Point’s late kickoff return score helps Georgetown hold off Andrews
In mostly a back-and-forth game, neither Georgetown nor Andrews could seem to quite pull away.
That all changed with about six minutes left in the game when Reggie Point returned a kickoff 99 yards to give Georgetown a 39-28 lead, one it would hold on to until the clock reached zeros.
“It made a big difference for our defense. It really sparked them,” Bulldogs coach Bradley Adams said. “They got a stop and we got the ball back and were able to grind out the clock.”
With Andrews game planning for Georgetown’s usually run-heavy offense, the Bulldogs took to the air to do most of their damage.
Quarterback Jarvis Brown was 14-for-19 for 274 yards, three touchdowns and one interception, with Cavonte Gamble being the main beneficiary while piling up 133 yards on five catches, two of which went for scores.
“It was just part of the game plan. Going in we were just looking for certain things they did,” Adams said. “We were just seeing how they aligned to decide whether we would run or throw the ball. We were working on it all day long.
“We want to run the football first, but they were [stacking the box] and obviously taking that away from us.”
It was a nice bounce-back win for the Bulldogs and Brown, who lost to Conway in Week 0 before having an off week in Week 1.
“We told him he had to respond from that Conway game,” Adams said of Brown. “He’s the answer to make our offense go and he did that tonight.”
Deakidd Anderson had four receptions for 82 yards and a score, and Brown (74) and running back Tony Lara (42) did most of the damage on the ground while each scoring a touchdown.
Defensively, Jordan Manigault had 20 tackles to lead a Bulldogs unit that had trouble slowing down the Yellow Jackets.
“They have a very good football team,” Adams said. “We had a very hard time defensively slowing them down.”
Uncharacteristically for Adams’ Bulldogs, that side of the ball has him concerned here early in the season.
“I think the main thing is to focus on ourselves. We need to get better on the defensive side of the ball,” the coach said. “We’re giving up too much. We’re not a team that can beat people scoring 40 or 50 points or 30 or 40 points per game.
“If we’re going to be who we are and have been the last couple years, we have to have a strong defense.”
Nonetheless, it was not only a win, but a win over a county rival.
“We were very excited,” Adams said of improving to 1-1. “It’s a big rivalry game, not only for us but for the community. It’s good to get back in the win column.”
This story was originally published September 5, 2015 at 12:13 AM with the headline "Point’s late kickoff return score helps Georgetown hold off Andrews."