Braves Travel to Bethany for Final Game of 2022

By Press release submission

Nov 10, 2022

Ottawa threw for 268 yards and rushed for 104, finishing with 372 yards of offense. Sterling had 83 yards through the air and 163 yards rushing to finish with 246 yards of offense.

Through nine games the Braves are averaging 316.4 yards per game, 111.3 yards rushing and 205.1 yards passing. OU is scoring 16.7 points per game. Opponents are averaging 365.3 yards per game, 234.7 yards on the ground and 130.7 yards through the air and 30.3 points per game.

Ottawa is ranked 46th in the NAIA in passing yards per game (1,846), 25th in Comp-Att-Int (179-341-11), 41st in passing yards per game (205.1), 36th in passing first downs (87), 43rd in penalty first downs (16), 49th in first downs per game (19), 46th in third down conversions (50-147), 31st in fourth-down conversions (12-33), 38th in kick returns (No.-Yards) (33-656), 37th in kick return average (19.9), 29th in punt return average (11), 47th in field goals (7-13), 21st in fumbles recovered (10), 10th in defensive TDs (3), 32nd in tackles (645), 23rd in penalties (51), and 22nd in penalty yards (445).

Jared Daniels leads the Braves in rushing, averaging 49.3 rushing yards per game. He has scored two touchdowns and is averaging 5.4 yards per carry. Billy Maples is 101-195 through the air for 1,128 yards and seven touchdowns. He is averaging 141 passing yards per game and has thrown seven touchdown passes. Jermine Ziegler leads the team in receptions with 36. He has 334 receiving yards and one touchdown. Ziegler is averaging 37.1 receiving yards per game. AJ Hemphill leads the Braves in tackles with 111 (44-67). He has six tackles for loss, 1.5 sacks, four pass break ups, two recovered fumbles, and one forced fumble.

Saturday's contest is the 96th meeting between Ottawa University and Bethany College. Ottawa leads the series, 56-36-3 and is 3-2 in its last five games against the Swedes. OU won the meeting last season in Ottawa, 55-17 on Nov. 13. The Braves are 3-2 in its last five road games against Bethany. Ottawa lost the last time the teams met in Lindsborg on Nov. 16, 2019, 30-22. The first meeting between the two teams took place on Oct. 11, 1902 in Lindsborg. Bethany won the game 17-5. Ottawa has a record of 27-20-2 against Bethany in Lindsborg.

Bethany College is 0-9 overall and 0-9 in the KCAC. The Swedes have lost 21 straight games dating back to the 2020 season. The Swedes only played in five games that season before not playing in the spring due to CoVID.

The Swedes last win came on Oct. 17, 2020 against Sterling College in Sterling. Bethany won the game 26-21.

Through nine games, Bethany is averaging 176.6 yards of offense, 16.4 rushing and 160.1 yards passing. They are scoring 6.6 points per game. Opponents are averaging 411.9 yards of offense, 238 yards rushing and 173.9 yards passing, and scoring 44.6 points per game.

Bethany is ranked 16th in the NAIA in penalty first downs (21), ninth in kick returns (No.-Yards) (51-873), 41st in punt return average (8.9), 30th in punts (No.-Yards) (60-1945), 42nd in fumbles-lost (13-8), second in fumbles recovered (14), 31st in interception return average (16), 49th in tackles (605), 27th in penalties (52), and 11th in penalty yards (402).

Three quarterbacks this season for Bethany has over 30 completions. Alec Giragosian is 60-for-124 for 635 yards, three touchdowns and 11 interceptions. Nick Truelove is 34-for-77 through the air for 361 yards, four touchdowns and four interceptions. Peyton Mainolfi has thrown for 272 yards (32-for-71) and four interceptions.

JJ Allen leads Bethany in rushing with 124 yards. He is averaging 31 rushing yards per game, a 3.4 yard per rush average. Brock Burnette and Demetric Toney lead the team in receptions with 28 apiece. Burnette has 461 receiving yards and four touchdowns. Toney has 281 receiving yards and three touchdowns.

Connor Payomo leads the team in tackles with 56. He has one sack, 3.5 tackles for loss, one forced fumble, two recovered fumbles, and one pass break up. Jaylin Talbott is right behind Payomo with 53 tackles. He has one forced fumble, two fumbles recovered, two interceptions, and one pass break up. Julian Carpenter has 51 tackles, one sack, 2.5 tackles for loss, one recovered fumble, and one pass break up.

Bethany has not won in Lindsborg since Nov. 16, 2019. That opponent, Ottawa. The Swedes won that game 30-22.