Ottawa surprised in conference opener against Bethany College

The Bethany Swedes defeated 34-24 the Ottawa University Braves in their first conference game on Saturday night at People’s Bank Field.

The Braves ended up with 370 yards of offense, including 157 rushing and 213 through the air.

Bethany finished with 366 yards of offense, 136 rushing and 230 passing, to beat Ottawa for the first time in eight years.

Luke Lundy led the team with 147 yards on 22 carries, and Josh Stangby had 11 receptions for 157 yards and one touchdown. Michael Behr completed 20 out of the 38 passes he tried, with 213 yards and two touchdowns.

On defense, senior Time Farris led the Braves with 14 tackles and had one forced fumble. Senior Matt Sandgren and sophomore Anthony Curtis both finished with nine tackles each.

The Braves started the game strong, taking an early lead thanks to a drive that ended up with a 25-yard field goal by senior Dominic Sigala.

However, Bethany answered fast, with a 37-yard touchdown pass and an extra point, to make Ottawa trail 7-3 with 11:16 left in the first quarter.

Ottawa bounced back and scored a touchdown on a touchdown run by senior Luke Lundy with less than four minutes left in the first quarter. After Sigala’s extra point, the braves led 10-7.

Bethany College’s response came right after the start of the second quarter, retaking the lead with a one-yard run and an extra point conversion.

Later in that quarter, Bethany struck again, with another touchdown pass, to give them a 21-10 lead at halftime.

The Braves initiated a comeback early in the second half, when senior Michael Behr threw a 13-yard touchdown pass to senior Josh Stangby, to trail 21-17, after the extra point.

The Swedes’ defense stopped the Braves and gave their offense the opportunity to get away with a field goal and a touchdown, to lead 31-17.

Ottawa cut the deficit with another touchdown by Michael Behr, to junior DeVontae Anderson, and an extra point by Sigala, to make it 31-24.

Bethany’s defense did its job again, and the offense added three more points with a 32-yard field goal with only 6:51 left in the last quarter.