Eagles Rally to Beat Georgetown
This past Saturday the Reinhardt Eagles earned their third straight victory defeating the Georgetown Tigers 36-25 in the first football meeting between the two schools. Since the program started in 2013, Reinhardt remains unbeaten outside the state of Georgia, and is off to the best start in program history at 3-0.
When the Eagles Had the Ball
Although starting slow with turnovers in 3 of the first 5 possessions, the Eagles battled to go into halftime down only 5 points at 19-14. Coming out of halftime, the Eagles never looked back. QB Ryan Thompson immediately engineered a 16-play drive that was capped off by a 10-yard pass to freshman Tight End Jesse Martinez. Following the touchdown Sam Jones caught a 2-point conversion that gave the Eagles their first lead of the game, 22-19. Reinhardt would never relinquish the lead, outscoring Georgetown 22-6 in the second half. Late in the third quarter, quarterback Johnathon Chamblee and slot back LJ Stegall were able to connect on a 70-yard pitch and catch to score Reinhardt’s final touchdown of the game. Nick Marquez was able to put the game on ice late in the fourth quarter, nailing a 30-yard FG to give RU the 36-19 advantage and scoring the team’s final points.
Reinhardt Head Coach Drew Cronic stated,” The kids overcame a lot of stuff between turnovers and penalties.” Even though the Eagles came out with the victory Georgetown’s defense held them to nearly half of the Eagle’s season scoring average of 62 points per game. The Tigers gave the Eagles the best defensive effort to date on the season.
When the Tigers Had the Ball
Despite the loss, Georgetown’s offense posted the best numbers to date against the 2015 Eagles defense. Georgetown accumulated just over 300 yards of total offense with quarterback Ozzie Mann throwing two touchdowns and backup quarterback Tanner Evans also throwing a touchdown pass. Terry Johnson was held to a single rushing touchdown from 1- yard out to complete the scoring for the Tigers.
The Eagles defense held the Tigers to just 59 rushing yards, aided by 7 sacks of negative 40 yards coming from a host of Eagles. Reinhardt stayed true to form forcing three turnovers, two of which led to eventual scores. During the game the Eagles recorded 16 tackles for loss, the most in program history. Linebacker A.J. Thomas led the way with 4 of those 16 while fellow linebacker Jacob Gross led the defense with 12 total tackles. For his efforts, Gross earned the Mid-South Conference Defensive Player of the Week award.
Keys to the Game
- Discipline – It took the Eagles time to adjust to the hostility of Toyota Stadium but the Tigers were not able to fully capitalize on the numerous Eagles’ defensive penalties.
- Turnovers – Neither team protected the ball as both registered 3 turnovers, but ultimately it was the timing of the Tigers’ turnovers that cost them the game.
- Ball Control – The Eagles had a slight advantage in time of possession which proved to equal success on the scoreboard.
Prediction
The Sports Studies crew has a prediction record of 3-0.
Up Next…
The Eagles fly back home still unbeaten and poised to play University of Pikeville University at 12 noon at Ken White Field. Pikeville is coming in with a record of 2-2 off a shutout 22-0 win over Bethel (TN) University.