HILLSBORO, Kan.    In the midst of the excitement of Homecoming Weekend, the Tabor Bluejays came out with a purpose against their rival, the Bethel College Threshers. Tabor jumped out to a 10-0 lead and would score 21 unanswered points in the second half to claim their first win of the season, 31-18.

A windy day created a lot of offensive opportunities for the teams going to the north end zone, which Head Coach Mike Gardner said impacted their game plan quite a bit. "We worked on squib kicks all week. We tried to keep it away from their return guys. We worked on when they out-punted their return coverage, we got that good return. We didn't get any points off of it, but we got that really good return."

Tabor took advantage in the first quarter with a 39-yard field goal from Nathaniel Heilig, giving him the longest field goal streak in Tabor history with nine straight going back to last year, in addition to his current Tabor record of 52 consecutive extra points without a miss.

Bethel looked to have a promising drive following the field goal, getting 38 yards on the first four plays. However, a fumble recovery by Tabor's Kendrell Ross gave the Bluejays momentum back. Three plays later on a third-and-nine, quarterback William Green (19-34 for 244 yards and four touchdowns) scrambled and found receiver Jaden Gordon (three catches for 56 yards) down the sideline for a 48-yard touchdown, bringing the Bluejay crowd to its feet with the 10-0 lead.

Midway through the next drive, the first quarter came to an end, giving Bethel the wind at their back. The Threshers got their first touchdown of the game on an 18-yard touchdown run, cutting the lead to 10-7.

Tabor attempted a fake punt on a fourth-and-five at their own 27, but receiver Jakob Feil was stopped a yard short of the first down, giving Bethel great field position. The Bluejay defense stifled the Threshers again, forcing a 45-yard field goal, which Bethel converted to tie it at 10 apiece.

At the end of the first half, Tabor stayed aggressive by going for it on fourth down, but a failed conversion led to a 54-yard Bethel field goal to close the half with the lead, 13-10.

On the second drive of the third quarter, Tabor's offense found their groove. They marched down the field in eight plays and 61 yards. On a third and 15, Green found running back Jordan Bolden (four catches for 69 yards) for a 23-yard touchdown, giving the Bluejays a 17-13 lead going into the fourth quarter.

"We didn't really make many adjustments (in the second half). We just said we felt like we could throw on them a little bit, we just needed to make some plays. We played just fantastic football today and it's just a really good team win for everyone," Gardner said.

Early in the fourth, Bethel appeared to convert a fourth down conversion, but linebacker Brooks Gardner took a swipe at the ball and forced a fumble that went right into the hands of defensive back Jayton Alexander.

Receiver Deonte Hill (four catches for 70 yards) made a couple of 20-plus yard receptions and running back Devin Jones (four catches for 31 yards) had a couple catches in the red zone as well, including a four-yard touchdown strike from Green to give the Bluejays a 24-14 lead with under eight minutes to go. 

On the ensuing kickoff, the kick from Heilig was short going into the wind and Tabor recovered it at the Bethel 37. Tabor stayed aggressive, converting a fourth-and-five. Green found Bolden for his second touchdown on a 21-yard fade to the corner of the end zone to make it 31-13.

"I'm just really proud of how these guys did and how they adjusted to arguably the roughest start. It's a really good team win. It's good for our offense to find a little bit of spark and move the ball and score some points," Gardner said.

Bethel would drive the ball down the field on their next drive and converted the two-point conversion to cut it to 31-18 in the last minute of action, halting Tabor's 21 straight points.

"It means everything. I love this place. We just have a lot of history here and the thing that I'm the most grateful for is the emotional support that I've gotten from David Ediger (Director of Athletics) and President (David) Janzen," Gardner said on what the win meant to him.

The win gives Tabor its first win of the season as they head into their bye week on a high note. The Bluejays will play at Sterling College on October 14th at 1:30 p.m. during their Homecoming Weekend.

Tabor College is a Christ-centered institution located in Hillsboro, Kansas. The Bluejays are members of the NAIA and compete in the KCAC.