Southeastern Stymied Eagles Offense in Sunshine State

photo by Southeastern Athletic Staff

Lakeland, FL - The trip to the Sunshine State ended up being a tough road trip for the Eagles versus the Fire of Southeastern University.  The 22nd-ranked Eagles were not able to keep putting points on the board despite going up early 7-0 in the first quarter.

The first quarter score seemed very promising when freshman running back Jamarion Walker scored on a 4th and goal situation with a little over four minutes left in the first quarter. Walker ended the game with 22 yards rushing on nine carries.  Jah Colber led the Eagles again with 54 yards on six carries for a nine-yards-per-carry average. Thirty-six of his yards did come on one play. For the most part, the Fire was able to contain the Eagles' running game, holding them to just 121 total rushing yards.

Southeastern was able to tie the game early in the second quarter when Reinhardt's drive was halted around their own forty-yard line.  A bad snap on 4th down for the Eagles sailed over punter Colby Harrison's head forcing him to retreat and grab the ball only to get off a sideways punt that lost 14 yards for the Eagles..  This play set a tone for what was to come later in the game as Southeastern got right back into the game, 7-7.

Reinhardt was able to take the lead back in the second quarter after the Fire scored early in the second.  An Alex Hanson 35-yard field goal gave the Eagles a 10-7 lead midway through the second quarter. Southeastern scored a touchdown a couple of drives later, taking the lead back 14-10 going into the halftime break.

Quarterback Stephin Craig did have some success throwing the ball, totaling 132 yards on 14 of 32 passing. However, the passing game was very similar to the running game, where the Fire contained the Eagles for most of the game, keeping them out of the endzone.  Reinhardt would not score the rest of the game and they capped their offensive production at 253 total yards compared to the 311 by the Fire.

David Friedberg had the most success receiving for the Eagles, catching three balls for a total of 57 yards.  His long of the game was a 28-yard reception.

Defensively, Emmanuel Olaitan, Darren McKenzie, and Julian Stevenson led the Eagles with six tackles each. Olaitan had two tackles for a loss totaling 10 yards.

Defensive Back Keon McGhee had an interception for the second game in a row to go along with four tackles in the game. McGhee continually shows that he is a ball-hawk for the Eagles. He is always a threat to take one away from the opposing quarterbacks at any time in the games.

Southeastern was able to score on their first drive of the third quarter, going up 21-10, and that would be all that the Fire needed to take this game from the visiting Eagles. The game was stopped later in the third quarter for a weather/lightning delay. This disrupted the flow of the game for both teams, but it seemed to affect the Eagles more so, as their offense could not get back on track the rest of the game.

The Fire scored once more in the fourth quarter after the game resumed and put the game away for good, 28-10.

Reinhardt will finally be able to play at home for the next game scheduled for a noon kickoff on Saturday, September 21st, versus the University of the Cumberlands. Cumberlands did get the narrow win last year at their place, so the Eagles will want to get this win back on their side and set the tone for the remainder of their schedule.  A few key games are coming up behind Cumberlands, where the Eagles will need to have their offense firing on all cylinders. Georgetown and UPike are back-to-back road games for the Eagles and could very well be statement games for Reinhardt.