"We have a good group of guys who want to get better and play at a high level," said head coach Jamie Cruce.

Bethany got on the board early as sophomore Oshane Malcolm found the end zone on a 13-yard run, followed by junior Alex Fambrough's PAT. Kansas Wesleyan answered back with a touchdown of their own, but the Swedes would regain their lead early in the second as Fambrough nailed a 38-yard field goal, making the score 10-7 in favor of the Swedes. Just before halftime, senior Steven Baker found junior Sean Johnson for a 32-yard touchdown pass. With the Fambrough PAT, the Swedes went into the locker room with a 17-7 lead.

The KWU offense would heat up in the third, scoring their second touchdown of the night, but Bethany would again score late in the third on a 33-yard heave from Baker to junior Brandon Martino, making the score 24-14. The Coyotes answered back, closing the gap to 24-21.

Just under the halfway mark in the fourth quarter, Fambrough tacked on a 15-yard field goal, putting the Swedes up 27-21. After a blocked field goal, Kansas Wesleyan regained possession and made a run at the goal line, but were stopped with less than a minute left in the game as the Bethany defense came up huge with a fumble recovery, securing the 27-21 victory against the cross-town rival Kansas Wesleyan Coyotes.

"This is a good win for us here at Bethany College," Cruce said. "We knew Kansas Wesleyan was a very good team, but we did a good job playing at a high level of intensity."

Malcolm ran for 74 yards off 23 attempts and one touchdown. Baker had a night as he was 20 for 37, throwing for 326 yards and two touchdowns. Passing was the strength for the Swedes as Martino had four receptions for 120 yards and junior Robert Anderson added 72 yards of six receptions. S. Johnson contributed 69 yards with two receptions, junior Adam Garza had 27 yards with three catches, sophomore Collin Parks' three receptions accounted for 20 yards, and senior Cordell Hammond tallied 18 yards on two catches.

Sophomores Kevin Goodie and DeWayne Autry each had a fumble recovery as did freshman LaDarius Wilkerson. Wilkerson had an interception as junior Marvin Barnes saw one of his best games of the season with two interceptions. Junior Jeffrey Simplice calculated six unassisted tackles and three assisted while Autry had seven unassisted and two assisted. Barnes totaled six unassisted tackles and junior Sean Counts and senior Anthony McLawyer both had three assisted tackles and two unassisted.

The Swedes are now 3-0 in the KCAC, putting them in second place, and 4-0 overall. They return home to host Bethel College on Homecoming and Hyllningsfest Saturday, October 10 at 1:30 p.m.

"Bethel is 0-3 right now, but after their first loss to Ottawa, they have been right there with other teams," said Cruce. "They are very talented, and have a senior defense. It will be a new challenge and we are up for every game."