By Jake Sutherlin
The Point University and Kentucky Christian University football teams were tied 40-40 with 50 seconds to play Saturday afternoon. Point started its final drive with the ball at its own 39-yard line; at the helm was Austin Adcock, Point’s freshman quarterback who was making his first collegiate start because of injuries.
To that point in the game, Adcock was having a rough first outing, completing 13 of 23 passes for 100 yards and two interceptions. But he took full advantage of this last opportunity.
Adcock completed three consecutive throws for 51 yards, advancing the ball to KCU’s 10-yard line. After a couple more run plays and timeouts, Point’s Giovanni Martinez kicked a game-winning 22-yard field goal as time expired to seal a 43-40 victory.
It was a wild ending to a wild game that featured an interception return for a touchdown (by Cornelius Cutliff of KCU), a fumble recovery for a touchdown (by Emery Bryant of Point), blocked field goals and punts, and crazy scoring runs and long pass plays. After trailing 17-0, KCU scored three touchdowns in the final four minutes of the first half!
“In the end, I’m pleased with the final result but . . .,” Point’s head coach Trevor Zeiders paused and chuckled, “it was entertaining for the fans.”
“It’s a tough loss to swallow, especially in that fashion,” said Jake Russell, KCU’s coach.
Both coaches have led their respective programs for only a short time. Zeiders is in his first year at Point, and Russell is in his second year at KCU. They’re both still ironing out some of the wrinkles, and both teams will have the final two games of the season to codify the work that’s been done this year.
With the home-field victory, Point’s record stands at 3-6, while the loss dropped KCU to 2-7. Point and KCU are the only independent Christian church colleges that field football teams.
“It’s been a good season in terms of growth,” said Zeiders, of Point. “I was asked a couple weeks ago why I don’t talk more about winning. I asked, ‘What is winning?’ Winning is a byproduct of paying attention to small details. And if you do the small things right, the big things will start to take care of themselves.”
“We should win our final two,” said KCU’s Russell. “It’s about sending our seniors out in the right way, but it’s also about trying to build something sustainable and successful.”
For both coaches, there’s a greater shared joy and purpose in being out on those fields.
“We [Russell and Zeiders] talked a little before the game about the ministry field being our own backyard,” Zeiders said.
“You share the feeling of a higher calling,” Russell said. “When the scoreboard comes on, you want to win, but you want to make sure you’re doing things the right way. You’re challenged to promote Christian values and expose some of your players to those values.”
“Most of our players, most kids everywhere, didn’t grow up in church, and it’s through our programs that they get the opportunity to hear about Jesus. That exposure is one of the biggest things,” Zeiders added.
Both coaches are grateful for what God has done—and optimistic about what he will continue to do—through their programs . . . even if sometimes they’re on opposite sides of the scoreboard.
Jake Sutherlin, who earned a bachelor’s degree in journalism from the University of Missouri, works as a youth intern for a church in Mississippi.
0 Comments