Box Score BLUEFIELD, Va. – The Belhaven football team put together its best overall performance of the season Saturday, rolling to a 40-21 Mid-South Conference cross divisional victory at Bluefield College (VA). The Blazers defense forced five turnovers and the offense recorded a season high of 456 total yards. The defense limited the Rams to 282 yards and only 42 of them came on the ground.

Belhaven (2-4) started the game with three straight field goals from freshman kicker Alonso Acosta. Acosta went 4 for 5 on the day beginning with a 24 yarder at the 7:53 mark of the first quarter. It was setup by the first of two Darius Wren interceptions that gave the Blazers the ball at the Bluefield (0-6) 36 yard line.

Acosta drilled two more field goals late in the first quarter from 29 yards and 22 yards away. Bluefield's defense stood strong and kept the game close after holding the Belhaven offense out of the end zone after the Blazers moved the ball inside the 10 yard line each time.

The Rams trimmed their deficit to 9-7 late in the half on an eight play 68 yard touchdown drive. Quarterback Ashten Dixon synced up with his receivers to quickly move the ball down the field. Dixon hit Dylan Kidd on a 40 yard pass and then added 12 more yards on a completion to Mason Maples. Dixon eventually completed the drive with a four yard TD strike to tight end Matt Hollandsworth.

However, the Belhaven offense took the momentum back with a touchdown drive of its own. Quarterback Brian Ensminger guided the Blazers to the end zone starting with 22 and 25 yard completions to LaVadius Lyles and Lamiquell Roberts. On third and 13 from the Bluefield 14 yard line, Ensminger delivered a strike to Lyles in the corner of the end zone for a touchdown with 2:41 to play until the break. The Blazers would take a 16-7 lead into the locker room after the defense shutdown the Rams offense in the closing minutes of the second quarter.

Belhaven got the football to start the second half and drove 60 yards on 13 plays on the opening drive of the third quarter. Unfortunately, it stalled at the Bluefield eight yard line and a field goal attempt by Acosta sailed wide left. However, the defense provided the boost again with Wren grabbing his second interception of the game on an errant throw by Dixon. This time Wren was able to stay on his feet and return it 35 yards for a touchdown. It was arguably the play of the game for Belhaven, leading to a 23-7 advantage.

The offense tacked on the next 10 points when quarterback Darrell Williams found Roberts in the corner of the end zone for a touchdown with 6:26 to go in the third quarter. Acosta then notched his fourth field of the game from 33 yards out to make it 33-7 with 3:22 on the third quarter clock. The triple capped a string of 24 unanswered points by Belhaven to build a comfortable lead.

The Rams kept up the fight and stayed within striking distance thanks to back to back touchdowns of their own. Quarterback Joshua Erby fired a 66 yard touchdown pass down the sideline to Rodrell Smith late in the third followed by a five yard scoring run from Sam Bennett with 7:57 to go in the game. The back to back touchdowns made it a two possession game with plenty of time still on the clock.

Similar to the first half when the Blazers needed a score, the offense came through again with an answer to Bennett's touchdown run. Belhaven took over at its own 30 yard line after the kickoff and proceeded to march 70 yards for the game clinching touchdown. Just as important, the Blazers took 4:22 off the clock. Belhaven chewed up yardage predominantly on the ground and fittingly running back Laderick Turner capped the drive with an eight yard touchdown run. The Blazers kept the Rams off the board for the final 3:31 to claim the 40-21 win.

"I am extremely proud of these players and the effort they gave today," Belhaven Head Coach Joe Thrasher said. "The bye week allowed us to get healthy and hopefully we can build some momentum from this win today."

Williams led the Belhaven offense with his arm and his feet thanks to 174 yards passing and 66 yards rushing. Included in those completions was a touchdown pass, his fifth of the 2013 season. Turner carried the bulk of the load on the ground with 86 yards on 17 carries. He had one TD and averaged 5.1 yards per touch. In addition, Turner caught four passes for 57 yards, ending the day with 143 all purpose yards. Roberts caught five passes for 61 yards and a touchdown to pace the receivers.

Wren had a huge day for the Blazers on defense with two interceptions, eight tackles with one for a loss, and two pass breakups. Gregory Goree also played well with a team high 10 tackles, including 2.5 for a loss, and one interception. Belhaven put immense pressure on the Bluefield quarterbacks Saturday as evidenced by four team sacks. Tackle Rico McCullum had three of them and two forced fumbles to go along with six total tackles.

Erby completed seven passes for 153 yards and a touchdown to pace the Bluefield offense. Rodrell Smith made seven catches for 97 yards and a touchdown and Adrian Pope was the Rams leading rusher with 24 yards on eight carries. Michael McGrue came up with 11 tackles and forced a fumble on the defensive side of the ball.

The Blazers will wrap up their three game road trip next weekend when they travel to Reinhardt University (GA) for a MSC West Division showdown. The kickoff is slated for 11:00 AM CDT.