Box Score JACKSON, Miss. - The Belhaven University Football team posted 500 yards of offense en route to a 32-14 victory over crosstown rival Mississippi College in the Blazers home opener Saturday night at H.T. Newell Field.
Aaron Spikes ran for 114 yards and
Conner Preston passed for 294 yards along with three touchdown passes to lead the way for the Green and Gold offensively.
Belhaven (2-0) turned the ball over on downs on its first drive, but quickly got the ball back as
Gregory Goree recovered a
Marvin Grady forced fumble on the defensive side of the ball. The Blazers quickly scored to take the lead and never looked back, scoring on three consecutive drives.
Preston connected with
Darien Thomas on a 12-yard touchdown pass to put the Blazers in the lead 7-0, capping off a 5-play, 32-yard drive.
After forcing a punt on the Choctaws (0-1) next drive, Belhaven drove down the field 92 yards on 14 plays to go up 13-0.
Lorenzo James and
Greg Livingston had catches of 11 and 18 yards, respectively, to start the drive.
Lamiquell Roberts then capped off the drive with a 35-yard reception, followed by an 8-yard catch from Preston to for the touchdown.
Following a Mississippi College touchdown drive, Belhaven went on another 92-yard drive, this time in seven plays. Spikes broke off back-to-back long runs before Preston connected with Thomas for the duo's second touchdown pass and catch of the evening, this time on a 33-yard touchdown pass.
Thomas finished the night with six catches for 85 yards.
Mississippi College answered again with another touchdown to bring the score to 20-14, but Belhaven's defense held MC in check for the remainder of the game, allowing just 53 yards of total offense after the Choctaws second touchdown. For the night, the Choctaws totaled 177 yards.
After a scoreless third quarter, Belhaven broke open the game with back-to-back touchdown drives.
Kadero Edley rushed for a three yard touchdown run to put Belhaven up 26-14, after the Blazers second failed 2-pt attempt of the night.
On Belhaven's next drive, Preston capped off a 60-yard drive with his first rushing touchdown of the season on a 1-yard quarterback keeper. Through the first two games, Preston had thrown seven touchdowns in the air before his rushing score.
Defensively,
Alvin Vaughn was apart of 17 tackles on the night, seven solo and 10 assisted, to lead the way for the Blazers. Goree finished with six tackles on the night, including two sacks that totaled 23 yards.
The Blazers secondary was also on point, defending five passes and holding Mississippi College to just 31 yards passing on 17 attempts.
Belhaven totaled 206 yards of offense on the ground in the game, averaging 5.3 yards per carry. Eight different Blazers receivers combined for 30 catches, averaging 9.8 yards per reception on the night.
Livingston led the way with nine catches for 95 yards.
The Green and Gold will now set their sights on the University of the Cumberlands (0-1). Belhaven will travel to Williamsburg, Ky. for a matchup with the Mid-South Conference East Division foe. Kickoff is set for a 1:30 p.m. ET / 12:30 p.m. CT start.
