AVE MARIA, Fla.- The Ave Maria University football team hung around for a half against the No. 13 team in the nation, but eventually fell 40-16 to the Reinhardt University Eagles at Gyrene Field. The contest was the final non-conference affair for AMU, who will now look ahead to Sun Division matchups beginning next week.
Ave Maria head coach Joe Patterson said he was proud of his team's effort for the entire 60 minutes, but added that an upset over a time like Reinhardt typically requires near-perfect execution.
"Ultimately, when you're playing a team that can run the ball as well as they can, you really have to minimize the mistakes, and we had just a couple too many," Patterson said. "I thought we matched their effort from beginning to end, but in a game against a team like that, you need to have a few extra-positive plays, a few takeaways or explosive plays, and that wasn't there tonight."
Reinhardt scored on their first drive of the game, as Bryce Burgess plunged in from two yards out to give the Eagles an early 7-0 lead. Ave Maria responded later in the quarter with a drive of 82 yards on nine plays. The final play of that drive saw Will Tate find Roman Newkirk for a 10-yard touchdown, evening the score at seven.
The Eagles would take a 13-7 lead into halftime, thanks to a 10-play, 65 yard drive that culminated in another touchdown run from Burgess, this one from three yards out. The Eagles would also score first in the second half, on Burgess' third touchdown run of the evening.
AMU tied to rally with another long drive, this one of 14 plays and 77 yards. Joshua Jenkins made an acrobatic catch in the endzone to cap off the drive, getting AMU within 20-14 late in the third quarter.
From there, however, it was all Reinhardt. The Eagles went back up 13, 27-14, on a 52-yard run by quarterback Billy Hall, the longest play of the day. The Eagles tacked on two touchdowns in the fourth quarter to finish their half of the scoring. AMU's final points came in an unorthodox way, as Solomon Davis returned a blocked extra point 103 yards, giving AMU two points on the try.
Will Tate led Ave Maria in both passing yards (126) and rushing yards (83), while Charles Philias chipped in with 68 yards on 16 carries. Roman Newkirk was Tate's favorite target, making six catches for 57 yards. Defensively, Shane O'Brien led the way with 16 total tackles from the defensive back position, while Brady Stockard caused havoc with 2.5 tackles for loss.
With the first half of the season in the rearview mirror, Patterson said the Gyrenes are now well prepared for the six remaining games of Sun Division football.
"We looked at these first five games as a chance to prepare for conference play, and I come out of them with confidence," Patterson remarked. "I felt that there were moments tonight that gave us a glimpse of what could be."
The first of those games comes next Saturday, when the Gyrenes head to Victory Field in Lakeland to take on the Fire of Southeastern University. Kickoff against the Fire is scheduled for 7:00 p.m.
