NORTH NEWTON, Kan. – The first weekend of October turned out to be an important one, as Bluejay Football made the short trek to North Newton for the 58^th edition of the Menno Bowl. For those who aren't familiar with small-college football in Kansas, or small-college athletics as a whole, the Menno Bowl is the football portion of the long-standing rivalry between the two Mennonite-affiliated four-year colleges in Kansas, Tabor College and Bethel College. Historically, the Threshers have held the series lead, sitting at 31-26 all time against the Bluejays. Since Tabor Head Football Coach Mike Gardner took the reins of the Bluejay football program prior to the 2004 season however, the Bluejays were 13-3 against Bethel. To add to the excitement of what already promised to be an incredibly exciting matchup, Bethel hosted their homecoming festivities during the day, providing Tabor with plenty of fuel going into the game. 
 
Helping provide fuel to the Tabor fans that made the trip, Moises Haynes came off a check-down route from Willie Green 10 yards to the house three minutes into the game to put the Bluejays on the board first. "I'm really blessed to have Moises in the program, he's done a really nice job this season, he's really caught the ball well out of the backfield and he's really run the ball well when he's had those opportunities", reflected Coach Gardner on Haynes' touchdown.
 
The Threshers jumped on the board towards the end of the 1^st quarter with a touchdown of their own off a quarterback keeper from BC signal caller DJ Ciers. Nathan Heilig put TC back on top with a 34-yard field goal to open the 2^ndquarter.
 
The lead continued to grow for the Bluejays in the second quarter as Green connected on a pass to Tyson Dozhier to put Tabor up 17-7. The Green to Haynes connection continued to pay dividends later for the Bluejays as they regained the lead late in the third quarter, 28-21.
 
As great as the entire game was, the two greatest plays of the entire contest took place within the waning seconds. Bethel held a 33-28 lead with around 30 seconds remaining as Green aired it out and connected on a beautiful 26-yard pass to Glenn Maiden, Jr. to put Tabor back on top, 34-33. "Glenn came here as a quarterback, and we made a position change. Glenn found his opportunity and did an unbelievable job making plays", said Gardner.
 
The Threshers had a slim opportunity to go ahead with just seconds remaining, but a perfectly timed interception by Cam Pair sent Bluejay Nation into a frenzy, giving the Bluejays their second straight victory over Bethel, 34-33. "Cam is just a really good addition to our secondary, he's a great guy, fantastic player, and just a great person all around."
 
"It's nice to win a game like that, that's what makes it so enjoyable when we have success like that because these guys are such great kids."
 
Bluejay Football gets a breather this weekend as they prepare to start Bissell Division play by hosting Sterling for homecoming weekend on Saturday, October 19^th at 2pm
 
Be sure to stay up to date with all information regarding Bluejay Athletics by following us on X at @gotaborbluejays, on Instagram and Facebook @taborbluejays, and on our official athletic website, taborbluejays.com.
 
Tabor College is a Christ-centered institution located in Hillsboro, Kansas. The Bluejays are members of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) and compete in the Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference (KCAC).