AVE MARIA, Fla. — The Ave Maria football team put up a good fight with the number five St. Thomas Bobcats Saturday night and hung with them for most of the game. Unfortunately, St. Thomas pulled away in the fourth quarter and won 40-24.
The game started off amazingly for the Gyrene defense. After an Ave Maria punt on the opening drive, the defense got their first takeaway of the night with interception. Senior linebacker Nate Hyman jumped in front of a St. Thomas pass to deflect the ball and tipped in the air. Then, another senior linebacker in John Suran made a diving catch to secure the pick. It is the second interception of the year for Suran who now has picks in back-to-back games.
Ave Maria was forced to punt on the next possession. On the ensuing drive, St. Thomas broke out for a 67 yard run for the first points of the game.
The Gyrenes responded immediately though with a touchdown of their own on the next drive. At the Bobcats' 41-yard line, Drew Lege found Bryan Stiemke on outlet pass, which the senior running back was able to take to the house after breaking three tackles.
It was the first game back for Stiemke since September 21 against the Dayton Flyers and he took full advantage of being back out on the field.
Out of the touchdown, the Gyrenes tried an onside kick that took St. Thomas completely by surprise but was unfortunately called back due to an offsides penalty.
Tied at seven, the Gyrene defense got their second turnover of the quarter, this time with DJ Van Horn climbing the ladder to pick off a pass in the end zone. It is the third interception of the year for him and kept the Bobcats from scoring. At the end of the first quarter, the two teams remained tied.
St. Thomas opened the second quarter with a six-play, two-minute and 38 second drive that ended in a touchdown to retake the lead 14-7.
After the two teams exchanged punts, the Gyrenes got back on the board and evened the score once again. A 17-yard punt return from Roman Newkirk set up Ave Maria with great field position at the Bobcats' 29-yard line. Stiemke got the Gyrenes close with a 21-yard run on second down to set up first and goal at the one-yard line.
After two initial stops from the Bobcat defense, quarterback Logan Howard lowered his shoulder and bounced off a defender for a game-tying rushing touchdown.
The tie did not last long though as St. Thomas scored on their next drive to take a 21-14 lead.
In the final two minutes of the half, each team got a takeaway, stopping the other's momentum. The Bobcats picked off Ave Maria on the first play after the touchdown, and thought they could extend the lead to two scores. However, just five plays later, Adam Denver flew in and disrupted a handoff, knocking the ball to ground that was scooped up by Elijah Douge for the third turnover of the half for the Gyrene defense.
"One of the points of emphasis was to try and make them uncomfortable," said Coach Patterson after the game. "And certainly, takeaways go a long way towards that."
In contrast to the first half, the third quarter saw three slow, methodical drives from the two teams. St. Thomas opened the half with an 11-play, four minute drive that ended with a field goal to extend their lead to two scores.
The Gyrenes matched with their own long drive, going 66 yards in seven plays in three minutes and 39 seconds. A chunk of the yards were picked up on one play from Bryan Stiemke on a 60-yard run, the longest run of his career. This drive also ended with a field goal, which Thomas Lilly knocked through from 31 yards to bring it back to a one-possession game at 24-17.
With over seven minutes left to play in the quarter, the Gyrenes kicked the ball off to the Bobcats and didn't see it again until the fourth. St. Thomas ran the clock out in the third quarter marching down the field and getting to the Ave Maria 14 at the quarter break.
Two plays into the fourth quarter, the Bobcats hit a field goal to extend the lead back to two possessions. In total, the drive lasted eight minutes and two seconds as St. Thomas went 71 yards in 16 plays.
The Gyrenes were forced to punt on the next drive. St. Thomas found the end zone for the first time in the half on their next possession and extended their lead to 34-17.
Ave Maria began a comeback drive and converted on two fourth downs to march down the field and into the red zone. However, their third fourth down try at the St. Thomas 11, the Bobcats got their second and final interception and took it back 95 yards for the touchdown. St. Thomas missed the PAT, keeping the game at 40-17.
The Gyrenes scored the final points of the game with Lege finding Ray DeSanto on a 20-yard touchdown pass. It was the first ever touchdown reception for the senior receiver.
Ave Maria tried one more onside kick, but the Bobcats recovered this one and ran the clock out.
Offensively, the Gyrenes finished the game with 409 total yards. Lege went 19-for-39 for 256 yards and two touchdowns. That is a season-high number of completions, yards and touchdown passes.
His leading receiver was Stiemke with five catches for 76 yards and one touchdown. Stiemke was also the leading rusher with 143 yards on 21 carries. In total, he had 219 all-purpose yards.
"Bryan gives a great spark to this offense," said Patterson on Stiemke's first game back. "it's not just his play-making ability but it is also the way he approaches the game from a competitive standpoint."
With the loss, Ave Maria falls to 2-4 and 1-2 in conference play.
The Gyrenes are on the road for their next game on October 26. Ave Maria travels across Alligator Alley to take on the Florida Memorial Lions. Kickoff is set for 1 p.m. in Miami Gardens. The game will be streamed live on the Sun Digital Network.
