Belhaven University Athletics

MONTGOMERY, Ala. - Belhaven went into the fourth quarter tied 7-7. Two minutes and 55 seconds later, the Blazers were down two touchdowns. Brayden Collins set up the first with a 35-yard catch and scored the second on a 78-yard punt return as Belhaven lost to Huntingdon 28-7 at Samford Stadium on Saturday afternoon.

The Blazers held Huntingdon to a season-low 189 yards and stopped the Hawks on 11 of 13 third downs. That kept Belhaven in the game well into the second half. But the Hawks sacked Matthew Dial eight times, and the Blazers never put together another drive like the one that tied it before halftime.

There was little room for either offense early. Tariot Snowden dropped Jake White for a 10-yard loss in the first quarter, and Dial found Wyatt Locastro for 36 yards on third-and-13. That got Belhaven into Huntingdon territory, but a holding penalty wiped out Kaleb Browning's fourth-down conversion and the Blazers had to punt.

Huntingdon went 61 yards in 12 plays for the first score. Xavier Finley kept the drive going with a four-yard run on fourth-and-two, and White hit Zach Campbell for 18 yards on third-and-11. Kenyon Watkins scored from the four yardline on the next snap.

Belhaven took more than nine minutes to answer on the ensuing drive. Dial hit Browning for 12 yards on third-and-eight, and Browning later picked up two fourth downs, gaining three yards each time. A holding call brought back a Jaylon Harris touchdown run, so Dial covered the last 15 yards himself. He ran for eight on first down and seven on the next play to finish the 17-play, 79-yard drive with 1:02 left in the half. Lyndell Boatman's extra point made it 7-7 heading into the locker room.

The Blazers had a chance to go ahead in the third. Quincy Jackson tackled Nathan Brezovec for a 26 yard loss on fourth down, giving Belhaven the ball deep into Huntingdon territory. A penalty backed the Blazers up five yards, and Damien Dickerson intercepted Dial at the 12 on the next snap. Belhaven forced a punt, and the game stayed tied through the quarter.

On the first play of the fourth, White found Collins for 35 yards on third-and-six. White went right back to the air, hitting Nathaniel Vroman for a 13-yard touchdown to finish a six-play, 64-yard drive. Belhaven went three-and-out, and Collins took the punt back 78 yards to make it 21-7 with 12:05 left.

The Blazers turned it over on downs. Taj Aubert's fifth sack gave Huntingdon the ball at the Belhaven 14, and Watkins punched it in from the 1 on fourth-and-goal with 1:55 remaining.

Dial completed 11 of 20 passes for 151 yards. Locastro led Belhaven with four catches for 67 yards, and Browning ran 10 times for 38. Brayden Bullock and Alex Desarzant had nine tackles apiece. Snowden finished with five, including two for loss.

Kyle Norris averaged 46.3 yards on six punts Saturday and closed the season at 46.8 yards per punt, breaking James Bryan's school record of 43.4 set in 2012.

Belhaven finished 4-6 overall and 3-4 in the USA South. Huntingdon closed the regular season 8-2 and unbeaten in seven conference games, where they clinched the USA South title and will move on to the NCAA Division III Tournament.

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