JACKSON, Miss. - The Belhaven Football team picked up a big 35-20 Homecoming win over McMurry University on Saturday that secured the Blazers' first back to back winning seasons in program history. 

The Blazers were able to jump out to an early lead in the contest when on their second drive of the game Mayowa Asagunla was able to carry the ball in from 10 yards out to give BU a 7-0 lead. A couple of big rushes set the War Hawks up for a quick answer though and halfway through the first half the game was tied at 7-7. Belhaven was able to retake their advantage in the first quarter though as Kolbe Blunt carried it in from 13 yards in to put the Blazers' back up a score.

Early in the second quarter Belhaven doubled their lead when Asagunla hit Brad Foley in space on a screen that went 38 yards for a touchdown. With eight minutes to go in the half the War Hawks trimmed the Blazers' lead back to 21-14 but with less than 30 seconds to go until the break Mayowa Asagunla hit Phabian Carter on the run for a 40-yard score which put Belhaven up 28-14 going into halftime. 

McMurry opened the second half with the ball and scored quickly to take the game back to one score but following a blocked extra point by Carlton Brown the Blazers held on to a seven-point lead. Belhaven answered quickly though when Brad Foley broke off the biggest play of the game, a 49-yard rush that resulted in a touchdown and put Belhaven up 35-20, a score that held until the end of the game. 

Late in the contest, with McMurry looking to close the gap safety Corey Tolliver picked off a deep pass which helped to effectively seal the game for Belhaven.

As an offense, the Blazers put up 514 total yards with 256 yards coming through the air and 258 yards coming via the ground game. The Blazers picked up 25 first downs in the game and averaged 7.9 yards per play attempt with 9.1 yards per pass attempt and 7.0 per rush.

Mayowa Asagunla finished the game 18-27 for 256 yards and two touchdowns while adding 59 yards on 14 carries plus a rushing touchdown. Brad Foley led the ground game with 167 yards on 17 attempts and a rushing touchdown. Foley also became the first Blazers' player to rush for 3000 yards in a career. Foley also led the Belhaven receivers with three catches for 62 yards and a score.

Defensively the Blazers limited McMurry to just 309 yards of total offense and only 98 yards through the air. The Belhaven defense limited the War Hawks to under a 40% third down conversion rate, picked up 6.0 tackles for loss and forced one turnover late in the game. 

Connor Fordham led the Blazers with nine total tackles including 2.5 tackles for loss which also topped the team. Carlton Brown added another blocked field goal attempt to his impressive season tally while Corey Tolliver picked up the Blazers' lone interception. 

With the win the Blazers improve to 6-3 on the year and secured their first back to back winning seasons in program history. Belhaven will look to finish their season strong as they head to Marshall, Texas for their final game of the year squaring off against ETBU. Kickoff against the Tigers is set for 1 PM.

For the latest news on Belhaven Blazers athletics, follow @BelhavenBlazers on Twitter and Instagram, and like us on Facebook.