Reinhardt Eagles (0-1) vs. Lindsey Wilson Blue Raiders (1-0)
Ken White Field Waleska, GA
Saturday September 7, 2013
Kickoff 12:00 Noon
The Reinhardt Eagles host the first home football game in school history this Saturday when the Lindsey Wilson Blue Raiders make the trek from Kentucky to scenic Waleska, Georgia, in Cherokee County.
Last week both squads opened the season with close contests.
Reinhardt, playing the first game in school history, fell 40-37 in a thriller to the Mercer Bears in Macon. The Eagles put up an amazing fight in front of the 12,000 plus fans packing the Mercer football stadium (it was Mercer’s first football game since the 1940s). Tied at 37 with less than a minute to play, RU failed to convert a fourth-down play on the Bear 42-yard line. Mercer then connected on a long pass deep into Reinhardt territory and kicked the winning field goal with 3 seconds remaining. Sam Jones led the Eagles in rushing yards with 112 yards on only six carries.
While the Eagles had too many penalties and mistakes to pull out a victory in the opener, if head coach Danny Cronic works out the kinks this week at practice, the Lindsey Wilson Blue Raiders may have a tough battle on their hands, especially in front of the huge crowd expected to show up in Waleska to cheer on their Eagles.
Lindsey Wilson overcame a three-plus hour weather delay to defeat visiting Campbellsville 21-14. The Blue Raiders are led on defense by senior LB Sam Wilson and junior DB Eric Shaw, as the two combined for 21 tackles against Campbellsville. Lindsey Wilson will also look to have another good game from RB Rome Cotton on the offensive end as he paced the offense with 91 rushing yards last week. The Lindsey Wilson defense will face a challenge against the Eagles on Saturday; the RU offense slashed Mercer (soon to be a Division I program in the Southern Conference) for nearly 500 yards.
General Admission tickets still available, season tickets for reserved seating sold out. Get your tickets today by calling the Reinhardt Athletic Department at 770.720.5825 or visiting the Reinhardt Eagles website.
Head Coaches
Reinhardt University – Danny Cronic (0-1) 1st season. Coach Cronic is the first head football coach in Reinhardt history. He started the program after a successful high school career spanning three decades.
Lindsey Wilson College – Chris Oliver (15-17) 4th season. Oliver has a 15-17 career record after starting the Lindsey Wilson football program in 2010. His best season came in 2011 as Lindsey Wilson won seven games (which led them to being ranked for the first time in the program’s history in the NAIA Football Coaches’ Spring Top-25 Poll).
Contributors – Reinhardt Sport Studies majors Kayla Smith and Quinton Wood contributed to this post.
Reinhardt sophomore Niagel Curtis scores vs. Mercer
