Box Score
Rome, GA-The Belhaven football team traveled to Shorter University on Saturday afternoon and suffered a 30-13 setback to the Hawks in a key Mid-South Conference West Division battle. The Blazers offense was held to 279 yards of total offense by a tough Shorter defense that was 19th against the run in the country heading into the game. Belhaven mustered only 119 rushing yards after running for a school record 323 last week against Faulkner. The win keeps Shorter alive in the hunt for the MSC West title as they trail Bethel by a game in the standings.

Belhaven (3-4, 1-2 MSC) had to play catch-up beginning early in the first quarter when Shorter (4-2, 2-1 MSC) cracked the scoreboard on a Cory Thacker 19 yard touchdown pass to Jonny Sitton. The Hawk drive lasted six plays and covered 56 yards taking 2:51 off the clock. Shorter added three more points in the early moments of the second quarter on a 26 yard field goal by Troy Postell after the Belhaven defense held the Hawks inside the five yard line. Shorter took 7:31 off the clock on the 13 play drive which extended the lead to 10-0.

The Hawks then got the ball right back on an onside kick that was recovered at the Belhaven 29 yard line. Six plays later, Shorter was in the end zone again on a seven yard touchdown run by Caleb Collins with 9:10 remaining until halftime.

Belhaven finally answered the with the first of two touchdowns on the day following what was probably the best drive of the afternoon which started on their own 29 yard line. Blazer quarterback Alex Williams connected with his receivers on pass plays of 11, 9, and 14 yards to help setup an 11 yard touchdown run by Joshua Hawkins with 3:46 remaining in the first half. The extra point by James Bryan was good trimming the deficit to 17-7.

Both defenses's exerted their will in the third quarter as neither the Belhaven or Shorter offense could get anything going. The Blazers thwarted a potential Hawk scoring opportunity when Craig McDonald recovered a Jonny Sitton fumble at Belhaven's 14 yard line when it looked like Shorter was going in for another touchdown. Unfortunately, Shorter's defense was just as good and held the Blazers off the board until their offense could get back on track.

Late in the fourth quarter, Shorter running back Roderick Jones had the play of the game when he took a pitch from Thacker and went 82 yards down the sideline for a touchdown. The extra point failed, but none the less the Hawks maintained a comfortable lead at 23-7 with 5:52 remaining in the game.

Belhaven made one final push on the ensuing possession which covered 70 yards on just six plays culminating in a seven yard touchdown pass from Williams to Clinton Smith. Williams was 6 for 6 on the drive and connected on a 46 yard pass to wide receiver Justin Kenyon that helped setup the Smith score. Trailing 23-13, the Blazers went for two to try and make it a one possession game, but Williams pass on the try failed keeping the deficit at 10 points.

Needing two scores, Belhaven's only option was an onside kick which was recovered by Shorter at the Blazer 40 yard line. The Hawks then put the game away on an eight yard C.J. Scott touchdown run with 1:03 to go. The Blazers had one more drive, but time ran out as they reached the 48 yard line giving Shorter the 30-13 win.

Williams led the Belhaven offense both on the ground and through the air running for 46 yards while passing for 160 yards. Williams completed 19 of his 35 pass attempts with one of those completions being his fourth TD pass of the year. Kenyon led the Blazers in receptions hauling in four catches for 71 yards. Smith caught three passes for 17 yards and touchdown.

Hawkins was held to 32 rushing yards and Shorter bottled up running back Justin Gaines holding him to only 29 yards on the afternoon. Gaines led the NAIA in scoring and was second in the Mid-South Conference in rushing coming into the weekend. The Hawks proved why they are the top rated defense against the run in the conference this season.

Belhaven's defense was led by linebacker Ricky Wadlington who amassed a game high 14 tackles and had 2.5 tackles for a loss on Saturday. He leads the team with 68 total tackles and 12 tackles for a loss this season. Defensive back Craig McDonald came up with 13 more tackles while Shannon Lucas and Josh Herring followed with 12 and 11 tackles respectively.

The Shorter offense controlled the game and the clock with their vaunted running game which churned out 400 yards on the afternoon. It was the 10th time in school history that the Hawks have been able to achieve this mark. They also owned the ball for 37:06 while Belhaven's time of possession was just 22:54. Shorter had a pair of 100 yard rushers led by Scott who had 120 yards and touchdown on 24 carries. Jones had four carriers and 113 yards with 82 being recorded on his fourth quarter touchdown run. Thacker was 3 for 7 passing for 39 yards and a touchdown.

Linebacker Demery Hawkins led the Shorter defense with nine tackles with two pass breakups and a half sack. Lineman Damien Riden had six tackles and a fumble recovery.

Belhaven will try and get back on track next weekend as they host Union College (KY) in the annual Homecoming game at H.T. Newell Field. The Blazers have played well at home this season posting a perfect 3-0 record at H.T. Newell Field. Saturday's kickoff is slated for 1:30 PM.