LEBANON -- Leading 14-0 at halftime, Friendship Christian exploded for 21 third quarter points en route to a 48-16 Region 4A victory over Watertown Thursday night at Pirtle Field.

The win vaults the Commanders to 7-1 (5-1) on the season while Watertown fell to 5-2 (4-1), halting a five-game Purple Tiger wining streak.

The Commanders started slowly as the Tigers stingy defense only allowed the FCS in the endzone twice in the first half of play.

The difference was in the defensive effort of the Commanders.

"We tackled better tonight and got some pressure on (Watertown QB Dalton) Phillips," FCS Head Coach John McNeal said.

FCS allowed Watertown only five first downs, four coming after intermission.

Commander quarterback Lee Maasen ran 16 times for 211 yards, running for two scores and passing for two more.

Tailback John Markham added two touchdowns, one on a 28 yard pass from Maasen and the other a 67-yard third quarter run. The senior rushed seven times for 82 yards.

Sophomore tailback Dekolas Reeves added two scores with runs of 12 and one yards and finished with 41 yards rushing.

Most of the offensive effort for FCS came in the second half of play as the Commanders looked a little flat early in the contest.

"We were not clicking in the first half. We made some good plays but we finally got our heads right in the third quarter," McNeal added.

Watertown QB Dalton Phillips completed 11-of-25 passes for 244 yards. Ben Smith caught two passes for 147 yards, both TDs — one going for 54 yards and the other 93.

By DONOVAN STEWART, dstew4vu@yahoo

A lot of things happened in 1997, Bill Clinton was President, the world mourned the loss of Princess Diana and Mother Theresa. The Green Bay Packers won the Super Bowl, the Bulls won the NBA title and the Florida Marlins won the World Series Hong Kong was returned to Chinese rule after 156 years of British rule, a stamp cost 32 cents and the cholesterol lowering pill Lipitor was introduced to the world.

It was also the last season that Baylor beat arch-rival Baylor. The Red Raiders finished just 3-8 in 1997 but defeated the Blue Tornado twice that season. Then McCallie rolled off 11 straight wins which in turn cost Baylor head coaches in Fred Hubbs and David Bibee their jobs.

For these two proud programs it’s all about beating your rival. The series record is close at 37-35-3, but in the last decade, the Blue Tornado has dominated as only three games in the streak had been decided by less than 10 points.

In fact McCallie had outscored Baylor 348-129 during the streak, but that all changed for Baylor last Friday night, as the Red Raiders snapped the streak winning 24-10.

Baylor took an 8-3 lead on a Jacob Huesman touchdown run and upped the lead to 14-3 after Sam Williams scored from 17 yards to give the Red Raiders a 14-3 halftime lead.

Williams, coming back off a hamstring injury, had his second 100-yard game of the season as he rushed for 118 yards and QB Huesman was a duel threat as he ran for 84 yards and passed for 75 yards in the win.

BULLDOG OFFENSE SPUTTERS

McKENZIE -- Key injuries and lack of offensive execution stymied Cumberland in Saturday’s 13-3 road loss at Bethel University.

The Bulldogs fell to 1-4 overall and 0-1 in the Western Division of the Mid-South Counference. Bethel, playing for the first time this season at Wildcat Stadium, improved to 1-4 and 1-0 in the MSC West.

Coach Dewayne Alexander’s squad found itself somewhat limited offensively with starting quarterback Curt Bureau sidelined with an injured shoulder. The offensive woes began to multiply when leading rusher Travis Carter suffered a high ankle sprain early in the first half.

"We had a ‘Wildcat’ package with Travis taking direct snaps from center, but we had to throw all that out once he went down," Alexander said.

The Bulldogs gained just 48 yards in the second half and finished with 181 total yards in the contest.

The CU defense held Bethel to 313 total yards, but the Wildcats put together two scoring drives in the second half, both double-digit plays that resulted in a field goal and a touchdown.

Bethel’s Josh Boyd rushed 33 times for 143 yards and one touchdown, a five-yard score with less than two minutes remaining that put the game away for the Wildcats

Bethel ran 51 times in the contest for 224 yards.

"It’s not a lack of effort, it’s a lack of execution," Alexander said. "In these close games -- we’re just not making the plays we need at the right time. We’re going to keep fighting, keep working."

Da’Juan Manning led CU with 32 yards rushing on 11 carries, Mitch McChurch added 30 on six attempts and Carter gained 15 yards on five tries before exiting.

Freshman Chris Burnett finished 12-of-26 passing for 100 yards. He was sacked once. Tightend Mitch Reyonolds caught four balls for 41 yards and Mike Moore had two receptions for 23.

Linebacker Todd Holman led the Bulldog defense with 15 tackles, while Ben Miller was in on 10. Stephon Ransom had eight tackles and returned a Bethel fumble some 31 yards.

Cumberland hosts Faulkner Univ. Saturday, Oct. 10 at 1:30 p.m. for Homecoming at Lindsey Donnell Stadium.