Reinhardt Eagles (2-2) vs. Bethel Wildcats (0-4)
Ken White Field Waleska, Georgia
Saturday, September 28, 2013
Kickoff at 12:00 PM
The Reinhardt University football team puts a two-game winning streak on the line Saturday when the Eagles welcome the Bethel Wildcats to Ken White Field.
Last weekend the Eagles traveled to Montgomery, Alabama, and upset nationally ranked and previously unbeaten Faulkner by a score of 28-24. Reinhardt’s offense was again led by freshman RB L.J. Stegall who scored three touchdowns, the first on a 95-yard kick-off return, the second a 61-yard gallop off a shuffle pass from Freshman QB #7 Ryan Thompson, and the third a 5-yard touchdown reception for the last score of the game to secure the Reinhardt victory.
The Reinhardt offense was just good enough to come out on top in the game, but the Eagle defense was key in slowing down Faulkner’s high scoring attack (Faulkner entered the contest averaging 50 points per game). Reinhardt freshman defensive end Tevin McCoy earned Mid-South Defensive Player of the Week honors by racking up 9 total tackles, 5 tackles-for-loss, and 2 sacks. McCoy now leads the NAIA is tackles-for-losss. Linebacker Blake Barnes also added 7 tackles and a sack. Two key forced turnovers played a huge role in the game. Freshman LB Alvarez Thomas intercepted a pass in Faulkner’s end zone to halt them a drive, and fellow frosh defensive back Juice Arnold picked off a pass to set up a Reinhardt field goal attempt.
Reinhardt looks to continue its two-game win streak against Bethel University.
The Wildcats enter this contest with a record of 0-4. Their most recent disappointment was a home 26-0 shutout loss to Campbellsville 26-0.
The Wildcats are led by #31 Travis Smith, a senior running back out of Miami. Smith has rushed for 302 yards on 63 rushing attempts, a 100.7 yards per game average. He also leads the Bethel Wildcats with two rushing touchdowns. Sophomore quarterback Kerry Sellers II of Lexington, Tennessee, is the leading passer for Bethel, having thrown for a modest 86.3 yards per game. The offense as a whole has struggled as the Wildcats have not scored more than 14 points in a game this season.
On defense, linebacker Anthony Debonis, a junior linebacker out of Fort Myers, Florida, is a force with 19 solo tackles on the season, including 3 tackles for loss and a sack. Stony Burns, junior defensive back from Orlando, is also worth watching. Burns has 12 solo tackles and 3 interceptions on the season. Both will need to have a huge impact defensively if the Wildcats want to slow down the Reinhardt Eagle offense.
Reinhardt will attempt to move above the .500 mark on the season at noon Saturday. If you cannot make it to the game, please visit the Reinhardt Athletic Department website to follow the action live.
Contributors – Reinhardt University Sport Studies majors Kayla Smith and Stuart Young contributed to this report
