Box Score
Columbia, KY-The Belhaven football team rallied from a 27-7 second half deficit to take a 28-27 lead only to see Lindsey Wilson rally for a 34-28 win on a Branden Cresap touchdown pass with 4.7 seconds left on the fourth quarter clock. The Blazers made some big plays to get back in the game including a blocked field goal and return for a touchdown. Unfortunately, it wasn't enough as the lead slipped away on the final play from scrimmage.

Belhaven (2-2) had a chance to put the game away and had apparently done just that when quarterback Alex Williams found Kylan Pollard for a 60 yard touchdown with 1:22 to play. Lindsey Wilson had also jumped offside, but during the play the Blazers committed a personal foul and the penalties offset forcing a replay of the down. Belhaven was stopped short of the first down and forced to punt. That's when Cresap led the Raiders down the field for the game winning score.

Lindsey Wilson (2-1) looked like they would run away with things early scoring the first 21 points of the contest. Cresap put the Blue Raiders on the board with a 32 yard touchdown pass to Chaz Barnes for the first score with 8:34 to go in the first quarter. The Blue Raiders then used their ground attack to put the next seven points on the board. Cortez Barber ran around the end for a 33 yard touchdown and the extra point extended the lead to 14-0 with 9:45 to go in the second quarter. Cresap went up top again and found Barnes on a 30 yard touchdown with about seven minutes remaining until halftime to make it 21-0.

Late in the second quarter, Belhaven got on the board for the first time in the game. Running back Joshua Hawkins rushed for 28 yards on three carries in the drive and then the big play came on the feet of running back Justin Gaines who took off for a 46 yard touchdown run. It would be the first of three touchdown runs in the game for Gaines.

Lindsey Wilson added their fourth touchdown of the afternoon on the second possession of the third quarter. The Blue Raiders started the drive on their own 31 after stopping the Blazers offense on a fourth and one play. Barber capped the drive on another touchdown run, this time from six yards out. The extra point by Mark Corbett was no good as it hit the upright keeping the score at 27-7.

Belhaven recorded their second touchdown with 10 seconds left in the third quarter. Gaines cashed in for six more points on a run of five yards to bring the Blazers to within 13 points after James Bryan connected on the extra point. Hawkins also had some big carries on the drive and a pass interference penalty by Lindsey Wilson also aided the trip down the field.

With just over 11 minutes to play, the Blue Raiders forced a fumble as Aaron Taylor stripped quarterback Alex Williams of the football at the Blazer 11 yard line with a chance to put the game away. Belhaven's defense stood tall forcing two incomplete passes by Cresap and then on third down Tre' Lansing sacked Cresap backed at the 15. Craig McDonald then made the play of the game at point by blocking the Corbett field goal attempt and Deandre Wood was able to pick up the loose ball and race 75 yards the other direction for the touchdown, which cut the deficit to 27-21.

Following the kickoff, Belhaven got the ball back when Cresap fumbled on the first play from scrimmage and Josh Herring jumped on it at the Lindsey Wilson 33. Gaines would then pound the ball into the end zone again from two yards out to cap the drive. He also caught a 20 yard pass from Williams and reeled off another run of 15 yards to setup the score that gave the Blazers the 28-27 edge. Unfortunately, the lead did not hold up as Lindsey Wilson recovered and found a way to win the game.

Gaines had 162 yards rushing and three touchdowns to pace the Blazer offense. Gaines now has eight touchdown runs on the season following Saturday's performance. Hawkins also eclipsed the century mark on the ground carrying the ball 16 times for 110 yards. Williams was 14 for 31 for 139 yards with an interception through the air. Kylan Pollard made five catches for 24 yards to pace the receivers. As a team, Belhaven racked up 417 yards of offense with 278 of those yards coming on the ground which set a new school record for most rushing yards in a game. The previous record had been 214 which was accomplished twice. Despite the big rushing numbers, the Blazers hurt themselves with turnovers fumbling the ball four times while also tossing an interception. Belhaven was also just 2 of 5 on fourth down conversions.

Defensively, the Blazers were led by linebacker Ricky Wadlington with nine tackles including two tackles for a loss. Wadlington also had a forced fumble to his credit in the contest. Linebacker Ben Chapman had his best game of the season so far registering six total tackles and defensive back Craig McDonald had five tackles and a blocked field goal. Dewayne Whitten had five tackles and a forced fumble, Tre' Lansing had three tackles and a pair of sacks, and defensive lineman Reese Unger also came away with two tackles and a forced fumble in the game. As team, the Blazers recovered four Blue Raider fumbles.

Cresap completed 16 passes for 287 yards and three touchdowns to lead Lindsey Wilson's offense. Barnes hauled in five passes for 119 yards and three scores including the game winner. Cortez Barber was the leading rusher for Lindsey Wilson picking up 48 yards and two touchdowns. Lindsey Wilson generated 455 yards of total offense with 303 yards coming in the passing game.

Aaron Anderson guided the Blue Raiders defense with eight total tackles. Taylor Head had six tackles followed by Eric Shaw and Aaron Taylor who both had five stops and a forced fumble.

Belhaven will return to action on October 1st when they travel to Bethel University (TN) for their Mid-South Conference opener. Fans can catch all the live play-by-play action on Easy 87.7 FM in the Jackson, MS are and online at blazers.belhaven.edu.