AVE MARIA, Fla. --- Ave Maria and NCAA Division III LaGrange will meet on Saturday night, with both teams looking for their first win of the season. The game is schedule to kickoff at 6 p.m. at Callaway Stadium. Live stats and live video will be available for the game and the links can be found on the Ave Maria Athletics website.
 
Last week, Ave Maria gave NAIA fourth-ranked Saint Xavier all they could handle, falling to the visiting Cougars 24-21. Trailing 10-7 at the half, Brian Byrd caught a five-yard touchdown pass from Clayton Uecker to put the Gyrenes in front 14-10.
 
Fourteen unanswered points by Saint Xavier put the Cougars up 24-14 but the Blue and Green made it interesting late when Uecker found Jeff Lindenmoyer for a touchdown pass to make it a three point game, 24-21. The Gyrenes were able to recover the on-side kick but weren't able to get into scoring position before the clock ran out.
 
As a team, the Gyrenes rank fourth in the NAIA in passing yards per game, averaging 367.5 yards. Individually, Uecker ranks second in the NAIA in passing yards per contest. Thomas Zimmer has been Uecker's go to guy so far this season, grabbing  team-best 10 catches for 229 yards and one touchdown. Brian Byrd leads the team with two touchdown receptions. Kaleb Coffee leads the AMU ground game, averaging 52 yards per game. Dustin Roberts has the lone rushing touchdown for the Gyrenes on the season.
 
Frank Kelly is the leader on the defensive side of the ball with 14 total tackles through two games including 2.5 tackles for a loss. Jaylen Robinson has recorded a team-high 3.5 sacks on the season which ranks seventh in the NAIA for total sacks. His 1.75 sacks per game ranks sixth in the nation.
 
LaGrange comes in 0-2 after a 29-28 loss to Birmingham Southern in week one and a 16-13 overtime loss at Berry last week. The Panthers are averaging 20.5 points per game and 436.5 total yards of offense. The Panthers have only allowed 153 pass yards per game this season but struggled with run defense, allowing over 200 rushing yards per game.
 
Connor Blair will lead the Panthers offense this weekend. On the season, he has completed 66-of-97 attempts for 692 yards and five touchdowns. Josh Hardrick is the team's go to receiver in the red zone with 12 catches for 116 yards and three touchdowns. Ervens Oge is averaging over 100 yards receiving per game for LaGrange.
 
Demetrius Rodgers will be a player to watch on defense. The 6-1, 235 pound defensive lineman has recorded 16 tackles including four for a loss in two games this season.