All Smiles for Point Football as they claim victory over the Knights
VALLEY, Ala. (Oct. 1, 2022) - The Point University football team returned to Ram Stadium Saturday afternoon for another week of football to face St. Andrews University in a non-conference matchup and came walked out victorious with the score of 48-6.
The Skyhawks started the first quarter off in the most perfect a football team could imagine. With the Knights getting the ball first, they looked to create the first score by driving the Skyhawks' defense down the field but would be held out of scoring distance. Point's offense took the field with Mitchell Gossett leading the charge. The Skyhawks moved the ball with a combination of running and passing, which opened a 36-yard rushing touchdown on the opening drive from Nadir Mitchell. Giovanni Martinez's kick was good to make the score 7-0. The next kickoff showed success for the Skyhawks as they forced a negative yardage return. The Skyhawks' defense returned to the field with a mindset to get a stop. Julius Ballard forced a five-yard loss, and the next play Aaron Anderson forced a fumble along with recovering it for a scoop and score to add too their lead, with it now being 14-0. The following kickoff saw the Skyhawks force a fumble to regain possession to get their offense back on the field. The Knights' defense did not allow Point's offense to gain any momentum on their next drive, which forced the Skyhawks to punt.
In the 2nd quarter, St. Andrews' offense returned to the field looking for answers by creating a scoring drive of their own. The Knights showed life by moving the ball but would be forced to punt again to give Point the ball back. The Skyhawks took the field on offense, with Gossett completing a few passes to help the ball along with Nadir Mitchell having positive gains on his runs. These quick plays set up a 36-yard passing touchdown from Gossett to Emery Bryant to extend their lead to 21-0. As the first period of play went on, the Skyhawks' defense continued to get stops to help their offense return to the field, which is exactly what they did. On the next offensive drive, Point had another positive drive that saw them get into the red zone. Gossett finished the drive with a five-yard touchdown pass to Nick Marien to boost their lead to 28-0 going into the half.
The third quarter saw the Skyhawks get the ball first on offense as they looked to continue their momentum but would be stopped by St. Andrews to force them to punt. Point's defense continued their ways of swarming to the ball as they forced another three and out to get their offense back on the field. The Skyhawks' drive started with a 12-yard rush by Mitchell, which was followed by a 19-yard rush by Gossett. Those runs set Shiloh Addo-Nobles up for the one-yard rushing touchdown to now bring the lead to 35-0. The Skyhawks' defense did not waste any time forcing another turnover as Quan Neal intercepted a pass to return it for 40 yards. Point's offense took the field looking to find their way in the endzone again but would have to settle for a 25-yard field goal, which was made by Martinez to now lead 38-0. With the Skyhawks forcing another stop on defense, Point returned to the field with a few new faces in the game, ready to make an impact. AJ Rathbun answered the call with a 17-yard touchdown for his first collegiate touchdown. The Skyhawks now held a 45-0 lead going into the final period of play.
At the start of the fourth quarter, Ethan Binns made his impact on the game with an interception returned for five yards. Point would not be able to convert on offense which forced them to punt to the Knights. St. Andrews would finally create the scoring drive they were looking for with a 21-yard passing touchdown from Andrew Fowler to Marquis McCoy. The Knights attempted a two-point conversion but did not convert to now trail 45-6. The Skyhawks took the field on offense, looking for one more touchdown to end it off the right way but would not be able to get into the endzone, which forced a 25-yard field goal that was made to bring the score 48-6. The Knights would not be able to find their way into the endzone again as the Skyhawks ended the game for their first win of the season.
In the box
Point out-converted the Knights on passing first downs with their 19 compared to St. Andrews' 11. The Knights did have one more rushing first down than the Skyhawks with nine compared to Point's eight.
The Skyhawks had 419 total yards on offense, and St. Andrews had 212. Point out-dueled the Knights in the air with 199 passing yards while the Knights had 160. Point's rushing attack continued to be a force as they rushed for 220 yards with 40 rushing attempts.
Mitchell Gossett led the charge under center, going 14-for-18 with 154 passing yards and two touchdowns. Gossett also added 19 rushing yards.
Austin Adcock went 1-for-1 with 45 passing yards.
Nadir Mitchell led the Skyhawks on the ground game with 103 rushing yards and one touchdown, with his longest rush being 36 yards. Shiloh Addo-Nobles followed with 55 yards and a touchdown as well. AJ Rathbun contributed with five rushes for 25 yards and a touchdown.
In the air, Emery Bryant led Point with 5 receptions for 82 receiving yards and a touchdown. Cam Simmons followed with one reception for 45 yards. Nick Marien added three receptions for 32 yards and a touchdown.
On the defensive side, Aaron Anderson led with four tackles and a fumble recovery for a touchdown. Gavin Graham also added four tackles, along with Roman Jones adding three.
Up next
The Skyhawks will look to continue their momentum from this game as they travel to Virginia for their conference opener against Bluefield College Saturday, Oct. 8. Kickoff is scheduled for 2:00 p.m. EST.
