Despite a lengthy weather delay, the Fire could not be stopped on Saturday night, as they defeated No. 22 Reinhardt University 28-10.
Southeastern University scored touchdowns on three-straight possessions and capped the night with a blocked punt for the final score in a 28-10 football upset over
The visiting Eagles claimed the first quarter, but trailing 10-7 in the second stanza, Southeastern drove 73 yards and capitalized on an 8 yard touchdown run by quarterback Nate Mikell to go ahead for good, 14-10, with 16 seconds left in the half.
Mikell connected with Dominic Larry for the Fire offense’s third straight scoring drive, scoring on a 64-yard pass at 12:39 early in the third quarter. Following a long weather delay, Alex Reyes blocked a Reinhardt punt and Leroy Lopez picked up up for the scoop and score, stretching the margin to 28-10.
The Fire offense out-gained the Eagles, 311-253, and did not commit a turnover. SEU churned out 226 yards on the ground on 49 carries.
The two-man SEU backfield saw Josiah Neos and Daniel Parkercombine for 139 yards on 26 carries. Neos accounted for 71 of those yards on 15 totes and Parker had 68 yards on 11 attempts with the first home score covering 10 yards with 8:13 left in the second quarter.
Larry caught two passes for 85 yards and the one touchdown.
On the defensive front, SEU had a good balance of defenders with Vincent Brown’s seven tackles, one for a loss, and a pass breakup. Jalen Christian, Ian Jolly and Curtis Williams were right behind with seven, six and six stops.
Peyton Major recorded the lone sack of the Eagle quarterback, while both Thomas Ibrahim and Jackson Baird had a tackle for loss each.
With the win, SEU improves to 2-0 this season. It is the Fire’s second time winning the opening two contests in the past three years since starting the 2022 campaign with four wins in a row. Reinhardt falls to 1-2 on the year. SEU upset a ranked Reinhardt squad for the second straight year, as they topped the Eagles 23-20 in Waleska last September.
Southeastern will have a bye week next weekend before it hosts University of Fort Lauderdale at Victory Field on Saturday night, Sept. 28. Kick-off is set for 7 p.m.
