AVE MARIA, Fla. --- The Ave Maria football team fell to Mercer on Saturday night, 42-21. The Gyrenes drop to 0-3 overall as they now begin to prepare for their conference and home opener next week against Warner.
 
The AMU rushing game came alive against Mercer led by sophomore running back Kaleb Coffee who ran for 95 yards and a touchdown on 12 carries. As a team, the Blue and Green finished with 225 rushing yards.
 
Quarterback Clayton Uecker finished 6-for-22 for 40 yards. Bob Orban and Matthew Kreichman each finished with a passing touchdown on the night.
 
Ryan O'Rourke and Sage Roberts were each on the receiving end of touchdown passes. O'Rourke led the team in receiving yards with 50 with a majority of his yardage coming on his 43 yard touchdown reception.
 
Defensively, Andrews Figueroa and Kurt Joseph led the Blue and Green in total tackles with six apiece. Figueroa added half a tackle for a loss and an interception while Joseph had on tackle for a loss.
 
Mercer came out firing on all cylinders, scoring on their first five possessions of the game to take a 35-7 lead early in the second quarter. The Gyrenes score came on a 54-yard touchdown run by Coffee with 6:05 left in the first quarter.
 
Another Mercer touchdown just before the half made the score 42-7 at the break. The Blue and Green were able to keep Mercer off the board in the second half.
 
AMU picked up their second touchdown of the evening on a 11-yard pass from Bob Orban to Sage Roberts with 1:15 remaining in the third quarter. Mattchew Kreichman then found Ryan O'Rouke on a 43-yard touchdown pass late in the fourth quarter to make the final 42-21.
 
Alex Lakes led Mercer in rushing with 114 yards and a touchdown on nine carries. Quarterback John Russ completed 11-of-16 passes for 181 yards and three touchdowns.
 
After three games on the road to start the season, AMU returns to Ave Maria for their home opener next Saturday when they host Warner University. The Sun Conference matchup is slated to kick-off at 1 p.m.