Jackson, MS-The Belhaven football team will be searching for win number one of the season on Saturday when they face Kentucky Christian at H.T. Newell Field in their Mid-South Conference opener. It will be the first meeting between the two schools. Kentucky Christian is a young program having only fielded a team for two seasons. The Knights are also seeking their first victory of 2009 having lost their first three games of the season to Lambuth University 44-0, University of the Cumberlands 74-7, and Bethany College (WV) 41-33 last Saturday. The Blazers fell to 0-2 losing to Millsaps 27-10 last weekend.
Not only is Kentucky Christian new to football, but they are also relatively new to the NAIA. The Knights were and currently still are members of the National Christian College Athletic Association and continue to be dual members of both associations.
THE BELHAVEN REPORT
Belhaven committed seven turnovers last weekend in their loss to Millsaps College 27-10 at Harper Davis Field in the fifth edition of the Riverside Rumble. The Blazers threw four interceptions and lost three fumbles in route to their second loss of the season. The miscues by Belhaven played a major role in the outcome of the game. The Blazers were consistent in moving the ball on offense and worked the ball down to the Millsaps one yard on the opening possession of the game. Unfortunately, it ended with the first of seven turnovers in the game and shifted the momentum to the Majors. On the day, Belhaven was two for four in red zone opportunities.
Ricardo Bolton led the Blazer offense with 57 yards rushing and caught five passes for 39 yards and a touchdown.
Cordario Calvin had seven catches for 84 yards while
Kevin Dizer made three receptions for 46 yards. Whitten completed 18 of his 27 pass attempts for 202 yards and a touchdown. Whitten was also picked off three times on the day and was sacked five times by a relentless pass rush from Millsaps. As a team, Belhaven racked up 334 yards of total offense with 216 coming through the air. The Blazers rushed for 118 yards on the afternoon.
Bolton leads the team in rushing with an average of 61 yards per game over the first two contests of 2009. He is also second on the team in receiving yards with an average of 40 yards per game and is tops on the team in all purpose yards with 101 per contest.
Cordario Calvin has stepped up big at the wide receiver position this year leading the team in catches with 14 and yards per game at 80. Quarterbacks
Alex Williams and
Dewayne Whitten have both spent equal amounts of time at quarterback this season with each getting a start so far in 2009. Williams was injured in the West Alabama game and did not play against Millsaps. He is expected to see a lot of playing time against the Knights on Saturday.
DeMorrius Jones led the Blazer defense with six solo and five assisted tackles followed by
Reginald Lumpkin with seven solo tackles and two assisted tackles in the Millsaps game. Belhaven's Jeff Maxwell and Eddie Grecu tallied interceptions in the contest.
Lumpkin and Maxwell are Belhaven's leading tacklers over the first two games of the season with 16 each. Jones, who had an outstanding game against Millsaps, is second on the team with 15. Maxwell, Grecu, and Hamilton have the team's three interceptions on the year.
The Blazer defense will have to find a way to slow down a Kentucky Christian offense that racked up 307 yards of rushing last week against Bethany College. The Knights had a total of 488 yards on offense. Offensively, the key for Belhaven will be limiting turnovers. Saturday's game is key for the Blazers in order to build momentum and begin Mid-South Conference play with a victory.
THE KENTUCKY CHRISTIAN REPORT:
Kentucky Christian is led by Head Coach Zack Moore who is in his second season as the head coach of the Knights. Quarterback Beau Dailey is one of the best athletes on the team having the ability to both throw and run the football. Dailey passed for 181 yards and touchdown against Bethany last weekend. Dailey was also Kentucky Christians leading rusher with 14 carries for 134 yards and three touchdowns. Dailey helped account for four of the Knights five touchdowns on the afternoon.
Running back Ronnie Smith also turned in a 100+ yard rushing afternoon against Bethany taking the ball 16 times for 101 yards. Jake Hughes had 75 yards and a touchdown on 12 carries for the Knights in their last contest. As a team, Kentucky Christian averaged 6.7 yards per carry and 6.3 yards per play. They kept the ball on the ground 46 times while attempting 32 passes versus Bethany.
Defensively, Belhaven will face a 4-3 look by Kentucky Christian University. Jordan Lawson led the Knights in tackles last week with nine followed by Markus Hill and Jarvis Howard with seven each. The Knights struggled to stop the run last week surrendering 215 yards on the ground to Bethany. Through the air, Bethany completed only 17 passes, but averaged 11.5 yards per completion. Belhaven may have some opportunities at big plays during Saturday's game.
All the action of Saturday's contest gets underway with a 1:30 PM kickoff at H.T. Newell Field and can be heard via Stretch Internet through the Belhaven Athletics website by clicking on the link below.
Live Audio
