Eagles soar past RedStorm, 56-0

Rio Grande Sports Information
     JACKSON, Ohio - Reinhardt University looked anything but weary from their long trek northward out of Georgia.
     In fact, the Eagles set the tone for the day on the first play of the game and never looked back.
     The visitors built a 35-0 halftime lead and rolled to a convincing 56-0 win over the University of Rio Grande, Saturday afternoon, in Appalachian Athletic Conference play at Jackson High School's Alumni Stadium.
     Reinhardt ran its record to 5-3 overall and 4-0 in the AAC with the win in the first-ever meeting between the two teams.
     Rio Grande, which was playing its final home contest of the season, dropped to 0-8 overall and 0-5 in league play.
     The RedStorm, who had shown strides toward improvement despite losses in their previous two outings, found themselves down 7-0 just 15 seconds into the game after Tyress McKey ran the opening kickoff back 89 yards for a touchdown.
     Rio Grande had a chance to answer despite punting on its opening possession when sophomore Robert Edwards (Forestville, MD) forced a fumble by Cam Curtis on the return and recovered the loose ball at the Reinhardt 10-yard line.
     However, runs by freshman Jaedyn Cartwright (Riverview, FL) on first and second downs produced just two yards, sophomore Peyton Molter's (Louisville, KY) third down pass was incomplete and Molter was sacked for a 10-yard loss to give the ball back to the Eagles on downs.
     Reinhardt responded with a six-play, 80-yard scoring march capped by Taylor Jackson's 38-yard touchdown pass to Jordan Ghant to make it 14-0.
     From that point, the rout was on.
     McKey scored on a 35-yard TD jaunt with 5:16 remaining in the opening period to make it 21-0, while a 3-yard scoring run by Jah Colbert and a 4-yard TD plunge by Jamarion Walker in the second quarter shoved the advantage to 35-0 at the intermission.
     A quick, two-play, 68-yard scoring drive by Reinhardt on its first possession of the second half, culminating in a 5-yard run by Colbert made it 42-0. Colbert had a 63-yard run on the play prior to the score.
     Braden Bohannon had a 24-yard TD run and Christopher Barnes added a 36-yard scoring run in the fourth period to set the final score.
     Reinhardt finished with 26 first downs to just five for Rio Grande and outgained the RedStorm, 537-49, including 476 yards on the ground.
     Colbert finished with 157 yards and two touchdowns on 11 carries to pace the Eagles' offensive onslaught. Fourteen different players had at least one carry in the victory.
     Reinhardt also had eight sacks and a pair of fumble recoveries on defense, including a pair of sacks and a fumble recovery by Emmanuel Olaitan.
     Three Rio Grande signal-callers went just 8-for-20 through the air for 55 yards, while the RedStorm finished with minus-6 yards on 31 carries.
     Defensively, sophomore Nathaniel Lopez (East Mims, FL) led the hosts with 10 tackles and a pass breakup, while sophomore Pierre Ricks (Hollandale, MS) also had a fumble recovery.
     Rio Grande will wrap up its season next Saturday at Bluefield (Va.) University. Kickoff is set for 1:30 p.m. at Mitchell Stadium.