Why would KCAC football be any different than the rest of the nation in a week where the nation’s top 25 teams took beatings at the hand of their underdog opponents. So be it with Saturday’s match-up where the #13 ranked Bethel College Threshers (2-0) took there first loss at the hands of the Warriors 24-3.

The Warriors dominated from the kickoff as the Threshers couldn’t break through the Warrior front seven as Bethel took a negative in the rushing column for the night with the 8 Warrior sacks having much to do with the totals. Derrick Sullivan put in another healthy week on the defensive side of the ball logging 9 tackles with 2.5 sacks. At the end of the night, the Threshers had to stare at a scoreboard that saw no touchdowns in their favor. “We did a good job of keeping a very good quarterback in Clow scrambling out of the pocket,” remarked Lambert on the defensive pressure.

Offensively, the Warriors could have definitely made the disparity in the score much greater as the 24 points were all scored in the first half, with two red zone appearances in the 2nd half, one on the one yard line resulting in no points. “It was a great win,” commented Lambert, “but a concern we had was the fact that we didn’t put the game away when we had some great opportunities to do so.” The offense despite not widening the gap milked precious time off the clock, however, as the running game took over with the Warriors ending the evening with 279 yards rushing on 43 carries. RB Rashard Colquitt had a big night with 116 yards on the ground, with a 47 yard run to cap the game off as the Warriors were then able to down the ball to their victory. QB Tyler Degenhardt also gave the Warriors good play behind center going for 89 yards on the ground and 148 in the air.

Despite the look of a smash mouth game, the early going saw to teams airing it out as the both used the spread offense to loosen the defenses, with only the Warriors proving successful as Degenhardt completed 3 TD passes in the first half; two to WR Carlos De Los Reyes who hauled in the first TD on a 24 yard pass on the Warrior’s first drive and the second early in the 2nd quarter. WR Cory Dunbar also made a circus catch for a 36 yard score, effectively loosening the Thresher defense for the Sterling run game to take over for the remainder of the evening.

“It’s been a tough week for us physically and mentally. The kids worked hard, and the coaching staff prepared so much that at this point we’re all just tired. I am so proud of the way our kids played as well as the staff that put them in the right places tonight, this was a big win for us against a great opponent in Bethel and a great football coaching staff in Mike Moore and company,” remarked Coach Lambert.

Sterling College (2-1, 2-1 KCAC) will get no break in top 25 opponents as they will travel to Alva, Oklahoma next week to take on the #12 ranked Cowboys of Northwestern Oklahoma State. Kickoff is scheduled at 2:00pm.