WALESKA, Ga. (August 24, 2019) – The Webber International University football team traveled to Waleska, Georgia, for its 2019 season opener against No. 10 Reinhardt University, and in the end, the Warriors fell to the Eagles by a score of 16-6 on Saturday afternoon.

Despite an opportunistic and stingy Warriors' defense that kept Webber (0-1) within striking distance throughout the game and held Reinhardt (1-0) to only three points at halftime, the Warriors' offense had a tough go of it early on and was held scoreless in the first half with only 36 total yards, minus seven rushing yards and only one first down to that point.

Conversely, the Eagles had accumulated 263 total yards with 11 first downs through the first 30 minutes.

However, an interception by Brandon Bell, a forced fumble by Danterius Ghant and two missed field goals for Reinhardt in the first half kept it as only a three-point game until early in the third quarter after an interception on the very first drive of the half by the Warrior offense.

The Warriors' offense then attempted to respond on their next drive with back-to-back completions on third-and-10 from freshman quarterback Cody Braden to senor Timothy Miller and then to junior Jeremiah Lucas. Then, after a seven-yard run on first down by Braden to get the Warriors into Eagles' territory, Webber was officially threatening after a completion to sophomore running back Davonte Williams out of the backfield on third down to keep the drive going. Unfortunately, the drive stalled, and then a penalty just before a fake punt attempt left the Warriors with no choice but to send junior Austin Smith out to punt.

Down 16-0 early in the fourth quarter, Webber finally got on the scoreboard after a long completion of 40 yards from another freshman quarterback, Elijah Stimmell, to Miller to set up a 10-yard touchdown pass from Braden to Lucas.

The game would eventually be ended early with 4:07 left on the clock by the coaches and the officials due to weather.

In all, Braden finished his first collegiate appearance 10-for-16 for a game-high 103 yards with one touchdown and an interception while Stimmell was 2-for-3 for 53 yards. Miller finished with three catches for a game-high 64 yards while Williams hauled in six catches for 60 yards and Lucas had two grabs for 27 yards and the Warriors' lone score of the ballgame.

On the ground, the Warriors finished with only four net rushing yards compared to 275 for Reinhardt, which had four different players with at least 48 total yards.

Defensively for Webber, Colton Cormier finished with a game-high 12 total tackles while Devonte Harris and Bell were next with eight tackles apiece.

"Our defense was pretty good, but we simply had too many mental mistakes and our offense never got in sync." said Webber's Head Football Coach Kelly Scott. "We have to be better on both sides if we want to win going forward."

Webber will now return home for back-to-back home games inside Denison Stadium. The Warriors will host Middle Georgia State University at 1:30 p.m. on Saturday, August 31, and will then battle Union College also at 1:30 p.m. on Saturday, September 7.