Cameron Dukes went 9-of-15 tonight for the Blue Raiders throwing for 182 yards and three touchdowns, connecting with Dimitrius Patterson, Kobe Belcher and Joshua Lewis while Cameron Evans went 3-of-4 in the air throwing for 69 yards and two touchdowns to Terrill Cole and Logan Collier. Jaylen Boyd rushed for 60 yards and a touchdown as the Blue Raiders ran the ball for 178 total yards and passed for 315 total yards.
Defensively, the Blue Raiders had four sacks on the night and three interceptions. Ben Kalu had two of the sacks in the game with Luke Bowman and Peyton Doles collecting eight total tackles.
Jacob Murphfree went 33-of-47 tonight for the Wildcats throwing for 254 yards and two interceptions. De’Ontay Tate rushed for 42 yards while Stavonski Wilkes rushed for five yards and Bethel’s only touchdown. As a team, the Wildcats ran the ball for 34 total yards and passed for 315 total yards.
Patterson and the Blue Raiders opened up the scoring in their first drive of the game as Dukes found the wide receiver in the endzone with a 12-yard pass for the opening touchdown. The momentum stayed with the Blue Raiders at the end of the first quarter when Boyd scored his fifth touchdown of the season for the 14-0 score.
The second quarter was more of the same for the Blue Raiders as they scored again on the first drive of the quarter. It was a non-traditional start however as the offensive ran a trick play with Dukes scooping a pass to Joshua Lewis near the sideline who then launched a 64-yard pass for a wide-open Jaleel Warren for the easy score. Kobe Belcher made it 28-0 right before the half after receiving a pass from Dukes and maneuvered his way into the endzone.
The Blue Raiders kept up the offensive push into the third quarter as Dukes found Lewis in the endzone for his fifth touchdown of the season and the 35-0 score. Evans combined with Cole on a 41-yard pass near the end of the quarter for the sixth touchdown of the night and the 42-0 score. The touchdown was the 11th of the season for Cole, who continues to lead the team in receiving touchdowns this season.
The Blue Raiders scored again to begin the fourth quarter after Evans found Logan Collier in the endzone on a 21-yard pass for the freshman’s first career touchdown and the 49-0 score. Bethel had the last laugh on the scoresheet as minutes later they’d ruin the shutout, with Wilkes scoring a 3-yard run making it a final score of 49-7.
The Blue Raiders now wait to learn their postseason opponent with the release of national qualifiers on the NAIA selection show on Sunday, April 11th on the NAIA Facebook page at 6 p.m. CT.
Kyle Jackson