulkner finished 1-9 in their inaugural season beating Kentucky Christian 20-12 for the programs first win. The Eagles are 0-4 to begin the 2008 campaign.

 

Belhaven returns home after a bye week and loss on the road last Saturday against Bethel (TN) in a game that saw six costly turnovers by the Blazers. Belhaven trailed early in the second half 31-7, but made a strong come back to make the score 31-21. Unfortunately, the Blazers could not capitalize on a couple of other scoring opportunities in the fourth quarter or it may have been even closer. Belhaven enters Saturday's contest with Faulkner at 0-4 overall and 0-1 in the Mid-South. 

 

 

The Eagles are a young football team especially on the offensive side of the ball. Faulkner's starting offense features eight sophomores, two freshmen and only one senior. The Eagles are led by Sophomore Quarterback Phillip Moore who has thrown for 525 yards and two touchdowns this season. His favorite target on the year has been junior Frankie Padula, who has 14 receptions for 196 yards and one touchdown. He averages just under 50 yards receiving per game. Overall, the offense has struggled being outscored by opponents 148 to 20.

 

On the defensive side of the ball, the Hawks are paced by Junior Middle Linebacker Sean Thom who has turned in 61 tackles on the season. Junior Linebacker Jason Evans has also been a force on defense tallying 31 tackles in 2008. Overall, the defense is surrendering around 491 yards of offense per game. The Hawks are ranked 14^th in the NAIA in pass defense per game giving up just 143 yards per game through the air.

 

Faulkner's four losses on the season were to Samford 62-0, Huntingdon College 21-7, Union College 23-13, and last week in their Mid-South Conference opener to Shorter College 42-0.

 

 

 

Belhaven is looking for win number one of this season Saturday against Faulkner. Each week the Blazers have shown improvement and are hoping that this week they can put it all together. Junior Quarterback Jerred Wallace helped lead the second half charge against Bethel last week completing 17 of 29 passes for 192 yards and 2 touchdowns. Damien Davis rushed the ball eight times for a total of 62 yards to lead the ground attack. Anthony Embry had an outstanding day catching the ball against Bethel hauling in 6 passes for 97 yards and a touchdown. It should be a good battle between the passing game of the Blazers and the 14^th ranked pass defense of the Eagles.

 

Defensively, Senior Linebacker Reginald Lumpkin had a big game against the Wildcats with 10 total tackles including a Quarterback sack. On the season, Lumpkin leads the team in total tackles with 33. The Blazer sack leaders are Senior Defensive End Eric Ortiz and Junior Defensive End Melvin Dyson with 3.5 sacks each. Cornerback Jonathan Reed has two interceptions on the year including one a week ago against Bethel. Blazer opponents are scoring 35 points per game and gaining around 410 yards of total offense per contest in 2008. However, last weeks effort in the second half against Bethel kept Belhaven in the game and gave the offense a chance to get back in it. The Blazers held the Wildcats scoreless for the final 25 minutes of the game.

 

Saturday's game against Faulkner is another chance for Belhaven to notch their first Mid-South Conference win of the season. The previous week's matchup with Bethel was the conference opener. The Blazers other three games were non-league contests against NCAA Division II West Alabama in week one 49-12 (L), Concordia Selma in week two 27-19 (L), and cross town rival Millsaps in the third week 34-14 (L).