Tabor runs by Bethany
By RYAN RICHTER
Sports Writer
All season long, Tabor College football coach Robert Rubel has been saying his team was getting better.
Tabor proved it Saturday against the Bethany Swedes in inhospitable Lindsborg, by winning 41-27.
The Bluejays (2-2, 1-2 KCAC) got off to their fastest start of the season, sprinting to a 21-0 lead on three possessions en route to their first league victory.
"We run a very team- oriented offense and team-oriented defense," Rubel said. "I think things finally started clicking for us."
Hopefully things will continue to click for Tabor at 1:30 p.m. Saturday when it hosts the Sterling Warriors.
The Warriors should enter Saturday's game with confidence after taking 24th ranked Bethel into overtime before falling, 28-21. This is the same Bethel team that ran over Tabor two weeks ago.
Saturday's game comes almost exactly a year to the day after last year's battle between the two teams, which was one of the most anticipated showdowns in KCAC history.
The Warriors were off to their best start ever, using a powerful running game to beat opponents by 46-23.
But Tabor came into the contest unbeaten for the second straight year, and the Bluejays doubled the score on the Warriors, 28-14.
Sterling lost its luster after that game, dropping three of their final five games to finish the year 5-4, while Tabor capped off its first perfect season in the KCAC.
It would be a mistake for Sterling to think it will be playing the same Tabor team that was trounced by Bethel.
A solid win on the road can do wonders for a young team's self-esteem.
"The family and team concept came into play [against Bethany] and we've had some adversity over the last month or so," Rubel said.
"The team really came together and it started working for us, and that made a big difference."
With starting quarterback Ricky Ishida dressed in street clothes on the sideline, out with a deep thigh bruise, backups DeJuan Jones and Ben Schmidt split time running the Bluejay offense.
The duo helped Tabor turn in one of its most balanced games of the season, gaining 188 yards rushing and 138 more passing.
Jones' 31-yard pass to Aaron Jenkins for a touchdown got the rally going with the Swedes spotting Tabor another seven points, losing the ball deep in their own territory.
After giving up four turnovers a game this season, Tabor cut that number in half against Bethany.
However, the fumble and interception Tabor gave away helped Bethany to stay within an arm's length of the Bluejays at halftime, 21-14.
"We led at halftime again and we talked about it at halftime," Rubel said. "Let's go and finish somebody off. They did."
The Bluejays never let Bethany within two touchdowns again after Jenkins took a reverse and fired a 36-yard touchdown pass to Nate Owens with 6:29 left in the third quarter.
Tabor scored again in the fourth quarter when Andy Bartell intercepted a Sterling pass and ran it back 43 yards.
Tabor's defense smothered the Swede offense, holding it to a modest 27 yards rushing and 244 yards overall.
