SATURDAY’S GAMES
Faulkner at Reinhardt, noon
Berry at Chicago, 1 p.m.
Point at Kennesaw State, 1 p.m.
Fort Valley State at Kentucky State, 1:30 p.m.
Delta State at Shorter, 1:30 p.m.
Stillman at Clark Atlanta, 2 p.m.
Greensboro at LaGrange, 2 p.m.
Valdosta State at West Georgia, 2 p.m.
Morehouse vs. Tuskegee (Columbus), 2 p.m.
Mercer at Western Carolina, 3:30 p.m.
Savannah State at Morgan State, 4 p.m.
Georgia Military College at Tyler Junior College, 4 p.m.
Reinhardt’s offensive numbers are staggering, but coach Drew Cronic likes to talk about his defense.
It’s easy to see why Reinhardt’s defensive players would be overlooked on a team that leads the NAIA in rushing, with 374.2 yards per game, and ranks No. 2 in scoring, at 54 points per game.
“Our defense is creating a lot of turnovers, and we’re a lot more athletic on defense,” Cronic said. “It takes programs longer to get to where they need to be defensively. There’s nowhere to hide. We’re older and better, and our defense is a strength of our team. They’re getting off the field quick and giving us the ball back.”
In its third season, Reinhardt is 5-0 and ranked 14th in the NAIA Coaches poll heading into Saturday’s game against No. 10 Faulkner (3-1).
Cronic is in his first season as head coach, having taken over for his dad Danny Cronic, who started the program.
He still runs his father’s offense, a hybrid, fast-tempo version of the Wing-T that “is more like Auburn’s offense in Georgia Tech’s formations” and scores “in bunches,” he said.
The Eagles used it to set school records with 520 yards rushing and points in an 80-14 victory over Bluefield College last week.
“The kids have been in the system for their third year and we have some speed,” Cronic said. “We have one of the smallest teams, but we get the kids in space and let them run around.”
Niagel Curtis (Gordon Central) has 404 yards rushing and nine touchdowns, L.J. Stegall (Jeff Davis) has 590 all-purpose yards and Sam Jones (Loganville) averages 11.3 yards a carry.
Quarterbacks Ryan Thompson and Johnathon Chamblee (Savannah Christian) have combined for 919 yards passing for the fourth-ranked offense in NAIA (558 yards a game).
Defensive end Javier Dyer (Brookwood) has 3.5 sacks and 6.5 tackles for loss, and linebacker Jacob Gross (Upson-Lee) leads the Eagles with 40 tackles.
Cronic said nearly all of Reinhardt’s 130 players are from Georgia.
“I think we’ve hit a gold mine. This place is ready to explode,” he said. “We’ve had a great start. We just have to keep on going and we’ll have a chance to be successful for a while.”
Etc.: Clark Atlanta's Deandre Jackson (South Atlanta) leads the SIAC in all-purpose yards with 139.4 per game. He has 12 catches for 161 yards, 18 kick returns for 386 yards, eight punt returns for 146 yards and two carries for 4 yards. … Savannah State snapped a 24-game losing streak with its 37-27 victory over Florida A&M last week. The Tigers hadn't won since Sept. 14, 2013. … Morehouse linebacker James Woods (Southwest DeKalb) is the SIAC defensive player of the week with seven tackles and three sacks in the win over Clark Atlanta. … Mercer quarterback John Russ (Mill Creek) hasn't thrown an interception in 123 attempts this season.
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