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NAPLES, Fla. --- The Ave Maria University football team jumped out to a 14-0 lead at Palmetto Ridge High School on Saturday afternoon, but fell victim to 41 unanswered points in a 55-28 loss to the Union College Bulldogs in Naples. Union logged 601 yards of total offense in the victory.
 
Ave Maria's first quarter lead was aided by a pair of long punt returns from Trentyn Jackson. Jackson returned the first punt of the game 58 yards to the Union 12, setting up a one-yard touchdown run from Judah Stone. Later in the frame, a 21-yard return to the 15-yard line led to a four yard scramble from quarterback Randy Schroeder, giving Ave Maria a 14-0 lead less than ten minutes into the game. 
 
The visiting Bulldogs then tacked on 41 unanswered points with five touchdowns and two field goals. The run stretched until the beginning parts of the fourth quarter. All five touchdowns came through the air, off the arm of Alex Bell. Bell threw for 353 yards, including touchdowns of 60 and 77 yards. The senior recorded five touchdown passes in the win for Union, finding Tyler Toombs twice and Cody Johnson, Darian Patterson, and Jalen Ashby once each. 
 
Patterson scored his second touchdown of the game in the fourth quarter, scoring on a 79-yard strike from backup Kendric Furness. Furness finished the scoring with a 78 yard run, making him the game's leading rusher.
 
Will Tate entered the game for Ave Maria in the fourth quarter, and guided the Gyrene offense to a pair of touchdowns. On his first drive of the game, Tate got AMU back on the board with a 17-yard touchdown pass to Brian Byrd, who skied over a Union defender to find the endzone. Tate, who was Ave Maria's leading rusher with 43 yards on the ground, also found Austin Cole for a score with 7:59 to play in the game.
 
Between Schroeder and Tate, the Gyrenes passed for 129 yards. The leading target was Drew Bonner, who hauled in four receptions for 47 yards. Byrd added three receptions for 25 yards, and Cole made four catches and picked up 20 yards.
 
Defensively, Shamori St. Kitts led the Gyrene effort with 11 total tackles, while Shar'Quez Hamilton logged six solo tackles and two stops for loss. Will Ulmer made an impact on special teams for the Gyrenes, averaging nearly 30 yards per kick return, and Kyle Nelson added a blocked punt in the fourth quarter, a punt that set up the Austin Cole touchdown that finished the scoring for AMU.
 
The Gyrenes are back on the road next weekend for another game within the Mid South Conference, but out of the Sun Division. Ave Maria heads north for a meeting with the University of Pikeville, who entered the season receiving votes nationally. Pikeville enters next week's contest with an 0-2 record. The game is scheduled to kick off at 1:30 p.m.?