Point Football taken down by Reinhardt during home AAC Showdown
VALLEY, Ala. (Oct. 21, 2023) - The Point University Football team returned to action for an Appalachian Athletic Conference contest against in-state rival Reinhardt University which also served as the Homecoming game for Point University where the Eagles rolled past the Skyhawks with a score of 44-17.
The Skyhawks' defense started the first drive by forcing a fumble on the first play which was recovered by Ethan Binns. With great field position, Point's offense started with a three-yard pass from Brenton White to D'Ontae Eatmon which was followed by a three-yard rush for Eatmon. The Eagles would be able to only allow a field goal from Matthew Moses which gave the Skyhawks the 3-0 lead. Reinhardt's offense returned to the field and moved the ball on their pace as Taylor Jackson led the charge with passes to his receivers to get in Point territory. Reinhardt took the lead as a touchdown catch from Tyshun Jackson put the Eagles ahead but a missed PAT kept the game at 6-3. Point's offense looked to respond but with Reinhardt only allowing 27 yards on the drive, it would force a 42-yard punt from Matthew Moses. The first quarter continued to see both teams try to find the momentum which went back to Reinhardt as the Eagles intercepted a pass from Brenton White.
Reinhardt's offensive drive carried the Eagles into the start of the second quarter which saw another touchdown for Reinhardt's lead to increase to 13-3. The following two drives on offense for both teams ended with the opponents having to send out the punt team to cover. The drought of scoring ceased as the Eagles continued to build their hot momentum by taking another score over the Skyhawks to go into halftime with a 20-3 lead.
Point started the second half on offense and had a great start by driving the ball down the field after a few catches from Emery Bryant with the longest being 50 yards. On fourth and 15, the Eagles kept Point's score at three as Reinhardt blocked the field goal attempt from Matthew Moses. The following drive was big plays from the Eagles as a 16-yard rush began the drive which was followed by another 10-yard rush. Taylor Jackson connected with Tyshun Jordan for the 64-yard touchdown to bring the lead further with a 27-3 score. The Skyhawks continued to try find ways to respond on offense but incomplete passes and a fumble recovery from the Eagles put Reinhardt's offense back in striking distance. Barry Finley would be in the perfect position as Caleb Wade deflected a pass that fell into the hands of Finley for a 22-yard return. Both opponents would be unable to finish the quarter adding another score on their end.
The fourth quarter began with more momentum from the Eagles as Reinhardt took a pick-six back to bring the score 34-3 which was followed by another interception for the third total from the secondary. After the made field goal from the Eagles, Point responded with a touchdown on a 19-yard Mitchell Gossett pass to Kareem Keye to bring the score to 37-10. Reinhardt's final touchdown came from a three-yard rush from Taylor Jackon as the lead grew to 44-10. Point would score the final touchdown of the game as Mitchell Gossett connected with Emery Bryant for the five-yard touchdown and the game ended with a final score of 44-17.
In the Box
Brenton White made the start at Quarterback as he went 14-for-33 with 164 passing yards and two interceptions. Mitchell Gossett also made an appearance as Quarterback where he went 4-for-8 with 63 passing yards, two touchdowns, and one interception. Trey Turner led the running game with 27 yards rushing on seven carries with his longest being 17 yards. Brenton White followed with 26 yards rushing on seven attempts with his longest being 10 yards. Emery Bryant led the receiving core with six catches for 89 yards and a touchdown with his longest catch being 50 yards. Nicholas Marien added one catch for 34 yards. Defensively, Kemorion Larkin led with 10 tackles, one pass breakup, and 1.5 tackles for loss. Shakwan Bickley followed with six tackles and a pass breakup. Roman Jones added five tackles for the Skyhawks.
Up Next
The Skyhawks will hit the road to take on the University of Pikeville on Saturday, October 28th starting at 1:30 P.M.