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BLUEFIELD, Va. -- The Bluefield College football team hits the road once again this week, looking to carry its momentum into its matchup with Union College as well as the bulk of its Mid-South Conference East Division schedule to close the season. The Rams and Bulldogs are slated for a 7 p.m. kickoff this evening at Williamson Stadium.
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The Matchup
Bluefield and Union (Ky.) will square off for the third-straight year, with the Bulldogs taking each of the previous two games.
In 2012, Union took the then cross-division matchup by a score of 37-14 in Barbourville.
BC closed the gap in 2013, as Union took the 45-35 win at Mitchell Stadium. The Rams ran the ball 57 times for a then program record 420 yards on the ground, while attempting just eight passes--a similar comparison to last week's win vs. Belhaven where BC had 67 rushes and only five pass attempts.
The programs also met twice in the late 1920s, with Bluefield taking 32-6 and 32-0 wins.
Scouting the Bulldogs
Union ranks 17th in the country in scoring offense per game at 35 points.
Chandler Whittlesey has led the offense at QB, completing 86-of-158 passes (1247 yds) for 11 TDs and four INTs. He averages 249.4 yards per game through the air. His top receiver is Domonique Jefferson, who has caught 23 passes for 349 yards and three scores. Though Kyle Keplinger has just 12 receptions for the year, five of those are for touchdowns--he has 272 yards receiving, ranking second on the team.
The Bulldogs' rush game (921 yds) is led by LaVance Anderson, netting 303 yards on 60 carries. He has three TDs, while Whittlesey is the team's second leading rusher for 228 yards on 48 attempts with five scores.
Jake Johnston leads the defense with 44 tackles
Accolades Roll in After Win at Belhaven
Defensive back
Carlton Toussaint's program-record three interceptions landed the freshman BC football's first-ever Mid-South Conference Player of the Week honors as he collected the defensive weekly award. He then went on to be selected as the NAIA's National Defensive Player of the Week.
Sam Bennett also received honors, Â taking home the NCCAA Football Offensive Student-Athlete of the Week award. Bennett rushed for 138 yards on 13 carries. He scored on an 85-yard run in the first quarter and had the last touchdown of the game, a rush from six yards out.
100 X2
In BC's win at Belhaven, the Rams had two RBs log 100-yard games for just the second time.
Sam Bennett (138) and
Adrian Pope (115) each tallied the second-highest totals of their career. Last year against Union the same duo of Bennett (141) and Pope (155) each set their single-game career highs.
Defense Steps Up
The Rams' defense stepped up against a pass-oriented Belhaven defense as
Carlton Toussaint logged three INTs and
Joel Calfee added one more, setting a program record of four INTs in a single game.
Seeking a Career 1,000
Sophomore
Sam Bennett is approaching 1,000 career rushing yards, as he is 156 yards away from the milestone number. He would be the second running back to eclipse the mark this season, as
Marion Harris surpassed 1,000 career rushing yards Sept. 6 at Presbyterian College. Bennett will be playing his 16th career game Saturday, while Harris took 19 games to reach the mark.
Seeking 1,000 through the Air
Sophomore QB Ashten Dixson has tossed for 838 yards this season, and is close to a new program single-season passing mark and to be the first QB to break 1,000 yards in a single season. In 2012, Greg Hampton threw for 959 yards. Dixon needs 122 yards to pass Hampton and 162 for the 1k mark. He has had at least 100 yards passing in four of seven games this year.
For more game information and notes, view the links at the top of the page.
