Reinhardt Eagles (2-0) at Georgetown Tigers (0-2)
Toyota Stadium Georgetown, Ky
Saturday, September 19th , 2015
Kickoff at 1:30 p.m. EST
Written by: Malcolm Anderson and DeVante Wynn
Following an impressive 52-3 victory over the Kentucky Christian Knights the Reinhardt Eagles look to continue soaring as they head to face the Georgetown Tigers. Reinhardt has outscored its previous two opponents 125-24 while traditional powerhouse Georgetown has fallen short in the first two games by a total of 57-43.
When the Eagles Have the Ball
The Tigers will have their hands full this week attempting to defend the explosive offense of the Eagles. In the air, Johnathon Chamblee and Ryan Thompson should continue to share time under center as they have in the previous two games. Last week Thompson threw for 143 yards with a touchdown in addition to rushing for 63, while Chamblee had just one pass attempt that also scored – a 35 yard heave to Aaron Kennedy in the second quarter. On the ground the Tigers should expect a heavy dose of Niagel Curtis, the premier back of the offense, along with the equally effective and electric L.J. Stegall. In addition to Curtis and Stegall the Eagles will also lean on the productive Sam Jones as both a receiver and running back. Jones had 122 all-purpose yards in last week’s victory over the Knights of Kentucky Christian.
The Georgetown defense is known for their discipline and smash mouth approach against their opponents. Jake Blust and Jordan Nicoll lead the Tigers with 13 and 12 tackles respectively. Blust and Nicoll are both linebackers at 6’0” 220 lbs. that represent the very tradition of the defense in that they are both tough and physical leaders. Last week against offensive powerhouse Lindsey Wilson the Tigers only gave up 24 points on 304 yards.
When the Tigers Have the Ball
Defensively, the Eagles look to continue to force turnovers. The Eagles have a running total of 10 in their first two games. After allowing only 205 yards last week, the Eagles aim to continue being fundamentally sound on the defensive side of the ball. Led by leading tackler Jacob Gross the Eagles will look to improve yet another week as they defend against the Tigers leading rusher and receiver Terry Johnson.
Offensively, the Tigers hope that their size advantage will be beneficial. Georgetown’s offensive line is a big, physical bunch who are all around 6’2, nearly 300 lbs. Georgetown will rely on Johnson’s versatility to carry them in this week’s matchup. Johnson averages 88 yards rushing a game behind his big offensive line. Georgetown’s signal caller is Ball State transfer, Ozzie Mann. Mann is a lanky kid with a big arm who has shared the wealth since being with the Tigers. Georgetown hoists three different receivers with 85+ yards on the season.
Keys to the Game
- Discipline – Georgetown is known to minimalize errors and if Reinhardt continues to have penalties like the first two games the Tigers will likely take advantage
- Turnovers – The Eagles must win the turnover battle, so far they have a +8 turnover margin while Georgetown’s early turnover troubles have cost them both of their previous games
- Ball Control – With a game that features two traditional offenses the team that has the longer possession is statistically better off with that advantage
Prediction
Riding the early success of the Eagles we look for Reinhardt to come away victorious and follow the tradition of being undefeated in the state of Kentucky.
Prediction: Reinhardt 35 Georgetown 14
Fun Fact
Despite Reinhardt’s 3 years of existence in the Mid-South Conference this will be the first meeting between these two teams.
