BETHEL — With just 23 players in uniform, it appears the Bethel-Tate Tigers did what it needed to do Friday to qualify for the Region 18 playoffs.

Bethel-Tate defeated Blanchester 28-20 at Bethel-Tate High School. With the win, the Tigers improve to 6-3.

According to playoff ratings guru Joe Eitel, the Tigers clinched a playoff spot with the victory over Blanchester.

Blanchester finishes the season 3-7.

Jeffrey Botts’ 57-yard run with 1:28 in the first half gave the Tigers a lead they would not relinquish, 21-14.

Blanchester dominated the third quarter in an attempt to rally. Hunter Collier’s 3-yard run pulled Blanchester within 21-20 with 4:50 left in the third.

However, on that drive, quarterback Tristan Greene got twisted up as he was tackled in the backfield. Greene is the holder on extra points. With him out, Blanchester went for two and failed. It was still 21-20 Bethel.

Blanchester again drove into Bethel-Tate territory early in the fourth quarter. However, Jared Monhollen’s pass was intercepted at the 8 on fourth down.

Six plays later, Jeffrey Botts rumbled 73 yards to give Bethel-Tate a 28-20 lead with 7:42 left.

The Wildcats would get two more possessions, but could not get any farther than the Bethel-Tate 49. The Tigers would hold on for the victory.

Botts had a monster game for the Tigers. He had 15 carries for 190 yards and two touchdowns.

Simon Latchford went over 100 yards in his final high school game, gaining 103 yards on 12 carries.

Blanchester ran 18 more plays, had eight more first downs, and gained 12 more yards of offense than the Tigers. However, Bethel-Tate had one fewer turnover, which turned out to be the difference.

Friday’s game marked the end of the high school careers of Matt Burden, Nick Grogg, Simon Latchford, Nathan Wilson, Trenton Porterfield, Jordan Ashcraft, Tomas Oldham, Jed Turpin, Dylan Shattuck and Trevor Chaney.

SUMMARY

Oct. 30, 2015

@ Bethel-Tate High School

BL 07.07.06.00…20

BT 07.14.00.07…28

1st Quarter

BT – Austin Carter 35-yard run (Jeffrey Botts kick) 2:48

B – Tristan Greene 58-yard run (Jared Monhollen kick) 0:46

2nd Quarter

BT – Steven Cooper 33-yard run (Botts kick) 11:14

B – Hunter Collier 1-yard run (Monhollen kick) 2:56

BT – Botts 57-yard run (Botts kick) 1:28

3rd Quarter

B – Collier 3-yard run (run failed) 4:50

4th Quarter

BT – Botts 73-yard run (Botts kick) 7:42

Team Stats

PLAYS: B 63; BT 45. FIRST DOWNS: B 17; BT 9. RUSHES-YARDS: B 47-288; BT 42-311. PASSING YARDS: B 56; BT 21; COMPLETIONS-ATTEMPTS-INTERCEPTIONS: B 5-16-1; BT 2-3-1. TOTAL YARDS: B 344; BT 332. PENALTIES-YARDS: B 3-20; BT 0-0. FUMBLES-LOST: B 2-1; BT 1-0.

Individual Stats

Rushing (carries-yards): B Tristan Greene 9-84 TD; Austin Jennett 4-19; Dylan Miller 1-10; Simon Latchford 12-103; Hunter Collier 21-72 2 TDs. BT Austin Carter 3-39 TD; Justin Hixson 5-17; Jeffrey Botts 15-190 2 TDs; Steven Cooper 19-65 TD.

Passing (completions-attempts-interceptions): Greene 2-9-0 35 yards; Jennett 0-1-0; Jared Monhollen 3-6-1 21 yards. BT Botts 2-3-1 21 yards.

Receiving (catches-yards): Jennett 2-35; Matt Burden 2-8; Miller 1-13. BT Hixson 1-21.