Allen's Late Touchdown Caps Off Swedes Comeback

Sterling, Kan. - When J.J. Allen, freshman running back, found the end zone with six seconds left in regulation on Saturday it capped off the Bethany College Swedes comeback in which they scored 20 unanswered fourth quarter points. Allen scored the winning touchdown after hauling in a swing pass from Austin Denson, senior quarterback, and weaving his way through the Sterling defense to find the endzone.

The game began with a first quarter that was a defensive struggle with both teams unable to gain an edge, that all changed when Willie Page, freshman defensive back, intercepted a Sterling pass and returned it 37 yards to help set up the Swedes first scoring drive. The Swedes offense would march the remaining 48 yards in 7 plays capped off by a 3 yard touchdown run by J.J. Allen to give the Swedes a 6-0 lead.

The Warriors would go on a 13 play 73 yard scoring drive of their own with 11 minutes left in the second quarter to take a 7-6 lead. The two teams would remain deadlocked heading into the half.

The Swedes attempted an onside kick to start the third quarter but it was recovered by Sterling. Sterling would score twice in the quarter to make take a 21-6 lead into the fourth quarter.

Once the fourth quarter began the Swedes started their comeback. J.J. Allen kicked things off when he scored from 3 yards out to cap off a 4 play 60 yard touchdown run. Sterling would fumble on their ensuing possession and Devariej Criss, senior defensive back, would recover. From there the Swedes offense would march 51 yards in 8 plays. J.J. Allen finished off the drive with a 5 yard run to make it a 19-21 ballgame with 7:24 remaining. The Swedes defense was able to force Sterling to turn the ball over on downs and give the offense one last shot to win the game. The Swedes offense took over with 2:17 left in the game. They were able to cover the 64 yards they needed to reach the end zone with 6 seconds left in the game. The touchdown reception by Allen marked his fourth touchdown on the day and gave the Swedes a 26-21 victory.

For the game Allen ran for 203 yards and 3 touchdowns on 27 carries. He added 4 receptions for 31 yards and another score. Austin Denson added 61 rushing yards on 15 carries. Denson threw for 93 yards and the game winning touchdown pass on 10 completions. Darren Rittwage added 2 catches for 51 yards. The Swedes offensive line were able to open up holes for the Denson and Allen that resulted in the Swedes gaining 377 yards of total offense and 284 rushing yards on the day.

Defensively the Swedes were led by Austyn Fletcher, freshman linebacker, who had 12 tackles including 1 for loss. Larry Hall, junior linebacker, and David Smith, freshman safety, added 7 tackles each. Page added 6 tackles to go with his interception. The Swedes defense held Sterling to 210 total yards and just 26 passing yards for the game.

Up Next . . .

The Swedes will travel to Hillsboro, Kansas next Saturday, October 24th, to take on the Bluejays of Tabor College. Kickoff is scheduled for 1pm.

- #RockarStockar -