Reinhardt Prepares For another Win on Senior Day
#3 Reinhardt University Eagles (7-0) vs. Bluefield College Rams (6-3)
University Stadium, Waleska, Georgia (Kickoff at 1:30pm EST on Saturday, November 4, 2017)
By Mary Ruth Wheeler, Megan Monroe, and Dani Cutlip
Pikeville’s Comeback was not Enough
The Reinhardt University Eagles traveled to The University of Pikeville in Pikeville, Kentucky on Saturday, October 28, 2017 in a Mid-South Conference match up. #3 Eagles were favored to win the game against the Bears, and they did so. Each team faced adversity whenever the rain began to come down that morning, and did not stop for the remainder of the game.
The Eagles took the lead early on as Montralius Mosely scored two touchdowns in the first quarter of the game, pushing it to a 22-0 lead for RU. The rain did cause issues for the Eagles, as they fumbled the ball 10 total times in the game, losing possession from five of them. These turnovers did not seem to affect the Eagle’s momentum, as they continued to dominate on the field.
Reinhardt went into the locker room at the half with an exceptional lead of 37-7. In the first half, the Eagles also had five total rushing touchdowns. Coming back out for the second half of the game, the Eagles struggled. Neither the Eagles, nor the Bears were having success in the offensive aspect of the game in the third quarter. The Bears noticed the mistakes that Reinhardt was making and took advantage of them in the second half of the game, earning 14 points in the fourth quarter. The Eagles came back to Waleska with a 44-21 win over Pikeville, making them 7-0 overall and 4-0 in Mid-South Conference play.
Reinhardt had 21 first downs compared to Pikeville’s 16 first downs, an impressive 502 offensive yards compared to their 282 offensive yards, and 442 rushing yards compared to the Bears’ 102 rushing yards. The Bears beat the Eagles in passing yards (180-60). Reinhardt went 9-99 penalty yards and the Bears went 5-40. RU went 5-13 in third downs to Pikeville’s 1-13, and went 2-2 in fourth downs to their 1-4 in fourth downs. The Eagles had possession of the ball for 33:12 of the game and the Bears had possession of the ball for 26:48 of the game.
Head Coach James Miller said that he is very proud of the passion and edge that the men played with and that he has his coaching staff to thank for that, for instilling those traits in their players and preparing them for tough situations like these. The first half of the game had Coach Miller please with both the offense and the defense. The second half showed the coaches what needs to be worked on in order to continue to improve for the next games. Coach Miller said that after first half, he realized that the offense was struggling and it put the defense in tough positions. Going forward, he wants to remind the players that, “The football is gold and we need to hold on to it better”.
Matchup with Bluefield College
The Reinhardt University Eagles will be hosting the Bluefield College Rams this Saturday, November 4, 2017 for senior day. Reinhardt will be honoring the seniors that have been a huge part of the success that the football program has had over the last few years, at the game.
The Rams come into RU home territory with an overall record of 6-3 and the same conference record as Reinhardt, at 4-0. This will be a tougher game for the Eagles, as they face competition with a mindset of coming to our house and causing a big upset in the conference. As the Eagles have rightfully earned the national ranking of third, this has only put a bigger target on their backs and makes teams want to come in and beat them even more.
Reinhardt will need to continue using a high IQ in order to stay in control of the game in the best way that they know how to: offensively. Quarterback Dylan Wiggins has continued to connect well throughout the season with his key offensive players: Tevin McCoy, Qua Stocks, Montralius Mosely, MaClaun Lanier, Andy Whisenant, and Stanlee Logue. These men will need to be preparing physically and mentally this week for Bluefield’s defense.
Reinhardt’s defense has also continued to dominate on the field as the season has progressed. The Eagles have only given up 100 points to opposing teams, compared to 174 points that Bluefield has given up. Reinhardt definitely seems to have a stronger defense than Bluefield. Some key defensive players for the Eagles are Taylor Hawkins, Jalen Holloman, Dawson Mitchell, Matthew Prather, JT Graydon, and Brennan Holden.
The Bluefield Rams have a seemingly younger team. Quarterback Walter Harold made his debut for the Rams in their season opener. He is known for connecting well with his offensive players: Antonio Strickland, Alex Martin, Jeffrey Hughes, Johnnie Myers, and Rashad Butler. Butler and Martin are his two “main men”. Kicker, Tanner Griffith is also a clutch player for the Rams, as they have continued to put him in tight situations in games this season, and he is successful for them more times than not. Unlike their kicker, Bluefield’s special teams seems to struggle in pressure situations and the Eagles should make note of that and take advantage of it in their matchup this weekend.
The Eagles will be playing against a stronger defense this weekend. Bluefield’s defensive players to be on the lookout for are Logan Hinnant, Chris DeBerry, Larry Jefferson, Isaiah Fenner, Devon Jackson, and Tyrice Henry. Jackson and Henry are the two strongest defensive players for the Rams this season, another thing the Eagles should be making note of. Devon Jackson has been named the Mid-South Conference Defensive Player of the Week once this season.
Prediction
We believe that Reinhardt has what it takes to add another win to their record this weekend in the home matchup against Bluefield College. Not only do the Eagles have the home field advantage, but the Eagles have proven, on paper, to have both a better offense and a better defense. The Rams will be coming into RU home territory very “hungry” for not only a win, but a huge conference upset. The Eagles need to be mentally preparing this week for a harder, more important game; something that they have not seen much of this season. Although Bluefield has proven to mess up whenever they are put in pressure situations, the Eagles do not need to lay back and expect to have an easy win. Reinhardt needs to stay confident and stick to their game plan, both offensively and defensively, and they will definitely take care of business against Bluefield this weekend.
Schedule
9/2/2017 Cincinnati Christian University @ Cincinnati, OH 1:30pm W 53-7
9/9/2017 Faulkner University (Ala.) @ Montgomery, AL 1:30pm CDT W 54-31
9/16/2017 Webber International University (Fla.) HOME 1:30pm CANCELLED
9/23/2017 Bethel University (Tenn.) @ HOME 1:30pm W 33-0
9/30/2017 Point University @ West Point, GA 7:00pm W 62-28
10/7/2017 University of the Cumberlands (Ky.) @ HOME 1:30pm W 53-7
10/14/2017 Union College (Ky.) @ HOME 6:00pm W 56-6
10/28/2017 University of Pikeville @ Pikeville 1:30pm W 44-21
11/4/2017 Bluefield College (Va.) @ HOME 1:30pm
11/11/2017 St. Andrews University @ Laurinburg, NC 1:30p