LAKELAND, Fla.- The Ave Maria University football team took the field for the first time in 2020 on Saturday night, and faced off with the Southeastern University Fire, who finished 2019 as the No. 15 team in the nation. In the first of two meetings between the teams this season, Southeastern claimed a 34-0 victory over the Gyrenes at Victory Field.

Ave Maria head coach Joe Patterson said the Gyrenes will be able to use the season opener, which was not considered a divisional game, as a learning experience for the remaining seven games on the schedule.

"We went into the game with great expectation," Patterson said, "and we come out of this game with a very clear understanding of what we need to address going forward."

Southeastern scored late in the first quarter on a touchdown pass from Cooper Jones to Eugene Witherspoon, and extended their lead to 14-0 on the same connection in the second quarter. Jones' third touchdown pass of the evening, a 24-yard strike to Wendell Harris, Jr., gave the Fire a 21-0 lead at halftime.

Jones, who threw for 407 yards in the Southeastern victory, threw two more touchdown passes in the second half. He found Lorine Parker for a 44-yard score with 7:55 to play in the third, and then finished the scoring with a 48-yard pass to Myles Henderson. The reigning Sun Division Player of the Year finished the game with 20 completions on 27 attempts with five touchdowns.

Ave Maria's biggest offensive output came from junior running back Quino Mauricette, who ran for 67 yards on nine carries. He accounted for the longest run of the game for either team, a 31-yard scamper on AMU's first play from scrimmage. He narrowly missed being the game's leading rusher, an accolade taken by SEU's Lorine Parker, who ran for 70 yards.

Jamari Haynes was Ave Maria's leading tackler in the losing effort, logging four solo stops and two assists. The Gyrenes did force two Southeastern turnovers on the night, both coming in the second half. In the third quarter, Jalyn Robinson forced a fumble that was recovered by Dylan Bryan. Southeastern's final drive of the night ended on an interception that was snagged by Shane O'Brien. On special teams, Devyn McCormick placed four of his six punts inside the Southeastern 20-yard line, and logged a long punt of 41 yards. 

Entering the second week of the season, Patterson said the focus of the Gyrenes will remain internal ahead of the team's home opener next Saturday.

"Our priorities will be the same as they always are, which is to focus on us," Patterson said. "We need to eliminate the unforced errors, need to make the play when it's presented in front of us, and we need to rally around one another."

For the first time in 2020, the Gyrenes will play at home next Saturday. AMU's first ever meeting with Florida Memorial University, who lost 62-0 to Keiser on Saturday, is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. at Gyrene Field.