OAKLAND CITY, Ind. – The Bellarmine University sprint football team opens its fourth season of play this Saturday at Oakland City University. Kickoff is set for 2 p.m. ET.
 
Head coach Harold Davis' team is coming off back-to-back Midwest Sprint Football League playoff appearances, though the Knights have yet to break through to the MSFL Championship.
 
"We're excited to get the season started and compete against the teams in our league," said Davis. "We'll need to get some things cleared up before Saturday. I anticipate a very competitive game this week and throughout the season with the new two-division format."
 
Hoping to help push the Knights over the hump this year will, for the fourth straight season, be yet another new signal caller. Bellarmine enters the opener amidst a yet-to-be-decided QB battle between returning sophomore Max Gibbs and incoming freshmen Delshawn Hatchett out of W.E.B. Dubois Academy in Louisville and Dylan Morris out of Hancock County (Ky.).
 
Regardless of who calls the signals, he will be able to lean on running back Brenden Reid, one of three players to be with the team all four of its seasons. Reid rushed for 421 yards and two scores in 2024. The senior was the league's Offensive MVP in 2022 and was named First Team Offense in 2023 and 2024.
 
The quarterback will also have a reliable top wide receiver to target in Tyler Smith. Smith was fourth in the MSFL with 458 receiving yards last year, hauling in five scores en route to earning First Team Offensive laurels. Junior pass catcher Morgan Capps also returns after hauling in a 25-yard score for his lone reception of 2024.
 
On defense, Bellarmine returns five players who earned MSFL All-Conference first or second team recognition last year while manning a unit that allowed 272 yards per game. Linebacker Allan Ho is the lone returning Knight who was named First Team Defense, tying for eighth in the MSFL with 43.0 tackles (22 solo) and tying for 11^th with three pass breakups.
 
Among the four returners who were named Second Team Defense is linebacker Caleb Murray, another four-year Knight like Reid. The senior led the league with 73.0 total tackles (fourth with 29 solo) and tied for fourth with 11.0 tackles for loss. He also added two forced fumbles, four fumble recoveries, one interception and a blocked kick. The Spring Hill, Fla., native was previously First Team Defense in 2023.
 
Senior Roy Shrout, the third and final four-year Knight, returns to line up on both the offensive and defensive lines.
 
Last year, the Knights handled the Mighty Oaks 32-14 in Louisville to close the regular season. Bellarmine racked up eight sacks while Smith and Shannon Tonge snagged two touchdown passes apiece from Kyle Horvath. Oakland City finished 1-5, while Bellarmine went 4-2 before falling in the MSFL Semifinals at Calumet, 42-13.
 
Bellarmine is 2-0 all-time against OCU, having also defeated them 43-23 in the Mighty Oaks' first-ever game to open the 2023 season.
 
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