LAKE WALES, Fla. --- The Ave Maria football team improved to 1-2 on Saturday with a 27-3 win at Warner University. Holding a slim 7-3 lead at the half, Tyrell Everett returned the opening kickoff 85 yards for a touchdown to spark a 20-point second half for the Gyrenes en route to the win.
"Defensively the guys had a great day. They held Warner to 49 yards rushing and to three points, which I think is the fewest in our program's history," said head coach Marty Quinn. "They also had three sacks and forced a couple of turnovers which was a big focus for us in practice the past couple weeks."
It was a defensive struggle for the first quarter and a half on Saturday afternoon with neither team able to put points on the board. The Gyrenes were able to strike first when Clayton Uecker connected with Karim Bryant for a 25-yard touchdown to give Ave Maria a 7-0 lead.
After an Ave Maria turnover, Warner converted a 26-yard field goal attempt to make the score 7-3 in favor of the Gyrenes at the half.
Tyrell Everett put the Gyrenes on the board quickly in the second half, returning the opening kickoff 85-yards for a touchdown. After a missed extra-point, the Gyrenes led 13-7.
Trying to use as much time as possible, Ave Maria committed to the run for much of the second half and the Gyrene running backs responded.
Scott Jones capped off a 12-play, 96-yard drive that spanned over five minutes with a three-yard run to push the Ave Maria lead to 17, 20-3, with 1:02 left in the third quarter.
After an Everett interception gave the Blue and Green good field position, Dashawn Smith finished off an 11-play, 50 yard drive with a one yard touchdown run to give the Gyrenes a 27-3 lead.
The Gyrenes finished with a net of 287 yards on the ground on 53 rushes. Jones led the rushing attack with 134 yards on 19 carries and a touchdown. Smith finished with 54 yards on seven carries and a touchdown.
"Our rushing game was much improved with Jones and Smith each getting a touchdown," said Quinn. "We definitely needed to improve our rushing and we did that today. A good rushing game will help us take time off the clock, keep our defense off the field and rested and keep the scores low."
The Gyrene defense allowed 226 total yards and just 49 on the ground in the win. Tanner Bowling finished with a team-high six solo tackles, a tackle for a loss and a forced fumble.
Everett had a big game on special teams and defense with an interception and an 85-yard kickoff return for a touchdown.
Uecker finished 13-of-27 for 142 yards passing with a touchdown and an interception. Ten different receivers caught a pass on Saturday. Bryant finished with one catch and a touchdown. Rashad Kelley and Dan Mervos each had three catches.
"Everett and Bryant both come from Booker T. Washington High School, the top high school football program in the country, and they each scored touchdowns and made some big plays for us to day," added Quinn. "It's good for our program to get guys from the best high schools and they played at a much higher level than freshman today."
The Gyrenes return to the field on Oct. 5 when they travel to Selma, Ala. to take on Concordia (Ala.). Kickoff is scheduled for 1 p.m.
