Game Preview: No. 13 Reinhardt at Ave Maria (Fla.)
By Mike DeVader, Reinhardt Director of Athletic Communications & Media
AVE MARIA, Fla. – (Live Video | Stats | Audio) Reinhardt is back on the football field tomorrow looking to turn the page from last week's loss as the 13th-ranked Eagles (2-2) travel to Florida to take on the Gyrenes of Ave Maria (1-3) under the lights at 7 p.m.
The action takes place at Gyrene Field – a stadium that Reinhardt will visit for the first time in history on Saturday evening. The Gyrenes and Eagles have only played one other time in history (Sept. 22, 2018 in Waleska), with the hometown squad besting Ave Maria, 49-3.
"Excited to get back to work as we want to get this sour taste out of our mouth, so we are going to Florida for a fight," head coach James Miller said. "We must execute and have great focus and intensity to get the job done; do the little things right in all phases of the game.
I love and believe in these young men."
The Gyrenes, just like Reinhardt, are coming off a one-point defeat on the road at Kentucky Christian, 20-19, last Saturday after the Knights put up 13 fourth-quarter points.
The big play proved-to-be Ave Maria's downfall against Kentucky Christian, as all three of the Knights' touchdowns were from 30 yards out or longer.
Joshua Marion was the feature back for the Gyrenes offensively, as the freshman ran the ball 25 times for 104 yards; logging more than four yards per carry. Will Tate completed 15 of his 27 passes for 166 yards and two touchdowns. Joshua Jenkins again led Ave Maria in receiving yards with 61, but Roman Newkirk was the most targeted pass catcher – logging five receptions for 60 yards.
Defensively, freshman linebacker Carson Murray had a standout performance by getting in on 12 tackles with three solo stops. Dominic Morgan followed with nine total tackles, including a pair of unassisted stops.
Reinhardt made a valiant effort to dig out of a 28-0 hole at Bethel (Tenn.) last Saturday, but the Eagles fell just short in their attempt to avoid a second-straight upset to the Wildcats in Tennessee, 34-33, after missing an opportunity to score late in the contest.
It was nearly a tale of two halves in the Volunteer State after Bethel took control and didn't look back en route to a 28-0 lead with 11:19 remaining in the third quarter. After one of the worst starts in Reinhardt history, the Eagles finally got on the scoreboard at the 5:35 mark in the third period after Devyn Collins rolled into the end zone from eight yards out.
The defense took the spark and ran with it, as that side of the ball came alive for Reinhardt when it needed it most. The Eagles immediately got the ball back to Billy Hall – who made the Wildcats pay on the first play of the drive with a 77-yard run down the right sideline to make the score, 28-14, in less than two minutes.
The momentum continued on the next Bethel drive as the Wildcats continued to unravel. An errant throw on third down was picked off and taken to the house by Tyler Hallum from 60 yards out to get back within one touchdown at 28-21.
Less than three minutes into the fourth period – and less than nine minutes of total game time – Reinhardt found the end zone for the fourth-straight time (but the point-after failed) to get within 28-27 after Collins scored again on a 3-yard run.
Bethel continued to fall apart on the offensive end and gave the ball back to Hall and company, who officially took the lead for the first time at 10:19 remaining in the game compliments of a Hall 21-yard run.
The Wildcats, however, woke up when they needed to, as the hosts went back down the field in less than four minutes to regain the advantage, 34-33, after a touchdown pass and a failed two-point conversion.
The Eagles got the ball back with a chance to go win the matchup and immediately started marching down the field. After a key fourth-down conversion by Dylan Kelly, Reinhardt got down to the 31-yard-line, but wasted its chance at a dramatic finish after Hall missed a wide-open Terrance Roberts for the go-ahead score.
Miller would opt for a 48-yard field goal, but it was short.
Reinhardt collected 423 yards of offense but gave up 488. Hall (135 yards) and Collins (104) had strong days on the ground as the Eagles ran for 354 yards in defeat.
Keyovione Whitlock had nine total tackles to lead the way on defense as eight players made four-or-more stops.
The team looks to flip the script tomorrow night and get back to its winning ways.
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