Jackson, MS-The Belhaven football team will get back to action on Saturday as Bethel University (TN) comes to town for a Mid-South Conference Western Division matchup. It will be the first conference game for the Blazers this season who enter the contest with an overall record of 3-1 and are receiving votes in the latest NAIA Top 25 Poll. It's also Homecoming and Belhaven is hoping to put on a good show for the large crowd that is expected at H.T. Newell Field. The Blazers have had a couple of weeks to prepare for the Wildcats following the bye week last weekend. Belhaven handed a 49-21 loss to Lindsey Wilson in their last outing September 18th. The Blazer offense rolled up 546 yards of total offense against the Blue Raiders in the victory.

Bethel comes into Saturday's game with an overall record of 1-3 and the Wildcats are 0-1 in the MSC after falling to the University of the Cumberlands 35-33 last week. Bethel fell behind 28-7, but put on a furious rally to pull within two points with just under six minutes to go in the game. The Wildcats had a chance to tie the game on a two point conversion, but Jeremy Akins' pass fell incomplete and they could not muster any more points the rest of the game. Bethel has played one of the tougher schedules in the country losing to third ranked St. Xavier 49-32 and lost at the University of Wisconsin Eau-Claire 35-31. Bethel's win came against West Virginia Tech 37-31 on September 18th. Saturday's game will be the 11th meeting between the two schools with Belhaven holding a 6-4 series lead. The Blazers came away with a 21-13 win over Bethel last season at H.T. Newell Field.

THE BELHAVEN REPORT:
Big plays were the trademark a couple of weeks ago at H.T. Newell in a 49-21 win by Belhaven over Lindsey Wilson College on a hot day in Jackson, MS. All of Belhaven's scores came on plays of 24 yards or more with the exception of a five yard touchdown run by Barry Johnson. The Blazer defense did their part as well limiting the Blue Raider offense to only 277 total yards.

Quarterback Alex Williams had a huge game for Belhaven completing 20 of his 35 pass attempts for 377 yards and five touchdowns. On the season, he now has 11 touchdowns and boasts a 60.1 completion percentage. More importantly, Williams has taken care of the football with only two interceptions through the first four games of 2010. Williams is third national in total offensive yards per game with 319, fourth in total offense (1,276 yards) and fifth in total passing yards (1,144). Williams leads the Mid-South Conference in all three of the previous categories.

Wide receiver Cordario Calvin also came up big for the Blazers against Lindsey Wilson as he hauled in seven receptions for 200 yards and three touchdowns. Calvin leads the Blazers with six receiving touchdowns and is averaging 97.8 yards per game. Kevin Dizer made four catches for 72 yards and added another touchdown giving him three on the year.

Barry Johnson was the leading ground gainer for Belhaven carrying the ball 10 times for 81 yards and a touchdown. As a team, Belhaven had 158 yards rushing on a total of 27 rushing plays. The Blazers once again had great field position as their average drive started at their own 38 yard line.

Defensively for Belhaven, Marquis Browdy notched 10 total tackles and had one tackle for a loss against the Blue Raiders. Ricky Wadlington had nine tackles with one going for a loss while Dirkyle Hall who saw his first action of the year logged five tacks with 2.5 for a loss. The Blazers, who are ranked seventh in the NAIA in sacks with 13, had four against Lindsey Wilson. Carlos Young, Hall, Jack Hayes, and Chad Smith each had a sack. Jarrard Sterling and Jerien Cole each had an interception which was his first of the season for both players.

Belhaven will face a more traditional pro style offense in Bethel this week who likes to run the football. The Wildcats ran the ball 47 times last week and put in the air 31 times against University of the Cumberlands. Their offense consists of two wide receivers, a tight end, full back and tail back. Bethel runs a base 3-4 defense which may look a little more like a 3-3-5 against Belhaven's spread offense that is fourth in the NAIA in total passing yards with 1,227.

THE BETHEL REPORT:
Bethel University is led by Head Coach Dino Kaklis who is in his ninth season at the helm of the Wildcat program. Kaklis owned an overall coaching record of 47-39 heading into this season and is the all time wins leader in the history of the program. Kaklis graduated from Purdue University and was a member of the Boilermaker football team from 1992-1995. He lettered all four seasons and started as a long snapper compiling 412 snaps without an errant attempt. Kaklis was named the special teams player of the week seven times during his career.

The Bethel ground game is anchored by a pair of tough runners in Josh Boyd and Cordarius Mann. Boyd carried the ball 14 times last week for 67 yards and a touchdown and has six rushing touchdowns so far the season. Boyd is averaging around 65 yards per game. Mann was shutdown last week gaining one yard on 13 carries, but through four games still leads the Wildcats in rushing averaging 79.3 yards per game. Quarterback Will Masoud is also a threat to run as he dove into the end zone for a touchdown last week from a yard out and had 26 yards on 11 carries.

Speaking of Masoud, he is Bethel's leading quarterback this season completing 42 of his 73 attempts for four touchdowns and 535 yards. Masoud has also thrown four interceptions and averages 133.8 yards per game. Troy Watson will also potentially see playing time in Saturday's game for Bethel. Watson went 6 of 10 for 114 yards and a pair of touchdowns last week against University of the Cumberlands. Masoud was 11 for 21 for 180 yards and touchdown last week and also threw an interception.

Jahron Reynolds has been one of Masoud and Watson's favorite targets so far this season. Reynolds leads the Wildcats in receiving yards with 215 in three games played. Last week Reynolds made three catches for 50 yards. Justin Brandy has been the Wildcats big play receiver so far this season. Brandy has only eight total receptions, but leads the team in touchdown catches with three and is second on the team in total receiving yards with 199.

Defensive back Keith Perry is Bethel's leading tackler with 25 total tackles in 2010. Perry also has a sack and 2.5 tackles for a loss. Perry had six tackles last week against Cumberlands. Defensive lineman Marshall Varnum had eight tackles including a sack in last week's game for Bethel. Varnum has 15 total tackles and couple of sacks in three games played. Joey Dienye has not made a lot of stops so far this year, but he has made each of them count. Dienye did not play last week, but has a team high 3.5 sacks this season with nine total tackles.

Saturday's Homecoming kickoff is slated for 1:30 PM and all the play-by-play action can be heard via Stretch Internet through the Belhaven Athletics website beginning with the pregame show at 1:15 PM. The live audio and stats can be accessed by clicking here.