As the rain began to fall on Ken White Field, it chased away fans while washing away Reinhardt’s hopes of an undefeated season in the NAIA semifinals Saturday.
Saint Francis (12-1) came to Waleska and handed the Eagles (13-1) their first and only loss of the season in a 42-24 contest. It was an up-and-down first quarter for both teams, but once the visiting Cougars got rolling in the second, it was all downhill for Reinhardt.
1. Missed opportunities on both sides of halftime
Trailing 21-7 with less than a minute remaining in the first half, the Eagles were getting the ball back inside Saint Francis territory with two timeouts. After allowing 21 consecutive points, Reinhardt had a chance to stop the bleeding and get some momentum going into the break.
The Eagles converted on a fourth-and-seven to keep their drive alive and move to the Cougars’ 21-yard line, but they had to settle for a field goal, and it remained a two possession game.
The Eagles opened the third quarter with the ball and marched inside the Saint Francis 5, but were stopped short on fourth down this time, giving the ball to the Cougars. On the next play, Saint Francis running back Justin Green took it 98 yards to the end zone to break the game open.
“That swing right there, just kind of just killed us,” coach Drew Cronic said. “We had a little momentum going, and we didn’t get it in, and then they had that long run, and I think that just really got things going.”
2. Big plays from Saint Francis
Green’s touchdown run was one of a handful of big plays the Cougars were able to get. Reinhardt forced Saint Francis into many third-and-long situations, but the Cougars continued to convert when it mattered most.
The combo of Saint Francis quarterback Nick Ferrer and wide receiver Seth Coate proved to be too much for the Eagles’ secondary. Coate had nine catches for 191 yards and a pair of scores and seemed to make his presence known at the most important moments of the game.
3. Untimely execution issues on third down
While the Cougars kept finding ways to prolong drives even when they seemed destined to fail, the Eagles were unable to move the chains when it mattered most. Despite being able to get some first downs to start drives, Reinhardt was unable to really get into a sustainable groove on offense. The Eagles punted three times after crossing the 50, and it seemed their offense was never able to put enough pressure on the Saint Francis defense.
With one second left in the third quarter trailing 28-17, Reinhardt faced a third down that if converted could have re-energized the team going into the final quarter. Instead, quarterback Ryan Thompson threw an interception that was returned for a touchdown and sealed the Eagles’ fate.
“I was trying to hit (wide receiver) L.J. (Stegall) on the skinny post, the safety made a good play,” Thompson said.
4. Cougars’ second-half rushing attack
The Eagles said they were ready for Saint Francis to go to the ground throughout the game, and in the first half they contained them to 65 yards. After halftime, however, it was a different story. Led by Green and his five carries for 139 yards, the Cougars totaled 199 rushing yards in the final 30 minutes to wear down the Eagles’ defense and work the clock to prevent hopes of a comeback.
“There’s good days and there’s bad days, and today just wasn’t ours,” linebacker Tyler Martin said.
5. First-half penalties
The numbers were even in penalties for the two teams in the first two quarters, but those committed by Reinhardt proved to be a bit more backbreaking.
A pair of false starts helped cut two drives short, and a kick off out of bounds gave Saint Francis optimum field position following Reinhardt’s first touchdown and helped the Cougars answer and tie the score at 7-7 before eventually gaining a 21-7 edge.
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