Reinhardt University (3-3) vs. Belhaven University (2-4)
H.T. Newell Field Jackson, Mississippi
Saturday, October 18
Kickoff @ 2:30 PM EST
Written by Erica Pettibone and Kadie Mullinax
The Reinhardt University Eagles (3-3, 1-1) travel to Jackson, Mississippi, to face the Belhaven Blazers (2-4, 0-2) in the third Mid-South conference game of the season for both squads. The stakes are high as the teams try to remain in contention in the West Division race.
The Eagles come off a bye week. Their last game was October 4th, a victorious homecoming win over the Union Bulldogs by a score of 61-41 in front of a record high fan base of 2,246. Ian McIntosh and L.J. Stegall led the way for RU as each rushed for over 100 yards, with McIntosh posting a pair of touchdowns and Stegall also adding a score.
Union scored the first touchdown of the game, yet after the attempted extra point was blocked they only led the Eagles 6-0. Reinhardt’s offense then trudged for 77 yards in nine plays, with McIntosh scoring the Eagle’s first touchdown and Ryan Hopper adding the extra point to make it 7-6. Once the Bulldogs punted on the next drive, the Eagles answered with a 5 yard touchdown pass from Johnathan Chamblee to Aaron Kennedy to take a 14-6 lead. Belhaven responded with a touchdown early in the 2nd quarter but RU kept pace when Stegall dove into the end zone to push the score to 21-13.
The Eagles got the ball right back when Deion Shelton recovered an onside kick. Merely five plays later freshman Nathen Lingo ran for 22 yards stretching the Reinhardt lead to 28-13. Union showed a lot of fight when Diquan Jefferson scored to shorten the gap 28-20. Reinhardt’s Dylan Haynes then fielded the Bulldogs kickoff, giving the Eagles exceptional field position and five plays later Elliott Clark rushed for the touchdown that would bring the score to 35-20.
Reinhardt kept up the pressure in the second half and was never seriously threatened as the Bulldogs got no closer than two touchdowns in the last 30 minutes. The Eagles rolled up over 600 yards of offense and had eight rushing touchdowns in the victory.
This week Reinhardt faces Belhaven University. The Blazers lost 45-27 at home to the Bluefield College Rams in Jackson, Mississippi to fall to 2-4 on the season (0-2 in conference). Quarterbacks Mickey Forrest and Conner Preston split time leading the Blazer attack, and their top target is wideout Greg Livingston who has hauled in 65 catches in just six games.
Expect another high scoring game on Saturday when the Reinhardt Eagles battle the Belhaven Blazer’s home field. Kickoff is Saturday at 2:30 PM EST.