Bethany drops Ursinus, 33-13

The Ursinus College football team moved the ball well during Saturday afternoon’s season opener at Bethany (W.V.), but seven turnovers — one of which resulted in a touchdown— doomed the Bears to a 23-13 setback. The visitors outgained the Bison by nearly 100 yards, but Bethany picked off five passes and recovered a pair of fumbles to keep Ursinus chasing until the final whistle

Freshman quarterback Thomas Garlick racked up 302 yards— a school record for a player in his collegiate debut — on 22-of-42 passing, including an 85-yard strike to junior Carmen Fortino that pulled the Bears to within 16-13 with 13:25 to play. Two more miscues prevented Ursinus from get- ting over the hump, however, and Bethany quarterback Chase Kinemond’s 12yard dash to the end zone with 2:52 remaining sealed the Bears’ fate.

Fortino hauled in seven receptions for a career-high 161 yards, the most by an Ursinus player since Darius Jones’ school-record 263yard effort during the 2014 season. Freshman Stacey Gardner turned in an impressive debut, rolling up a game-high 93 yards on 15 carries and adding three catches for 22 yards.

The Bear defense more than held its own against a Bethany squadled by senior running back JalenHolmes, who collected a school-record 1,353 yards a season ago. The star tailback managed only 85 on 28 carries against Ursinus, though he did find paydirt on a 4-yard burst to open the scoring midway through the opening frame. Senior tackle Zachary Tharp had a sack, forced a fumble, and tallied 2.5 tackles for loss, and freshman defensive back Mitchell Bradford registered an interception in his first collegiate action.

After Donovan Hayden scooped up a fumble and returned it 40 yards for a touchdown, Bethany had gone ahead 13-0 with 6:39 left in the second quarter. The Bears roared right back, Garlick hitting junior ShawnHackett for 24 yards on first down before hooking up with sophomore Asa Manley three plays later on a 29-yard scoring strike, pulling Ursinus to within 13-7 just 76 seconds later.

Hayden produced two of the Bison’s five sacks, and Daulton Freeman tacked on a school-record three interceptions.