Football falls to Bethel in Regular-Season Finale

McKENZIE, Tenn. -- The No. 11 Lindsey Wilson football team closed out its regular season today with a 34-8 loss at No. 8 Bethel (Tenn.) at Wildcat Stadium.

The Blue Raiders must now wait to see if they will receive an at-large bid into the NAIA Football Championship Series, which begins next weekend at various sites around the NAIA. The national office is scheduled to announce the 20-team field and the opening-round games at 6 p.m. CT on Sunday on the NAIA YouTube channel.

Bethel (10-1, 5-1 in the Mid-South Conference) scored on its opening drive and turned the lone Lindsey Wilson turnover into a short-field score to take a 14-0 first-quarter lead. The Blue Raiders (7-3, 4-2) -- who finished the game with 246 total yards of offense, could not overcome the slow start.

The Wildcats extended their lead to 21-0 by the half before closing out the win.

Lindsey Wilson's lone score came in the final quarter when Ethan Cash found a wide-open Decarlos Frazier Jr. for a 49-yard touchdown. David Gardner punched in the two-point conversion to cap the day's scoring.

Jbias Dawson rushed for 53 yards in the game, surpassing 1,000 yards for the season.

The Lindsey Wilson defense held the Wildcats 50 yards below their season average, but Bethel still posted 409 yards in the game led by Joaquin Collazo's 219 passing yards and four touchdowns.

Deuce Morton II led the Blue Raider defense with 12 tackles while LeAndre Bolen, Therone Orr, and Darius Hylick combined for four sacks. Orr moved into a tie for second on the program's all-time sacks list with his 18th career sack today.

The FCS field is slated to be announced at 6 p.m. CT on Sunday.