Perfection! Eagles Take MSC Crown
November 12, 2016
McKENZIE, Tenn. - No. 3 Reinhardt's pursuit of regular season perfection was punctuated with an exclamation point here Saturday afternoon as the Eagles rolled up 675 yards in a 58-7 victory over Bethel to clinch the Mid-South Conference West Division championship.
"To be the undisputed Mid-South Conference champions and to guarantee some home playoff games its really great. The kids finished strong. Every week, we didn't have a lull, and the kids just kept playing," said RU head coach Drew Cronic, who won his 20th game in charge of the RU program. "They really bought in and I'm proud to have a group of players that cares this much about what we're doing."
The Eagles (11-0, 5-0 MSC-West) scored on the game's opening drive after a 70-yard kick return by Qua Stocks. Dominique Swope scored from one yard out to end a 25 yard drive and give the Eagles a 7-0 lead. RU would then open the second quarter with the program's first field goal of the season as Harrison Jones connected from 24 yards out to make it 10-0.
Reinhardt marched 77 yards for its next score as Deonte Dennis carried it in from three yards out to make it 17-0. Bethel (7-4, 1-4 MSC-West) took advantage of an RU fumble to drive 48 yards for its only touchdown of the day, as the Wildcats cut it to 17-7 with 4:20 left in the first half. Reinhardt would punch it in one more time in the first half as L.J. Stegall somehow sliced through a wall of blockers and would-be tacklers for a 13-yard touchdown to make it 24-7 a the break.
The Eagles started quickly in the second half, as after an interception by Taylor Hawkins, RU went 60 yards in six plays with Qua Stocks breaking a pair of tackles for a touchdown from eight yards out. On Bethel's next possession, Jalen Holloman blocked Logan Wheat's punt and Andy Whisenant dove on the ball before it went out of the back of the end zone for a special teams score to make it 38-7 with less than five minutes gone in the half.
Reinhardt scored once again in the third quarter as Dennis powered in from a yard out to make it 45-7 with 1:49 remaining for his second score of the day.
The fourth quarter was all Reggie Mack. The RU running back ran for 115 yards on 10 carries, highlighted by a 35-yard touchdown run to make it 51-7. The scoring ended when Caleb Faulkner rumbled home from 45 yards out to give Reinhardt a 58-7 lead with 7:29 left in the game.
In all, 11 different RU players combined to run for 525 yards on the ground, led by Stegall's 124. Thompson threw for 148 yards, with Aaron Kennedy pulling in three catches for 48 yards.
Defensively, the Eagles made six tackles for a loss, led by Tevin McCoy's 1.5. McCoy and Javier Dyer also combined for RU's only sack in the game. Aaron Anderson and Tyler Martin each had six tackles, a team-best.
Reinhardt will now wait to see what team it will be facing in the NAIA Football Championship Series First Round at Ken White Field in Waleska, Ga., next Saturday. Tickets go on sale Monday morning at 9 a.m. at ReinhardtEagles.com/tickets.
"To be the undisputed Mid-South Conference champions and to guarantee some home playoff games its really great. The kids finished strong. Every week, we didn't have a lull, and the kids just kept playing," said RU head coach Drew Cronic, who won his 20th game in charge of the RU program. "They really bought in and I'm proud to have a group of players that cares this much about what we're doing."
The Eagles (11-0, 5-0 MSC-West) scored on the game's opening drive after a 70-yard kick return by Qua Stocks. Dominique Swope scored from one yard out to end a 25 yard drive and give the Eagles a 7-0 lead. RU would then open the second quarter with the program's first field goal of the season as Harrison Jones connected from 24 yards out to make it 10-0.
Reinhardt marched 77 yards for its next score as Deonte Dennis carried it in from three yards out to make it 17-0. Bethel (7-4, 1-4 MSC-West) took advantage of an RU fumble to drive 48 yards for its only touchdown of the day, as the Wildcats cut it to 17-7 with 4:20 left in the first half. Reinhardt would punch it in one more time in the first half as L.J. Stegall somehow sliced through a wall of blockers and would-be tacklers for a 13-yard touchdown to make it 24-7 a the break.
The Eagles started quickly in the second half, as after an interception by Taylor Hawkins, RU went 60 yards in six plays with Qua Stocks breaking a pair of tackles for a touchdown from eight yards out. On Bethel's next possession, Jalen Holloman blocked Logan Wheat's punt and Andy Whisenant dove on the ball before it went out of the back of the end zone for a special teams score to make it 38-7 with less than five minutes gone in the half.
Reinhardt scored once again in the third quarter as Dennis powered in from a yard out to make it 45-7 with 1:49 remaining for his second score of the day.
The fourth quarter was all Reggie Mack. The RU running back ran for 115 yards on 10 carries, highlighted by a 35-yard touchdown run to make it 51-7. The scoring ended when Caleb Faulkner rumbled home from 45 yards out to give Reinhardt a 58-7 lead with 7:29 left in the game.
In all, 11 different RU players combined to run for 525 yards on the ground, led by Stegall's 124. Thompson threw for 148 yards, with Aaron Kennedy pulling in three catches for 48 yards.
Defensively, the Eagles made six tackles for a loss, led by Tevin McCoy's 1.5. McCoy and Javier Dyer also combined for RU's only sack in the game. Aaron Anderson and Tyler Martin each had six tackles, a team-best.
Reinhardt will now wait to see what team it will be facing in the NAIA Football Championship Series First Round at Ken White Field in Waleska, Ga., next Saturday. Tickets go on sale Monday morning at 9 a.m. at ReinhardtEagles.com/tickets.