Box Score
COLUMBIA, Ky.- Belhaven's defensive prowess was on display Saturday afternoon in a 35-7 Mid-South Conference West Division win at Lindsey Wilson College. The Blazers forced seven turnovers and returned two interceptions for touchdowns that led to a crucial conference victory. The defense has quietly emerged over the last four games as a force to be reckoned with and came in as one of the top ranked pass defenses in the NAIA. They showed why on Saturday, holding a powerful Blue Raider passing attack to 176 yards.

Belhaven (4-4, 3-1 MSC) sputtered on offense early with the first possession ending in an interception that setup Lindsey Wilson's offense at the 49 yard line. The defense was called upon early to pick up the offense and came through by shutting down the Blue Raiders on three downs and out. Following a Blazer punt on the ensuing possession, the defense forced the first turnover of the afternoon when senior defensive back Isiah Wiley stripped running back Tyrome Lott of the ball at the 22 yard line. Junior linebacker Darius Wren fell on the ball giving the offense great field position.

The Blazers took advantage using four plays to march the ball into the end zone for the games first points. Junior running back Kadero plunged across the goal line from a yard out to make it a 7-0 game with 8:40 remaining in the first quarter. The game remained a seven point contest until the second quarter as the defense continued to come up with one stop after another against the Blue Raiders offense. One of them was an interception by senior defensive lineman Jared McCarthy.

Belhaven's second interception of the afternoon ended up resulting in seven more points with 8:48 left in the half. Sophomore quarterback Branden Cresap dialed up a screen pass to wide receiver Chaz Barnes, but junior linebacker Calvin Lewis sniffed it out and picked off the pass at the Belhaven 46 yard line. With a caravan of blockers in front him, Lewis took it to the house extending the lead to 14-0.

Lindsey Wilson (2-6, 0-3 MSC) fought its way back into the game late in the second quarter to cut the Blazers lead in half to 14-7. The Blue Raiders got good field position when they partially blocked a James Bryan punt, allowing them to setup shop at their 34 yard line. Cresap immediately went to the air and found Matt Powers for a 45 yard strike that moved the ball to Belhaven's 21 yard line. After a five yard encroachment penalty against Belhaven, Cresap connected with tight end Emilio Gonzalez for what would be the only Lindsey Wilson TD of the afternoon.

However, what was arguably the play of the game was still to come and once again it was the defense that came up with it. With two seconds to go in the half, Lindsey Wilson had one final play before the break to try and draw closer. Cresap took the snap from his own 45 and heaved the ball in the direction of Powers, but the pass was deflected in the air and intercepted by senior defensive back Craig McDonald at the Belhaven 15 yard line. McDonald dodged on coming defenders and worked his way down the field from left to right before finding daylight on the near side of the field. A couple of key blocks sprung McDonald for an 85 yard TD return that sent the Blazers into the locker room with a 21-7 lead and all the momentum.

Lindsey Wilson could never recover from that point on although they had a couple of scoring opportunities. The Blazers defense denied two goal to go situations with a pair of forced fumbles that both occurred inside the five yard line.

Belhaven put the game out of reach thanks to a pair of second half touchdown passes by senior quarterback Alex Williams. The first came with 11:09 left in the third quarter when Williams found senior wide receiver Kylan Pollard on a 17 yard pass. The second occurred at the 5:59 mark of the fourth quarter and it was Pollard on the receiving end again, this time from 30 yards out. It was setup on another Lewis interception, his second of the contest that capped a dominating performance by the defense.

“I'm extremely proud of the defense today,” said Belhaven Head Coach Joe Thrasher. “That was the best defensive game I have seen in my time here. I felt like the defense set the tone for us and the two goal line stands were huge. Offensively, I thought we stepped up better in the second half. This was a great win and that will hopefully help us gain momentum going into next week.”

Belhaven held the Blue Raiders to 294 yards of total offense after they put up over 500 yards last week against Campbellsville. Lewis led the charge with 13 tackles, a forced fumble, and the two interceptions. Wren had 10 tackles and two fumble recoveries followed by McDonald with six stops and the interception return for a touchdown. Senior defensive lineman Joshua Herring had five tackles and two sacks.

Senior running back Justin Gaines ran for 76 yards on 16 carries while Williams completed eight passes for 122 yards and two touchdowns to pace the offense. Pollard was Belhaven's leading receiver hauling in four passes for 71 yards and a pair of scores. As a team, the Blazers accumulated 305 totaled yards with 185 of them coming on the ground.

Josh Haney was Lindsey Wilson's leading ground gainer with 29 yards on eight carries. Cresap finished the game with 165 passing yards on 12 completions. He had a touchdown pass, but threw three interceptions. Powers caught four passes from Cresap for 99 yards. Defensively, Michael Brooks had 10 tackles and three forced fumbles. The Blue Raiders forced five fumbles, but couldn't recover any of them.

Belhaven will be back in action at Faulkner University next Saturday afternoon in Montgomery, Alabama. The kickoff is slated for 1:30 PM.