LAKELAND, Fla.- The Ave Maria University football team completed the 2023 season on Saturday evening, falling 34-10 to the Fire of Southeastern University at Victory Field in Lakeland. AMU held an early lead on the Fire, but could not finish off a victory in the season finale. Victory Field has been a familiar sight for the Gyrenes in recent years, as four of the last five meetings between the two schools have been played in Lakeland.

Saturday's game got off to an encouraging start for the Gyrenes, who scored on each of their first two possessions. After Southeastern drove down the field to take a 7-0 lead, the Gyrenes responded with a field goal. A 45 yard pass from Drew Lege to Michael McGrath set up a 43-yard field goal from Dayllon De Paula to put AMU on the board.

After the Gyrenes forced a Southeastern three-and-out, the Gyrenes drove 89 yards to take their first lead of the night. Ave Maria converted twice on third down, then cashed in when Lege dropped a perfect pass to Joshua Jenkins for a 38 yard touchdown, giving Ave Maria a 10-7 lead that would last to the end of the quarter.

Southeastern responded with a touchdown of their own on their first drive of the second quarter, taking a 14-10 lead on a touchdown catch from former Gyrene Tray Jackson. The Fire looked poised to widen that lead to two scores before halftime, but a strip sack from Willie Jackson with less than two minutes to play in the half ensured it would stay a one score game entering the halftime break.

The Fire took advantage of an Ave Maria fumble to widen their lead to 21-10 on the first drive of the second half. Just under nine minutes into the second half, a storm in the vicinity of Victory Field forced the teams into the locker rooms for more than 45 minutes. 

Once the delay ended, Southeastern scored on the first play of the resumption, making it 28-10. The Fire capitalized on another AMU fumble in the fourth quarter, scoring their final touchdown with 3:53 to play to account for the 34-10 final score.

Bryan Stiemke finished off the greatest season for an AMU running back in program history, running for 112 yards on 24 carries, marking his fifth 100-yard game of the season. Stiemke finished the season with 1304 rushing yards, obliterating the previous Ave Maria record. Joshua Jenkins also had a strong day for the Gyrenes, logging four catches for 99 yards and the lone Ave Maria touchdown.

Defensively, Connor Jewel and Shane O'Brien led the way in their final games as Gyrenes. Jewel led all Gyrenes with ten tackles, while O'Brien ended the night with six solo tackles and nine stops total.

Ave Maria completes the 2023 season with a 4-6 record, including two conference victories - over Thomas and Webber International - and two non-conference wins - over Fort Lauderdale and Texas Lutheran. Sun Conference honorees, including the All-SUN selections and individual award winners, will be announced in the coming week.