BLUEFIELD - Bluefield University football wrapped up the 2021 season in grand fashion, defeating the Union College Bulldogs 29-21 Saturday night for their fifth consecutive win. The Rams finish the season with a 6-5 overall record and a 4-2 mark in the Mid-South Conference Appalachian Division.
Celebrating Senior Night, the Rams got on the board first with a 41-yard field goal by Joey Dales with 7:31 to play in the first. Union took the lead with 1:20 to go in the quarter on a one-yard run by Isaiah Wright. The kick made it 7-3. The Bulldogs pushed their lead to 14-3 in the second quarter thanks to a 37-yard run by Andrae Johnson.
Bluefield's Lebron Fields scored his first touchdown of the night on a seven-yard run. The score capped a seven-play 61-yard drive. Dales' kick made it 14-10 in favor of Union. The Rams claimed the lead when Nathan Herstich passed a yard to Jaquan Ebron with 2:09 left in the half. A Dales 26-yard field goal with just under a minute to play gave the Rams a 20-14 halftime lead.
Union forged back ahead 21-20 with a score in the third. Fields then added another seven-yard run for a touchdown. Dales' kick made it 27-20. Bluefield's final points came when Logan Patron sacked the Union quarterback in the end zone for a safety with 3:50 to play in the game.
Fields had a career day, rushing for a career high 222 yards on 30 carries. Herstich completed 14 of 27 passes for 147 yards and a touchdown. Antonio Strickland caught seven passes for 54 yards, and Ebron hauled in four balls for 42 yards and a score. Defensively DaMarcus Wimbush, the Rams' all-time sacks leader and tackler, added to his totals with 12 tackles, two tackles-for-loss, and a sack. KeDarrius Phinazee and Tavarius Corbitt each had eight tackles and Phinazee had an interception.
Prior to the contest Bluefield University recognized seniors Dustin Barker, Jaquan Ebron, Carter Frye, Tanner Griffith, Joe Haner, KeDarrius Phinazee, Ryan Smith, Antonio Strickland, Stephen Swiney, Charles Turner-Cox, and DaMarcus Wimbush.