Point Football drops AAC opener to Bluefield
BLUEFIELD, Va. (Oct. 8, 2022) - The Point University football team traveled to Virginia to open Appalachian Athletic Conference play on the road against Bluefield College for a Saturday afternoon game where they fell short 20-14.
The Skyhawks started the game with the ball first on offense and opened the drive with a Mitchell Gossett 40-yard pass to Emery Bryant. The drive would not be able to be completed as the Rams stopped the Skyhawks from scoring to take possession. Bluefield started their drive by moving the ball into fair distance, hoping to get into the endzone but would have to settle for a 19-yard field goal to take the lead 3-0. The Skyhawks' offense took the field looking for a boost to get into the endzone until the Rams' defense forced Point to punt. The rest of the quarter saw both defenses force stops to leave the Rams leading by three going into the second.
The start of the second quarter seemed like a promising drive for Bluefield to get their first touchdown. Point's defense continued their will to push hold off the Rams, which forced another field goal from the 37-yard line, which was good to push Bluefield's lead to 6-0. The Skyhawks' offense provided a spark as Nadir Mitchell pushed for a couple of positive runs to get Point into scoring territory. Mitchell finished the drive with a 2-yard rushing touchdown and a PAT field goal made by Matthew Moses, giving Point their first lead of the game with a score of 7-6. Bluefield looked to respond with their air raid offense by driving the ball all the way to the 30-yard line, but Caleb Wade created the first turnover with an interception to give Point the ball back. Both teams continued to force their will on defense as the Skyhawks remained in the lead by one at the half.
Bluefield started the third quarter with the ball first, and Quarterback, Nathan Herstich, started to create more plays for his receivers until the Skyhawks pushed the Rams back, forcing them to punt in the opening drive. The Skyhawks' offense started the half with a bang as Nadir Mitchell broke open a 55-yard rushing touchdown to give him his second of the game and push the Skyhawks' lead to 14-6. The Rams opened their playbook up on offense as they continued their passing attack, which found success with a 44-yard pass from Herstich to Matthew Trevillian to put the Rams on the board for their first touchdown of the game. A PAT field goal attempt was good by Joey Dales to now bring the score to a 14-13 game. Point looked to retaliate with another scoring drive, but penalties and sacks would force the Skyhawks to punt the ball back to Bluefield. As Bluefield took the field for the last drive of the quarter, they made it count with another big play from the Rams as Herstich completed a 55-yard passing touchdown to Thomas Lee to put them in the lead 20-14.
The fourth quarter started off with the Skyhawks moving the ball with hopes of taking the lead again until the Rams recovered a forced fumble to spoil the drive for Point. Bluefield took the field on offense, and Herstich continued to find his receivers as he connected with JaQuan Ebron for a 33-yard pass to start the drive. He then found Thomas Lee open on a 16-yard completion to at least get them into field goal range. The Skyhawks forced another field goal, and this time it went in their favor as Bluefield missed the attempt to give Point the ball back. Time was ticking for Point's offense as they looked quick game Bluefield but ultimately fizzled out, which resulted in another punt from the Skyhawks. The Rams took the field hoping to score another touchdown to put Point away, but that plan backfired as Justin Jackson made a big play on the ball for an interception with 5:21 left in the game. Mitchell Gossett led his offense on the field, hoping to will his team to victory on the crucial offensive drive. Gossett rushed for three yards on the first play and then found Bryant for 39 yards to create a big gain. Shiloh Addo-Nobles contributed with an 11-yard rush on the drive which set up another first down. Gossett connected with Bryant for a 16-yard pass to push for another first down. The Rams answered the call with two short-yard plays and forced a fumble on third down to get a crucial stop for Bluefield. The Rams took the field on offense and broke open for a 16-yard rush by Herstich to get a first down which set up another positive rush from James Thomas to seal the game 20-14.
In the box
Bluefield out-converted the Skyhawks on passing first downs with their 15 compared to the Skyhawks' nine. Point did have more rushing first downs, with eight compared to the Rams' five.
The Skyhawks had 353 total yards on offense compared to the Bluefield's 430. The Rams outdueled Point in the air with 345 passing yards, and the Skyhawks had 190. Point's ground game continued to be their bread and butter as they rushed for 163 yards on 42 attempts.
Mitchell Gossett led the charge under center, going 13-for-22 with 190 passing yards and his longest pass being 40 yards.
Nadir Mitchell led the Skyhawks on the ground game with 151 rushing yards and 2 touchdowns which notched the second week with 100+ rushing yards. Shiloh Addo-Nobles followed 32 yards on eight carries with his longest rush being 11 yards.
Emery Bryant led Point in the air with eight receptions for 139 yards, with his longest reception being 40 yards. Nick Marien followed with one catch for 22 yards.
Quan Neal led the Skyhawks on defense with five tackles, with Kere Thomas following with four tackles. Je'Marcus Snow, Promise Williams and Gavin Graham also tallied four tackles, with Graham adding 2 sacks along with 2 tackles for loss.
Up next
The Skyhawks will have a bye week Saturday, Oct. 15, and will return to action at Ram Stadium on Oct. 22 versus Union College for an AAC matchup for their homecoming game. Kickoff is scheduled for 12:00 p.m.