PIKEVILLE, Ky -- After a close first half, Bethel scored quick and often in the second to end up routing UPIKE football, 62-31. The game was called early in the fourth quarter because of lightning in the area.
 
For most of the first half, the two teams traded scores nearly matching each other point for point. The first punt of the game didn't come until there was just over two minutes left in the second quarter.
 
UPIKE quarterback Bowen Smith started the game slinging the ball all over the field. He completed seven of his first 10 passes for 174 yards and two touchdowns. After that stretch, he went 3 for his next 13, ending up with a 10-23 day with 260 yards and two touchdowns.
 
Neither team's defense put up much of a fight in the first 30 minutes as the two offenses combined for 556 yards, with 233 coming on the ground. Overall, there was nearly 1,000 yards of total offense in the game, 515 from Bethel and 481 from Pikeville.
 
The key difference in those two attacks was the amount of time it took to accumulate those yards. Bethel struck often with big plays, only needing 45 plays to amass its 515 yards compared to UPIKE's 72 plays.
 
After Smith threw a 51-yard touchdown pass to Darrion Leslie, the 2017-18 Mid-South Conference's Basketball Player of the Year's first as a UPIKE football player, Bethel responded with 28 unanswered points.
 
The Wildcat attack was about as balanced as can be. Quarterback Sam Castronova went 12-18 for 181 yards and three touchdowns, while nine different players carried the ball for 351 yards on just 27 attempts with 6 touchdowns.
 
Bethel's top two leading rushers — Ayaunta Davis with 79 yards and Antonio Wright with 69 yards — each only had two carries on the night. The majority of the touches went to De'Ontay Tate with 13 carries for 64 yards.
 
After a slow start, the UPIKE backs, notably Xondre Willis put together a solid night as well. UPIKE rushed for 180 yards with 111 coming from Willis.
 
UPIKE will have a slightly longer time than usual to rest up before going to face No. 5 Lindsey Wilson on Saturday, Sept. 15, with kickoff scheduled for 7:30 EST in Columbia, Ky.