Reinhardt Dismantles Kentucky Christian, 71-21

GRAYSON, KY – In a season where the Reinhardt Eagle offense had trouble generating early momentum, Billy Hall and Montralius Mosely made an emphatic statement.
On the first play from scrimmage, Hall found Mosely open on the right flat. The senior hit a hole, accelerated, and 75 yards later danced in the end zone. Reinhardt used this to key an offensive showcase, decimating the Kentucky Christian Knights, 71-21.
“I saw everybody clear out on the post routes,” Hall said afterward. “That left Mosely wide open on the wheel.”
Reinhardt forced the Knights to punt. On the ensuing possession, Hall led the Eagles downfield Bryce Burgess rushed it into the end zone from four yards out. With over four minutes gone, the Eagles owned a 13-0 advantage (The first extra point was no good).
Kentucky Christian refused to go down easily. De’Anta Sipp found a crease in the line and went in untouched. The 35-yard score made it 13-7.
But the Eagles answered with scores from Trevae Cain and Hall’s second touchdown throw, this time from seven yards to Navarie Solomon. That made it 26-7, and the outcome was no longer in doubt.
It was reminiscent of Eagles victories from past years but has been largely missing from this one. Reinhardt came in averaging 220 yards rushing a game, good for 10^th in the NAIA but well-off last year’s pace of 339 yards per game. That led the nation. Reinhardt finished this one with 316 rushing yards. More telling, the highest point total for the Eagles this year was the 28 put on Campbellsville. Reinhardt finished the first half with 40.
More importantly, the defense played strong against a Kentucky Christian passing attack that led the nation. DeVon McCoy and Anton Wheeler both averaged over 100 yards a game and Sipp had over 125 yards a game rushing. While Sipp reached that total in the first half (he finished with 160), the two big wideouts were not a factor. McCoy had three catches for 39 yards while Wheeler got loose for a 25-yard scoring strike from Josh Drucker.
Instead, Kris Lewis was the main possession receiver, catching nine passes for 81 yards and a touchdown. Drucker completed 19 of 38 for 210 yards and two touchdowns.
But he was flummoxed by a Reinhardt defense that had three interceptions, two fumbles, and three turnovers on downs. Both fumbles were returned by for scores. In the second quarter, Satchel Crawford recovered a botched punt and went 16 yards. Late in the third it was Joe Perry’s turn. He went 24 yards after Drucker dropped it.
Hall wound up going five of nine for 130 yards and a score. Redshirt freshman Matthew Holt played the fourth. He completed his first collegiate pass, finding Solomon over the middle for a pick-up of 39.
There were signs that Reinhardt was ready to overcome the offensive frustrations. Last week, the Eagles ended the first half against FCS Kennesaw State with a late first-half drive culminating in a Billy Hall touchdown. Trey Teasley intercepted a pass right before a weather delay ended the game.
“It felt good to get a big play early,” said Reinhardt head coach James Miller. “I thought it created some momentum for us. Defensively, we were flying around. I thought the defense was lights out. We had a really good week of practice, and it showed today.”
Another thing that showed was Reinhardt penalties. The Eagles were flagged 17 times for over 200 yards. One penalty nullified an Otis Odom kick-off return for a score. Undaunted, Odom later broke another return 92 yards. This one held up.
The win puts Reinhardt at 1-0 in the Appalachian Division and ended the first losing streak since 2014. Ironically, Kentucky Christian was the team that started the previous streak. Not only that, back in 2013 the Eagles took home their first win as a football program at Knight Stadium.
Reinhardt finally wraps up their program-record four game road swing and returns home to Ken White Field at University Stadium for a clash with the Bluefield Rams. Kickoff is at 6pm.