BETHANY, W.Va. – After plowing the way for two 100-yard rushers in Saturday’s 31-29 victory at King’s, the Bethany College offensive line was selected for the D3Football.com National Team of the Week.
The Bison line, consisting of senior left tackle Matt Swartling (New Martinsville, W.Va./Magnolia), junior left guard Doug Murray (New Cumberland, W.Va./Oak Glen), junior center Cory Potter (Akron, Ohio/Green), senior right guard Jason Soltis (Port Vue, Pa./South Allegheny) and sophomore right tackle Nick Gore (Nordonia, Ohio), led the Bison running attack to 387 yards in the victory at King’s, the most by a BC team in three years.
The beneficiaries of the Bethany line’s work was junior RB Eric Walker (New Brighton, Pa.), who gained 220 yards, the fourth-most in Bethany single-game history and just the fifth 200+ yard rushing game in the program’s history. In addition, freshman QB Matt Grimard (Lowell, Mass./Dracut) rushed for 150 yards to become the first Bison quarterback to run for over 100 yards in a game in 15 seasons.
All five linemen, who played every snap in the King’s victory, have seen a lot of time on the field during their Bethany careers, although is Swartling’s first season on the offensive line after spending his first three years on the defensive front. The other four Bison played on the line last year, when Bethany was ranked second in the PAC in fewest sacks allowed with 16. This season, Bethany is ranked in the PAC with 239.5 rushing yards per game.
“Our offensive line has developed into an experienced, confident group,” said Bethany head coach Tim Weaver. “We look to them for leadership as the rest of our young offense develops. If we can continue to run the ball effectively behind those guys, we’ll have a chance to be successful. We’re excited because for the most part, they’ll be around for another year or two also.”
