After a tough loss on the road, the Rhodes college football team returned to Memphis to play in front of the home crowd for the first time this season. They squared off against former conference foe, the Austin College Kangaroos. The Lynx were explosive on offense and suffocating on defense, leading to their first victory of the season.
1Q:
It was a scoreless first half as both teams were slow to find their offensive identities, but the Lynx were able to force 2 turnovers. JD Davis was responsible for both forced fumbles, while Nick Persiano and Christian Grimes each had a fumble recovery. The defense was otherwise stout against the Austin College run game.
2Q:
The Lynx lit up the scoreboard on their first drive of the 2nd quarter as Jelani Lovett found a hole off the right side for a 1-yard touchdown run, putting the Lynx ahead 7-0. The defense quickly forced a 3 and out, giving the ball back to the offense in Lynx territory. A couple plays later, Evan Reeder found Trey Hampton in the endzone for a 20-yard passing touchdown.
The Roos would respond with a field goal on the next drive, making the score 14-3 and giving the Lynx the ball back with just 1:09 left in the half. The Lynx executed a 2-minute drill all the way down the field thanks to a 43-yard reception down the sideline from Jacob Kastl. The drive was capped off by a 27-yard Logan Ahern field goal as time expired, putting the Lynx up 17-3 at the half.
3Q:
To begin the 3rd quarter, the Lynx defense stifled the Austin offense and forced a punt. The punt was blocked and returned by Chyco Williams all the way back to the Austin 15-yard
line. 2 plays later, Evan Reeder carried the ball from the 15 all the way into the end zone for his 2nd touchdown of the day. The Lynx had all the momentum and were up 24-3.
The Rhodes defense continued to impress as the next drive saw a pass deflected by Jonathan Torres and intercepted by Deon King. This would put an end to the 3rd quarter with the score sitting at 24-10 in favor of the Lynx.
4Q:
On the very first drive of the 4th quarter, the Lynx dropped a screen pass off to freshman Jonathan Hampton who turned it into a 53-yard gain and a touchdown. This was the first score in the college career of Jonathan Hampton, and the Lynx hoped it would be enough to put away the Kangaroos.
The Kangaroos were able to score once more, but the effort would not be enough as the Lynx successfully bled the clock and maintained a 31-17 lead to seal the victory.
The win improves the Lynx record to 1-1 as they get set to head into a bye week. They will not be in action again until Saturday, 9/27 when they go on the road to take on the Hendrix Warriors at 6pm. They will not have another home again until 10/11 when they square off against the Millsaps Majors.
