2022 Football Season Preview
WEST POINT, Ga. (Aug. 25, 2022) – A new era of Point University football begins this Saturday, and the Skyhawks have been hard at work this preseason preparing for the season ahead.
Point kicks off the season this Saturday as they travel to Lebanon, Tenn., to face Cumberland University. The Skyhawks will then host Faulkner University on Saturday, Sept. 3, for their home opener inside Ram Stadium.
This is the first season the Appalachian Athletic Conference has sponsored football as a championship sport. The AAC's six schools all competed in the Mid-South Conference (MSC) Appalachian Division. The Skyhawks will open AAC play on Oct. 8 at Bluefield.
Leading the team
Head Coach Trevor Zeiders enters his first season at the helm of the program and shared that his goals this season as head coach include growing the program and establishing the culture.
"We want guys who are going to be accountable and responsible," Zeiders said. "We want young men who are going to achieve both in the classroom and on the field. They need to strive to give us their best each and every day. That goes for the staff as well. We must continue to grow as individuals while helping the team grow and establishing a high standard for our team to attain. That is our goal and plan."
Zeiders is entering his third season with the program, as he previously served as the Defensive Coordinator, Linebackers Coach, and Recruiting Coordinator. This season, the Skyhawks have three coaches alongside Zeiders returning with three new faces leading the team. Harley Taber, Anthony Davis, and Nigel Lawrence return alongside Zeiders, while Greg Forest, Brandon Hailey, and Kato Hitson joined the staff this year.
A look at last year's squad
Last season, the Skyhawks finished 2-9 and 2-4 in MSC play. The team was led by Gabriel Jacon-Duffy, who was named Defensive Player of the Year and Defensive Freshman of the Year. Returning seniors Parker Clemons and Aaron Anderson were named to the All-MSC First Team.
Anderson garnered all-conference recognition for the second year in a row after earning a spot on the All-MSC second team after the 2021 spring season. As a linebacker, he led the team with 80 tackles, 39 solo, 41 assisted and averaged eight tackles per game. He had one sack and had 6.5 tackles for loss yards. He was one of five Skyhawks to record an interception. He finished the season tied in fourth in the conference in tackles per game. In Point's final game, Anderson recorded 15 tackles, nine of which were solo.
Clemons recorded 35 tackles in 10 games and averaged 3.5 tackles per game. He recorded 2.5 sacks and had a season-high of eight tackles against Union on Oct. 30.
In this season's preseason rankings, the Skyhawks were picked to finish fifth out of the six teams in the AAC.
"We struggled in several games last fall and almost gave up comebacks to Union and St. Andrews. With those being our only two wins last season, I can see why we were picked fifth in the conference. We lost head-to-head to Reinhardt, Bluefield, and KCU, so to put us in front of them after those direct results last season was not to be expected. I completely understand why we were/are picked fifth in the AAC this upcoming season."
Upcoming season focus and goals
In preparation for this season, Zeiders shared that the energy around the team during preseason camp has been at an all-time high. The team chemistry has also been an aspect that Zeiders shared has improved throughout preseason training.
"The chemistry has improved," Zeiders said. "The neat thing about being a head coach is every year, there is a new puzzle to piece together. This year is no different. The personalities have meshed better than expected. We need to continue to grow with these young men. As they learn more about themselves and each other, the chemistry should continue to improve."
The team's phrase this season is "Pride, Work, Win!" Zeiders shared that the team has been breaking down after practice with this phrase.
"We have to have pride in what we do, how we do it, the team, the university, our peers, etc.," Zeiders said. "We must work every day to be better than the last day. Winning is a byproduct of doing things right. So, we must have the pride to do things correctly and the work ethic to execute to the standard. It is a Commitment to Excellence."
Zeiders shared that the team came together at the end of spring ball and created a list of goals. These goals include becoming national champions, AAC champions, being undefeated at home, being unified as a team, and honoring each other/being great teammates.
"We believe in having a high standard," Zeiders said. "The goals the players chose, I think, are some really good goals to reach for and will be challenging to sustain."
On the roster this season
The Skyhawks are returning 20 seniors to lead this year's team. Zeiders shared that developing leaders and leadership has been a top priority for the offseason. Having a guy in every position group leading their guys has helped with accountability amongst the position groups. Zeiders shared some of the leaders: Sensir Carnes, Christian Hodgins, Gavin Torbert, Taylor Hogan, Parker Clemons, BJ Finley, San Juan Warner, Quan Neal, and Davyon Dukes.
Zeiders also shared incomers who expect to make an impact: Caleb Wade, Ethan Binns, Rickie Yates, Giovanni Martinez, Gabriel Donnelly, Gavin Graham, Ethan Adcock, Nadir Mitchell, Elijah Harris, Cameron Leach, and Sterling Caldwell.
On the schedule
Point's 2022 schedule features 11 games with five home dates. Point has a challenging nonconference slate as the Skyhawks travel to play Bethel (Tenn.) on Sept. 10, host in-state rivals Reinhardt in a nonconference match-up on Sept. 17, travel to Birmingham-Southern (Ala.) on Sept. 24, and round out their nonconference schedule with a matchup against St. Andrews at home on Oct. 1. Point will play league opponents Reinhardt and St. Andrews twice this season, but only the second meeting will count in the conference standings.
Following Point's nonconference matchup with St. Andrews, the Skyhawks will begin AAC play on Oct. 8 at Bluefield. Following Point's AAC opener, the Skyhawks will have a bye week on Oct. 15 before finishing out the final four weeks of their schedule with conference matchups.
The Skyhawks will host Union on Oct. 22 and Kentucky Christian on Oct. 29 before finishing their schedule with two road games. Point travels to Reinhardt on Nov. 5 and St. Andrews on Nov. 12.
