AVE MARIA, Fla. --- The Ave Maria University football team defeated Faulkner 28-26 on Saturday night. Prior to the game, the Gyrenes recognized their graduating seniors.
 
Faulkner got on the board first with a blocked field goal returned for a touchdown. Derek McCormick's 34-yard attempt was blocked and Faulkner's Malik Meadow's scooped up the ball and ran it back 72-yards for the score.
 
The Gyrenes' first score came via their defense. Faulkner intercepted the Gyrenes and got the ball on their own one which set up a Savohn Hunt sack and safety a few plays later. Receiving the ball on the punt following the safety, the Gyrenes drove down and scored on a 14-yard pass from Kristian Marks to Kevon O'Connor. Marks was able to scramble and avoid a sack before finding Marks wide open in the corner of the endzone. After the point after, AMU went ahead 9-7.
 
Faulkner responded with a 6-play, 74-yard touchdown drive to take a 14-9 lead midway through the second quarter.
 
Derek McCormick put AMU ahead just before halftime, making a 42-yard field goal with three minutes to play and a 38-yard attempt with nine seconds remaining.
 
In between a pair of Faulkner field goals, Dimitrius Hirsch was on the receiving end of a 14-yard touchdown pass from Marks. Hirsch caught the ball near the ten yard-line and was able to make a move to get around the defender for the score.
 
Leading 22-20 heading to the fourth quarter, the Gyrenes got great field position a few seconds into the quarter after a muffed punt by Faulkner was recovered by Isaac Cornewell at the Eagles nine yard-line. On the next AMU play, Marks found O'Connor for a nine-yard touchdown pass. A missed point-after made it 28-20 in favor of the Gyrenes.
 
Faulkner stayed in the game with a score on their next possession but a fumbled snap on the two-point conversion kept AMU in front by two.
 
In the final minutes, the Eagles were driving before the Faulkner quarterback was intercepted by Darren Cleary at the AMU 15 to stop their drive. AMU got the ball back with 4:35 remaining and converted three first downs to run out the clock. Marks sealed the win when he was able to scramble for six yards on third and five with just over a minute to play and no timeouts remaining for Faulkner. The sophomore quarterback was in victory formation for the final two snaps to run out the clock.
 
Marks finished 24-of-46 passing for 262 yards and three touchdowns. He had two interceptions. O'Connor had seven receptions for 83 yards and two scores. Hirsch had five receptions for 48 yards and a touchdown.
 
Quino Mauricette ran 13 times for 48 yards while Marks had 11 rush attempts for 31 yards.
 
Connor Jewel had eight total tackles with 1.5 tackles for a loss. Jaylyn Robinson had six tackles and 1.5 sacks. Jayden Flores had seven tackles and forced a fumble for the Gyrenes. Nate Edwards and Cleary each had interceptions for the Blue and Green.
 
Derek McCormick was 2-for4 on field goal attempts, making two from 42 and 38 yards. He was 2-for-3 on PATs. Devyn McCormick punted five times for a 46.4 average. He had a long of 65 and pinned Faulkner inside their own 20 four times.
 
Ave Maria sits at 5-3 overall and 3-1 in Mid-South Sun Division play. The Gyrenes travel to Warner next week for a 1:30 p.m. start.