DAYTONA BEACH — During its three-year postseason history, Reinhardt has found only one team in the way every year – Saint Francis (Ind.).
But the Eagles added to their problems early Saturday, sometimes seemingly getting in their own way during the early portion of the 62nd annual NAIA national championship game.
Reinhardt committed two turnovers before the offense even took the field, allowed a 4th-and-14 conversion, missed a 31-yard field goal and an extra point and didn’t complete a pass for positive yardage until midway through the third quarter. That put the Eagles in a 24-point hole three minutes into the second quarter, allowing the Cougars to take their second consecutive national title with a 24-13 win at Municipal Stadium.
The past two seasons, top-ranked Saint Francis (14-0) has ended Reinhardt’s year, beating the Eagles by 11 in the 2015 first round and 18 in the 2016 semifinals.
No. 2 Reinhardt (12-1) is in its fifth season as a program.
Saint Francis was a wire-to-wire unanimous No. 1 in the NAIA poll and has a 23-game winning streak and back-to-back national championships.
