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The Point Skyhawks report for fall camp on July 29, but Point is gearing up for the season as the team has released its finalized 2024 schedule. While the schedule is similar to last season, there are new additions and several intriguing matchups. 

The two new matchups for the Skyhawks are Davidson and Allen, both on the road. Both Allen and Davidson won seven games last season. 

Davidson is a Division I FCS program. The Skyhawks have consistently faced Division I programs under head coach Trevor Zeiders as the matchups serve as a measuring stick and proving ground for the Skyhawks.

“Davidson is going to be a challenge,” Zeiders said. “They’ve been a good football team. It’s a means to offer our team a challenge, it’s only going to help make us better.” 

“It gives our guys the opportunity to go somewhere else and see a team they wouldn’t see otherwise,” Zeiders said. “A lot of our guys think that they should’ve been at these places. This is an opportunity for them to show what they can do. It’s an opportunity for us to measure where we would be at in the overall scheme of things.” 

Last season was Point’s first season in the Appalachian Athletic Conference, and there were some growing pains. The Skyhawks finished 3-3 in conference play and lost two of its matchups by two possessions or less. 

The first season in the AAC served as a lesson for the Skyhawks. Zeiders believes that teams like Reinhardt are the cream of the crop in the conference, and the Skyhawks have to learn from those matchups. 

“It’s a very competitive league,” Zeiders said. “It’s a league where we’re going to be challenged week in and week out. There’s very good football there… There are no weeks off. We were middle of the pack last year, we still have to improve.” 

The close losses last season proved that Point could compete with teams in the AAC, but also showed that the Skyhawks needed to make some adjustments.
Point’s biggest struggle last season was unforced errors and turnovers. Dead ball penalties, fumbles and other mistakes cost the Skyhawks last season and are the main point of emphasis for Zeiders heading into 2024. 

“Cut the mistakes out. We’ve got to cut the mistakes,” Zeiders said. “We have got to be able to not turn the ball over so many times.”
“We’ve got to get out of our own way,” Zeiders added. “Our penalties and stuff that we’ve done, we’ve got to learn to be a more disciplined team as we cut out the turnovers.” 

Roster turnover is expected every year at the college level as players graduate and transfer out. This offseason, Point had some turnover with its assistant coaches.
The Skyhawks will be looking to build team chemistry as the season goes along, but the coaching staff will also be working on their chemistry in the meantime. 

“We’re going to have to do some coach development,” Zeiders said. “One of the things I’m trying to figure out is us taking a short retreat before the season… We’ve got to be around each other. The more we learn about each other, the more we handle those things, the better off we’re going to be.” 

Zeiders and the rest of the coaching staff have to learn how each coach reacts in certain situations and how each coach fits. 

Point is heading into year three under Zeiders. The Skyhawks have finished with a 4-7 record in back-to-back seasons. In year three, Zeiders is looking for the program to see its culture grow and get better on and off the field. Player accountability is the one aspect that Zeiders wants to see become more prevalent on his team. 

“We’ve got to get better,” Zeiders said. “What better looks like to me and what better looks like to everybody outside the program are two different things. Everybody is going to judge us on wins and losses, but we have more internal things. We’ve really just worked on setting the culture.”