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Bethel blows out Gloucester

BY CHRIS LANCIA | HRVarsity.com correspondent

GLOUCESTER -- After one quarter of play Friday night, Bethel had run just six offensive plays but was up 28-0 on Gloucester.

The big lead came thanks to two interception returns for scores and two touchdown runs by Jontel Evans as Bethel (3-1, 2-1 Peninsula District) cruised to a 42-6 road win over the Dukes.

Evans scored on the Bruins’ second and fifth plays, and finished the night with 119 yards and three scores on just 12 carries.

"We wanted to come out and show that we could throw the ball, because people have begun to sit on the run on us," said Bethel coach Jeff Nelson. "Jontel even came in after a couple of runs and asked us to go to the air, which we were planning on doing anyway. That’s the mentality of our team: They just want to work together and win, not try to get personal glory."

Gloucester (1-3, 0-3) never recovered after two of its first four possessions ended in the interception returns for scores, first a 34-yard return by Rijo Walker and then a 35-yard return by Marcus Cooperwood.

Cooperwood followed his up by catching a short pass from Aris McGlone-English and turning it into a 69-yard touchdown.

"We just wanted to focus on executing our passing plays tonight, and our line did a great job of giving our quarterbacks time to do that," said Cooperwood, who finished with 86 receiving yards. "But we take pride in our defense, and getting a score that way was definitely more satisfying."

Gloucester was unable to get much going offensively, finishing the night with just six rushing yards and 125 yards overall.

"I love our defense, because they’re like a bunch of coal miners," said Nelson. "They just show up and go to work. No flash or anything. They just ask to get out on the field and get after the ball. I was real proud of them tonight."

BETHEL 42, GLOUCESTER 6
Bethel 28- 14- 0- 0 — 42
Gloucester 0- 6- 0- 0 —- 6
! Bethel—Jontel Evans 51 run (Devin Maddux kick)
! Bethel—Rijo Walker 34 INT return (Maddux kick)
! Bethel—Evans 14 run (Maddux kick)
! Bethel—Marcus Cooperwood 35 INT return (Maddux kick)
! Bethel—Aris McGlone-English 69 pass to Cooperwood (Cooperwood run)
! Glo—Tommy Reamon, Jr. 24 pass to Zach Sisak (kick failed)
! Bethel—Evans 1 run (kick blocked)

Bethel
Glo
First downs
5
8
Rushes-yards
26-142
25-6
Passing yards
119
119
Comp-Att-Int
4-7-1
9-25-2
Penalties-yards
7-75
3-35
Fumbles-lost
4-1
0-0
Punts-avg.
1-42.0
5-28.4