Box Score JACKSON, Miss. – The Belhaven football team couldn't slow down Cumberland University (TN) Saturday afternoon in a 41-31 Mid-South Conference West Division contest at H.T. Newell Field. The Bulldogs racked up 564 yards of total offense and scored 17 points in the fourth quarter to pull away for the victory.

Things looked good early for Belhaven (1-3, 0-1 MSC) when junior running back Laderick Turner broke loose for a 29 yard touchdown run with 12:40 on the clock in the first quarter. The Blazers defense setup the score when junior defensive lineman Victor Byers fell on a fumble at the 40 yard line. A pass from freshman quarterback Darrell Williams to wide receiver Lamiquell Roberts for 11 yards setup the Turner run.

Unfortunately, Cumberland (1-2, 1-0 MSC) bounced right back to even the score at 7-7 on a 10 play 79 yard drive with 8:10 in the first quarter. Quarterback Broc Loveless plunged over the goal line from the one on fourth and goal to record the touchdown.

The Blazers regained the lead briefly at 10-7 on a 39 yard field goal by Alonso Acosta late in the first, but 13 unanswered points by the Bulldogs swiped the advantage away with under four minutes to play in the half. Beau Baker drilled field goals of 22 and 31 yards with a four yard Reed Gurchiek touchdown run in between to make it a 20-10 game.

Belhaven closed the gap going into the break on a highlight reel pass and catch from Williams to wide receiver Lamiquell Roberts with 1:34 remaining in the second quarter. Williams tossed the ball into the left corner of the end zone where Roberts jumped into the air and pulled the football in and away from the defender for the six points. The extra point from Acosta brought the Blazers to within one score at the half 20-17.

The offensive momentum continued into the third quarter when Williams fired a slant pass across the middle to wide receiver Deuce Coon who weaved around a handful of defenders into the end zone for the touchdown. The score pushed the Blazers back in front 24-20 with 7:45 on the third quarter clock.

Cumberland then regained the foothold in the game with two touchdowns and another Baker field goal. Baker's 35 yard three pointer with 1:25 to play in the third brought the Bulldogs back to within one at 24-23. Following a three and out by the Belhaven offense, the Bulldogs offense marched 47 yards on six plays culminating in a Gurchiek pass to Courtland Styles from eight yards out. Cumberland converted a two point conversion bumping the score to 31-24 early in the fourth quarter.

The Bulldogs found the end zone again with 10:51 left in the game on a Michael Nwokoji 89 yard touchdown run. The Blazers were caught in a blitz to the outside and once Nwokoji broke through the first level of defenders, no one was between him and the end zone.

Belhaven continued to battle and rallied for a quick touchdown to stop the Bulldogs scoring burst. The Blazers marched 80 yards on six plays, taking just 1:43 off the clock. Turner ran 36 yards to set the table for Rashad Wynes, who powered the ball in from the three yard line to close the gap to 38-31 with 5:37 remaining left in the game.

However, the Bulldogs put together a 10 play 57 yard drive that brought the clock down to 14 seconds by the time Belhaven got the ball back. That same drive resulted in Baker's fourth field goal of the afternoon. The 32 yard boot clinched the victory for the Bulldogs.

"It was a hard loss to take today," Belhaven Head Coach Joe Thrasher said. "I saw some good things, but overall we have to continue to get better. I'm proud of the way we competed, but still have some growing to do."

Turner and Williams both turned in solid performances on offense for Belhaven. Turner ran for 113 yards on 12 carries that included a touchdown. Turner averaged 9.4 yards every time he touched the ball. Williams completed 16 passes for 199 yards and two touchdowns, including one to Roberts and one to wide receiver Deuce Coon. Coon was the Blazers leading receiver in his first start of the season, catching six passes for 106 yards. As a team, Saturday's performance netted 363 yards, with 164 coming on the ground.

The Belhaven defense was anchored by corner back Justin Mims who racked up 15 tackles on the day. Linebacker Darius Wren made 10 sops and Byers produced six tackles and a fumble recovery.

Cumberland relied on the one two punch of Gurchiek and Nwokoji to handle the load offensively. Nwokoji carried the ball 27 times for 191 yards and a touchdown while Gurchiek added another 189 rushing yards and one score. Gurchiek completed 14 passes for 135 yards and an additional touchdown throw.

Dren Johnson stopped eight Blazer ball carriers with tackles on the afternoon followed by Tyler Burr with six tackles, including half a sack.

Belhaven will be back in action on Saturday when the team travels to Campbellsville University (KY) for another Mid-South Conference West Division contest. The kickoff is slated for 1:30 PM.