Sterling College went sweeping past Bethany College on a picture-perfect Saturday afternoon in Lindsborg, 44-0. The Warriors moved to 6-1 overall, while Bethany fell to 1-5.

It was Hyllningsfest Weekend in Little Sweden, and Bethany’s Homecoming, which resulted in a full capacity crowd at Anderson Stadium. While the stage was set for Bethany to pull the upset, Sterling slammed the door shut right away with a 7-play, 68 yard drive capped off by a Cevon Mitchell-Ford 11-yard touchdown run.

Bethany fumbled on the first play of their opening series. Quarterback Austin Denson dropped back to pass and was tattooed by Beaux Biggers – J.T. Duree recovered and Sterling took over on the Bethany 14-yard line. Three plays later, Sterling quarterback Cedrick Phillips found Shaheem Sanders for a 17-yard touchdown to make it 14-0 Sterling with 11:40 left in the first quarter.

The Swedes were able to flip the field late in the first period and pinned Sterling inside their own 10-yard line. Four plays into the series, Phillips was sacked for a loss and came up hobbled. He never re-entered the game, and the Warriors handed the keys to their offense to Eric Butler. Butler wasted no time picking up where left off a season ago when he started all 10 games at quarterback, and led Sterling to pay dirt with a 1-yard touchdown run. The Warriors led 21-0 with 12:25 to go in the second.

Sterling took advantage of two more Bethany miscues, an interception, and a bad-snap punt block for a safety late in the second quarter. Butler hit Robert Williams III out of the backfield for a 15-yard touchdown, and then found Kenton Rocheford for a 21-yard score.

The Warriors scored one more time on their opening series of the third quarter. A 10-play, 62 yard drive was capped off by a 16-yard Mitchell-Ford touchdown run. The Warriors pulled their starters with a 44-0 lead.

The Sterling defense has shutout opposing offenses for 12 straight quarters. The Warriors have pitched back-to-back shutouts on the scoreboard. They won 52-7 three weeks ago, but the lone touchdown from their opponent was a defensive touchdown.

Bethany returns to action next Saturday with pregame coverage at 1:00pm on KVOB 95.5 The Rock. Bethany welcomes Tabor College, and is the featured ESPN3 game. Kickoff is slated for 1:30pm.