BETHANY — Bethany passed its first tough 4A-2 test Friday (Oct. 3) with a 27-26 win over Blanchard at SNU Football Stadium.

The win over the Lions, ranked eighth in the Associated Press poll, came after the unranked Bronchos (3-2, 2-0) went through a tough early schedule with blowout losses to 3A power Jones and Arkansas 6A power Shiloh Christian.

Bethany coach Jon Arthur said his young team has gained playing time and experience against good competition.

“They’ve really taken those opportunities, improved and gotten better from it.”

Arthur said that win over Blanchard was “a good opportunity for us to show that, and our guys really took advantage of it.”

Blanchard scored first with junior Noah Smith connecting with senior Cole Watkins from 45 yards out.

Bethany answered with 3:00 left in the first quarter when sophomore Breck Brady got behind his defender for a 15-yard score from junior Brody McLaren.

The back-and-forth game continued in the second quarter. Lion sophomore Derrick Palmer found a wide-open seam up the middle for a 28-yard touchdown run. The extra point from junior Matt Campbell hit the upright and the Lions led 13-7.

Missed extra points would become an important factor in the contest.

With 4:15 before halftime, McLaren struck again. He connected with senior Seth Greiner who made a diving catch in the end zone. Sophomore Cody Martin’s extra point gave the Bronchos a 14-13 lead at halftime.

The Bronchos extended the lead in the third quarter when junior Wyatt Keefer barrelled into the end zone from a yard out.

The score was set up by a Keefer interception and return of 40 yards to put Bethany near the goal line. The intercepted ball was tipped by Brady.

After Keefer’s score, Martin extra point was blocked and the Bronchos’ lead was 20-13.

A special teams lapse tied the game on the ensuing kickoff.

Blanchard senior Reston Vickery weaved through traffic in the middle of the field and sprinted 98 yards for a touchdown to tie the game at 20-20 (Campbell’s PAT was good).

Bethany’s defense got into the act with :25 left in the third quarter. Senior Jagger Weaver stepped in front of a Smith pass returned it 83 yards for a pick-six and the Bronchos re-took the lead, 27-20.

A Bethany turnover set up the Lions’ final score. McLaren handed the ball off to Greiner, who changed direction and rolled out toward the far sideline.

Greiner tossed it to McLaren in the flat. Vickery hit McLaren immediately as McLaren turned upfield in one motion and the ball was loose. The Lions picked up the loose ball at the Bethany 2-yard line.

The Broncho sideline and players contended that it wasn’t a catch but officials thought overwise.

On the next play, Smith scored to make it 27-26 with 9:21 left.

Campbell’s extra point went wide left and that was the difference in the game.

The Lions had one more legitimate shot to score but they turned the ball over on downs at midfield after Vickery dropped a first down pass with 1:20 left in the game.

After largely winning comfortably or losing by a lot of points, Arthur said a close game with a good opponent would be a good experience.

“That’s so valuable for us down the stretch. We’ve obviously gotten kids some reps in a in a varsity game and they’ve gotten better from that,” Arthur said. It’s just different being a tight game too, having to manage the clock, having to manage the game, having to do things.

“It’s good in a game like that to, to kind of learn a little bit about how to handle yourself because that’s obviously going to be a big deal down the road and hopefully in the playoffs.”

UP NEXT

The Bronchos travel to Tuttle to face the top-ranked Tigers (5-0, 2-0) next Friday (Oct. 10) at 7 p.m.

Tuttle routed Madill, 69-0, Friday.

The Tigers have won four straight against Bethany, including wins in the regular season and another in the state semis last year

Photographs courtesy of Kristie Escoe of Life in Action Photography.

	1	2	3	4	F
Blanchard (2-3, 1-1)	7	6	7	6	26
Bethany (3-2, 2-0)	7	7	13	0	27