Point Football conquered by Birmingham-Southern
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (Sept. 24, 2022) - The Point University continued their 2022 campaign as they took a trip to Birmingham-Southern College for a week five matchup and fell 34-14.
Point started the game on offense with Mitchell Gossett taking charge of the Skyhawks' offense and looking to get a boost for them going. The Panthers' defense forced a three and out to gain possession on their 37-yard line. The no-huddle offense did not waste time getting into a rhythm as BSC drove the ball all the way to the RedZone to set up a score. The Panthers finished off the drive with a touchdown after Matt McClary connected with Dayton Green for a nine-yard touchdown. The field goal by Cole Porch brought the score to 7-0. As Point's offense took the field again, they looked to serve up their own scoring drive, but a penalty from the Skyhawks along with a blocked punt from BSC gave the Panthers the ball back. Birmingham-Southern kicked the offensive drive off with a 41-yard pass completion to bring them within scoring distance again. Three plays later, The Panthers found their way into the endzone again with a one-yard touchdown run from Jon Lewis to extend the lead to 14-0. As Point took the field on offense, they did not waste time answering back with a big play of their own as Mitchell Gossett completed a 67-yard touchdown pass to Nick Marien. The kick made by Giovanni Martinez brought the score to 14-7. The Skyhawks' defense returned to the field and were hungry to end the drive with a stop. As the Panthers seemed to create a successful drive, Point forced two incompletions to force a punt.
The second quarter did not start off on the right foot for Point as they were forced to punt on offense. Birmingham-Southern's offense took the field with a mission as two big pass completions put them in the, and a four-yard touchdown run moved their lead to 21-7. The Skyhawks' offense was put on ice again as BSC's defense did not budge to give up many yards on the drive, which gave them the ball back in their possession. Point's defense made up for their last drive on defense by creating a turnover with an interception by Julius Ballard. With the momentum shifted, the Skyhawks rode the wave on offense, with Gossett marching them into scoring territory. Resulting from that, he brought the Skyhawks one score game with a 2-yard touchdown run. Birmingham-Southern took the field on offense again with a task to get into the endzone once more. The drive seemed promising with six minutes of possession, but the Skyhawks' defense made the defensive stand to give Point the ball back for the two-minute drill. With the Skyhawks looking to capitalize on the opportunity in front of them, their offensive drive would not result in much of a gain. With the last minute of the first half left, BSC started the drive with San Juan Warner getting a 10-yard sack to move them further from a scoring distance. The Panthers countered that with a 22-yard completion along with a penalty from Point to bring them into field goal territory. With two seconds left in the half, Cole Porch nailed a 22-yard field goal to bring the score 24-14 at the half.
Business picked in the third quarter as the Skyhawks forced a turnover on defense in their first drive with a forced fumble from Quan Neal that gave Point possession. The Skyhawks' offense returned to the turf looking to bring the game within reach but could not convert on the drive. They looked to settle for a field goal until Birmingham-Southern created a big play by blocking the field goal not to allow the Skyhawks to get another score. As the Panthers took the field on offense, they created another possession that saw BSC get into scoring position again. Point would not allow them to get into the endzone, which resulted in the Panthers making a 42-yard field goal to add to their 27-14 score. Point's offense took the field again, which saw the Skyhawks create another positive gain to possibly bring them within a one-score game. BSC forced a field goal and added fuel to the fire by blocking their second field goal of the game.
The final period of play started in the Panthers' favor as they added to their deficit with another touchdown to bring the score to 34-14. The Skyhawks looked to create a fourth-quarter comeback but could move past the defense of Birmingham-Southern on their final two drives.
In the box
The Panthers out-converted the Skyhawks 24 to 13 on first down attempts. BSC had 10 rushing first downs and 12 passing first downs compared to Point's eight rushing first downs, along with their two passing first downs.
The Skyhawks had 266 total yards on offense, and the Panthers had 376. Birmingham-Southern out-dueled Point in the air with 240 passing yards compared to the Skyhawks' 110. Point did have more rushing yards with 156 on 40 attempts compared to BSC's 136 rushing yards on 50 attempts.
Mitchell Gossett took snaps under center, going 6-for-21 with 110 passing yards and a touchdown. Gossett also rushed for 13 yards on five attempts with a touchdown.
Shiloh-Add Nobles led the Skyhawks on the ground game with 78 yards on 13 attempts. Nadir Mitchell followed with 47 yards on 15 attempts.
Nick Marien led Point in the air with 67 receiving yards for one touchdown.
Quan Neal anchored the Skyhawks' defense with nine tackles and a forced fumble. Aaron Anderon and San Juan Warner followed with eight tackles. Caleb Wade added six tackles.
Up next
Point will return home to Ram Stadium for an afternoon showdown against St. Andrews University Saturday, Oct. 1. Game time is scheduled for 12:00 p.m.