SWEDES END DROUGHT; DEFEAT BLUEJAYS 28-17

LINDSBORG, KAN. – The Bethany College Swedes Football Team ended a 24-game skid by defeating the Tabor College Bluejays Saturday night.

The Swedes found themselves down 7-0 in the first quarter following an interception that led to an 11-play, 69-yard drive for the Bluejays. It would take long for Bethany to answer back as Peyton Mainolfi would connect with Michael Young on a 41-yard pass on the following drive to tie it up 7-7.

If you thought that was impressive, just wait. Following a defensive stop, Mainolfi would again connect with Young, this time on a 99-yard touchdown pass to put the Swedes up 14-7 just before the end of the first quarter.

Tabor would control the second quarter as they would score the only points of the period to knot it up with a 7-play, 46-yard drive. Caleb Epperson was able to kill the Bluejays momentum by intercepting a pass deep in Bethany territory. Zemonda Wilson was able to the same later in the quarter with an impressive one-handed pick on the Bethany 23-yard line. On the final drive of the half, the Swedes would start to gain some momentum until a couple of penalties made them change their minds and run the clock out to go into halftime tied 14-14.

The second half started how the first ended; plenty of defensive stops by the Swedes. On just the second play from scrimmage, Calvin Geans and Connor Payomo would meet at the quarterback and force a fumble which was recovered by Sterling Mack in Bluejay territory. The Swedes would fail to cash in as they would miss a 42-yard field goal. Defense would continue to show dominance in the quarter as Payomo would force a fumble, recover it, and take it to the house for a scoop-and-score to put the Swedes up 21-14.

To open the fourth quarter, Tabor would knock in a 33-yard field goal to cut the Bethany lead to 4. The Swede offense would follow that up with a 3-and-out, but the defense would remain strong and stuff the Bluejays on fourth-and-one with seven minutes left to go.

Bethany needed to chew a lot of the clock and score to put this one away. The Swedes would orchestrate a 13-play, 48-yard drive that lasted 5 minutes 10 seconds. There were a few big plays that helped Bethany complete the drive. Landry Shields completed a key third down pass to Young to get the first first down. Tabor would commit a face mask penalty moving the ball to the Tabor 32-yard line and giving the Swedes an automatic first down.

Later on the drive, Shields would find Zamarion Spencer in the flats on fourth-and-12 for a 24-yard gain to the Tabor 10-yard line. Spencer would rush for 5 yards on the following play. On third-and-goal, Shields ran around to waste time, but lost 16 yards on the play.

It would almost seem like fate as, on fourth-and-goal, Shields would find Young by the back pylon to shut the door on the Bluejays. Tabor would try to score with hopes of an onside kick, but the Bluejays quarterback's fourth down pass would fall incomplete as the Swedes would end the 24-game losing streak with a 28-17 victory.

Both of Bethany's quarterbacks would throw for over 100 yards. Peyton Mainolfi, the starter, would go 9-18 for 202 yards and 2 touchdowns. Landry Shields would go 13-23 for 137 yards and 1 touchdown. Zamarion Spencer would lead the rushing attack with 33 yards on 15 attempts. Michael Young would lead the receiving corps with 178 yards and 3 touchdowns. Jacob Madu would tie Young for a team-high 6 receptions.

Connor Payomo would tally a game-high 13 total tackles. Payomo would also record 0.5 sacks, 1 tackle for loss, 2 forced fumbles, a pass break-up, and a scoop-and-score for his second touchdown of the season. Calvin Geans would tie Payomo for a team-high 6 solo tackles as well as 3.5 sacks, 4 tackles for loss, and a forced fumble.

As for special teams, Cole Kidd would convert on all three of his extra point attempts. Ryan Morales, fresh from a soccer match yesterday in South Dakota, would hit his lone extra point attempt. Zeke Mumford would average 34.0 yards per punt on 6 punts.

 Although the Swedes only converted on 27% (4 of 15) of their third downs, they were perfect on fourth down conversions (3 for 3). Bethany would tally 344 yards of total offense averaging 5.5 yards per play. As for defense, the Swedes would record 6 sacks on Bluejay quarterbacks and force 4 turnovers (2 INTs; 2 forced fumbles).

Up Next…

The Swedes will take the road to Sterling, Kansas to face the Sterling College Warriors. The Warriors are celebrating WarriorFest, so the Swedes will go into the matchup looking to play spoiler. Kickoff is set for 6:00pm.

~#RockarStockar~