Reinhardt Eagles (0-2) at Kentucky Christian Knights (1-1)
KCU Athletic Complex Grayson, KY
Saturday September 14, 2013
Kickoff at 1:30
The Reinhardt Eagles, playing their inaugural season, travel to the Bluegrass State this weekend in search of their first victory. The Eagles play the Knights of Kentucky Christian.
Last week RU fell at home to Lindsey Wilson College in a tough 50-45 loss. An overflow crowd of 2,167 fans packed Ken White Field and watched the Eagles battle back from a four-touchdown deficit in the fourth quarter only to fall 5 points short against the Blue Raiders. Lindsey Wilson scored twenty points off Reinhardt fumbles, and surprised Reinhardt with a first-quarter onside kick, to establish the big lead, but the Eagles took control the last quarter of the game, outscoring LW 25-6 in that span.
Freshman running back L.J Stegall led RU with 137 rushing yards and scored two touchdowns (Reinhardt outgained Lindsey Wilson 341-154 on the ground), while QB Jonathan Chamble chipped in 147 passing yards. Jarred Johnson, a junior LB for the Eagles, accumulated 11 tackles to pace the defense.
Reinhardt’s defensive play will definitely need to step it up this week if the squad is to record the first victory in school history. The team has yielded 45 ppg, but has lost two games by a combined total of only 8 points (40-37 to Mercer and the 50-45 loss to Lindsey Wilson).
This week’s opponent is coming off a huge victory. The Kentucky Christian Knights upset Bethel University, the NAIA’s 9th ranked team, by a score of 24-10. The game started off great for the Knights when Bethel fumbled on the opening kickoff. The miscue allowed Kentucky Christian to start their opening drive inside Bethel’s 10 yard line, and KCU quickly jumped to a 7-0 lead. The Knights controlled the game throughout. Quarterback Graham Johnston leads the Knight attack and will attempt to exploit RU’s secondary. Marcus Hicks and Jalen Simmons caught touchdown passes from Johnston last week.
Please visit the Reinhardt athletics website to listen to the game live on Saturday afternoon.
Reinhardt Sport Studies majors Caitlin Stevens and Stuart Young contributed to this post.