Box Score
JACKSON, Miss.- The Belhaven football team smashed two more school records on Saturday afternoon racing past Bluefield College (VA) 66-10 in a Mid-South Conference West Division battle at H.T. Newell Field. The Blazers ran for 385 yards and eclipsed the previous mark of 323 yards set last year against Faulkner. The other record to fall was largest margin of victory that previously stood at 55 points in a 58-3 win at Texas College in 2010. Belhaven also rolled to a season high of 555 yards of total offense and it marks the third time this season that the team has racked up at least 500 yards in a game. Belhaven set three new records in a 70-28 victory over Campbellsville earlier this season.

Belhaven (3-4, 2-1 MSC) got off to a precarious start going three and out on its first possession of the afternoon. Fortunately, pretty much everything else went Belhaven's way in the game. Things started moving in the right direction when the defense shutdown Bluefield (0-8, 0-3) on its opening offensive series. Senior safety Dewayne Whitten then broke through the wall of blockers and swatted Mason Maples punt attempt to give Belhaven the ball at the Rams 34 yard line.

The Blazers didn't waste any time by dialing up a pass play on first down that resulted in the first seven points of the game. Senior quarterback Alex Williams went up top and found senior wide receiver Kylan Pollard for a 34 yard touchdown. The Rams then fought back for what would be their only touchdown of the game. Quarterback Cory Mabry led the team down the field on a five play 57 yard drive culminating in a six yard pass from Mabry to wide receiver Phillip Callier tying the game at 7-7.

However, from that point on it was all Belhaven. The Blazers proceeded to score 59 unanswered points to seal the win. Junior running back Kadero Edley was the next Blazer to find the end zone with 5:41 left in the first quarter on a three yard touchdown run. Senior kicker James Bryan capped off the first 15 minutes of action with a 30 yard field to make it a 17-7 game.

In the second quarter, Belhaven struck with 12:37 on clock when Williams found freshman tight end Lawrence Brown on a 13 yard touchdown pass. The Blazers went on to score twice more before the end of the half on a 59 yard TD run by senior Rashad Wynes followed by Edley's second touchdown burst of the afternoon covering 21 yards with 43 seconds left in the half.

Leading 38-7 at the start of the second half, Belhaven kept the accelerator pressed to the floor and struck for another touchdown with 10:54 to play in the third. This time senior running back Justin Gaines broke loose for a 39 yard touchdown jaunt that increased the lead to 45-7. Not to be outdone, the Belhaven defense had its shot to put points on the board when Justin Mims intercepted his fourth pass of the season and sprinted 32 yards for the touchdown, his second of the season.

In the fourth quarter the points kept coming when wide receiver Justin Kenyon latched on to a 22 yard pass from sophomore quarterback Raymond Cotton just eight seconds into the final period. The Blazers put the exclamation point on the victory when freshman fullback Cal Cherry powered his way into the end zone from a yard away to make it 66-7. The Rams cracked the scoreboard one more time late in the game on a 30 yard field goal by kicker Caleb Frye that resulted in the final tally of 66-10.

“I'm proud of our resiliency after a tough loss last week,” said Belhaven Head Coach Joe Thrasher. “I thought the defense played with intensity and our offense setting a new rushing record was a great accomplishment for us. I'm proud of our offensive line and running backs, plus our wide receivers blocked well on the edge springing some big plays. I look forward to another key Mid-South Conference West Division game next weekend at Lindsey Wilson College (KY).

Belhaven had two players break the century mark on the ground, led by Edley with 118 yards and two touchdowns. Wynes made his 2012 season debut, after being sidelined for the first six games with an injury, with 111 yards and a touchdown. Junior running back Roy Williams Jr. came up with 71 yards and senior running back Justin Gaines rolled up 69 yards on the ground. The Blazers had three runners average over 10 yards per carry in Wynes (18.5), Williams Jr. (17.8), and Gaines (11.5). Edley went 9.1 yards every time he touched the ball and had 135 all purpose yards.

Williams ended the afternoon completing 9 of 20 passes for 133 yards and two touchdowns. Pollard paced the receiving corp. with two catches for 34 yards and a score. Dontrel Sanford also hauled in two passes for 24 yards in the win.

Defensively, strong safety Craig McDonald made a team high eight tackles followed by linebacker Calvin Lewis with six tackles. Mims had five solo stops to go along with his interception. As a team, the Blazers made 10 tackles for a loss with three sacks while holding the Rams to 195 yards of total offense.

Bluefield was led by running back Marion Harris who rushed for 43 yards on 10 carries. With his return yardage added in, Harris totaled 111 yards on the afternoon. Mabry wrapped up the day with 103 passing yards and a touchdown strike on 14 completions. Rodrell Smith was the leading pass catcher with three receptions for 39 yards. Linebacker Tarrell Starckey led all defenders with 13 tackles, a sack, and an interception.

Belhaven will hit the road for two straight games beginning next week at Lindsey Wilson College (KY) in a key Mid-South Conference West Division showdown. The kickoff is slated for 1:30 PM.