Next game – Bethel Wildcats @ Reinhardt Eagles
Ken White Stadium
Kickoff: 1.30 PM EST
Written by Jordan Williams & Todd Fidler
Irma Grounds the Eagles
Due to inclement weather caused by Hurricane Irma throughout the Southeast, Saturday’s Reinhardt football home opener at University Stadium at Ken White Field against Webber International (Fla.) was cancelled. The Eagles will be disappointed as they were looking to build off their impressive away victory against Faulkner.
There will be no make-up game on the Sept. 16 date, and the Eagles’ home opener will now be Sept. 23 against Bethel (Tenn.) at 1:30 p.m.
Overview of the Last Game
Going into the game as favorites against Faulkner, the Reinhardt Eagles knew they were in for a tough time against a good team. Faulkner was looking to knock off the third-ranked team in the country. Going further into the game, Reinhardt was on the road for the second-straight week and overcame a sluggish first half to pull away from Faulkner (Ala.), 54-31, after clamping down on the defensive end the final 30 minutes of play in Montgomery. Reinhardt’s first half was one to forget as the Eagles were down 24-20 at the break, but they were able to regroup and finish the contest on a 34-7 run.
Head coach James Miller said “Great win today against a really good Faulkner team.” “I really thought we played well upfront on both sides of the ball, and the offensive line took the game over in the second half; opened holes for our running backs who really ran hard. Dylan [Wiggins] did a good job managing the game, but we have to get him throw the ball better.’ He continued onto say “On defense, we faced a formidable offense with a very talented quarterback. We got two huge stops in the red zone and a key sack at the end of the game by Javier Dyer. We have a lot we can still get better at – from substitutions to taking care of the ball – but our kids fought hard the entire game.”
Bethel University
Bethel University came to Waleska with a record of 1-2, losing to two Mid-South conference teams. In the last game the Bethel Wildcats dropped a heartbreaker at home Saturday afternoon losing 20-19 to the visiting Patriots of the University of the Cumberlands. The one-point loss marks the fourth game in the last five meetings that the match-up was decided by seven points or less. A very frustrating game for the Wildcats and the squad will be looking to put things right against the Eagles. Reinhardt will need to watch out for quarter back Sam Castronova who made two 30 yard passes to Bethel’s other star man, Vonte Bates. Something that Reinhardt may want to take note that Bethel in their first competitive game lost to Reinhardt’s conference playoff rivals from last year 62-13.
Predictions
Reinhardt will go into the game with confidence from not only an unbeaten start, but also the way the game went against Bethel last year. A performance which was branded as ‘perfection’ in a 58-7 victory and helped the Eagles clinch the Mid-South Conference West Division championship. Reinhardt will be looking towards key players such as Tevin McCoy and Javier Dyer to put on impressive defensive performances this Saturday. Reginald Mack is also another who will be expected to have a big game. The running back ran for 115 yards on 10 carries, highlighted by a 35-yard touchdown run to make it 51-7 last year. Even though everyone will be expecting the Eagles to prevail they should not look past Bethel. Reinhardt has built an elite reputation and will receive everyone’s best game, so complacency will be detrimental. We hope to see you all in full force for Saturday’s game, let’s go Reinhardt Eagles!