VALLEY — The Point Skyhawks football team (0-1) are ready to bounce back from a 59-0 season-opening loss at NCAA FCS reigning quarterfinalist Kennesaw State this Saturday. The team’s schedule doesn’t get any easier, as the Skyhawks are now taking the trip up to Columbia, Kentucky to face NAIA No. 13-ranked Lindsey Wilson College.

“I’m looking forward to the competition,” Point sophomore center Jacob Longacre said. “To get better, you have to go against the best. Our first five games are pretty tough, so this is only going to make us play better and play harder.”

Lindsey Wilson finished the 2018 season with a 7-3 record. The Blue Raiders’ defense likes to sit back and wait for the opposing team’s offense to make a move, according to Point sophomore quarterback Micah Maxey. Maxey said the Skyhawks’ running game and short-yardage completions will be pivotal in the matchup.

Maxey and Longacre both said that the team has learned to remain aggressive during the entire game week after the season-opening loss and that the group is motivated to get on the field for game two.

“I felt like we left a lot out there on the field,” Maxey said. “However, it was a good starting point to see what we could do against a top-tier Division I program that competes for a championship every year. This season, in NAIA play, we should be very good this year.”

Maxey finished the opener by completing 15-of-27 passes for 92 yards and one interception. He led the Skyhawks across midfield on a couple of possessions in the second half.

“Our team didn’t give up,” Maxey said. “We went out there, even though we were getting beat, everybody still tried to finish to the end, we were still going hard no matter what was happening at that point of the game.”

Longacre echoed Maxey’s thoughts.

“I like the fight we had,” Longacre said. “There was no quit in us. That’s big because we’re an experienced team this year, and that’s going to go a long way. That fight that we’ve shown.”

Point is optimistic that it can turn its fortune around this week.

“We can score a lot of points,” Maxey said. “Our offense is very high-powered, it didn’t show in the first game, but I know for a fact that this game, we’ll be able to put up a lot of points. I see us coming out on top this week.”

Kickoff is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. EDT.