Belhaven College quarterback Ryan Henry's 265 yards passing and three touchdowns propelled the Blazers (1-2, 0-1) to a 30-13 win over the Millsaps Majors (1-1, 0-0) in the third annual "Riverside Rumble" Saturday night on Harper Davis Field.
The Blazers took an early 13-0 lead with 13:49 to play in the second quarter on the second of two Henry touchdown passes in the first half. The PAT sailed wide right giving the Blazers a 13-0 lead. Kicker Matt Wilson kicked a 24-yard field goal later in the quarter to give the Blazers a 16-0 lead heading into the halftime break.
Shut out in the first half the Majors needed a spark to begin the second half and got it on the blazers first possession when senior Ross Rutledge blocked a punt and sophomore Ronnie Wheat recovered it in the endzone for a touchdown. Freshman D.J. Mello tacked on the extra point to move the Majors within seven points at 16-7.
The Blazers responded on the ensuing drive with a 71-yard march ending with another Henry touchdown pass, and his second to Graylin Allison, to extend the lead 23-7.
With the Majors offense sputtering, another great play on special teams got the fans back in the game. Wheat blocked a Blazers field goal attempt, sophomore Ray Kline picked it up, and ran 80 yards for a Majors touchdown with 2:16 left to play in the third quarter. The snap was fumbled on the PAT and Mello was unable to get a kick off.
The Majors were unable to get the running game going until freshman Nick Namais made an appearence late in the fourth quarter. Namais led the Majors with 25 yards on two carries.
Freshman quarterback Juan Joseph made his first appearence of the season. Joseph finished two of five passing for six yards and made one spectacular play on a bootleg running for 21 yards and a Majors first down.
The Majors were outgained by the Blazers who had 396 yards of total offense compared to the Majors 101. The Majors have now played two straight NAIA competitors, winning last Saturday against Concordia College 24-23.
Rutledge's nine tackles, including 1.5 for loss, tied for the lead with Kline. Junior free safety Bryan Villa had seven tackles (six solo) including a touchdown saving tackle on the two-yard line.
The Majors blitz attack put pressure on Henry and the Blazers all night. Seniors David Cutter and Emmitt Johnson, junior Josh Hanna, sophomore's Canaan Farris, Casey Younger and Ronnie Wheat, and freshmen Jacob Hanberry and Pete Ridley all had tackles for loss in the game.
The Blazers ran 75 offensive plays compared to the Majors 46.
The Majors will hit the road for the first time this season when they travel to Montgomery, Ala. next Saturday to take on Huntingdon College. Kick off is set for 1 p.m. and you can listen to Jon Hillard and Nathan Booth on the online broadcast brought to you by Teamline.
