AVE MARIA, Fla. — The Ave Maria football team put up an exciting effort in the fourth quarter by scoring all 16 of their points, but it was not enough to beat the Webber Warriors as they fell 33-16. Turnovers plagued the Gyrenes in the first half and kept them getting in the game.
Webber dominated the time of possession in the first half and ran 24 more plays than the Gyrenes. The Ave Maria defense answered the call against those long drives by forcing two punts and a missed field goal. Webber scored 10 points in the opening half, kicking a field goal after a 12-play drive in the first quarter and scoring a touchdown on a 13-play drive in the second.
When Ave Maria did have the ball, they had a tough time hanging on to it. The Gyrenes first two drives lasted a total of five combined plays, and both ended with fumbles. Towards the end of the second quarter, the Gyrenes put together a sustained drive, marching 82 yards from their own 14-yard line to Webber's four-yard line. Unfortunately, a sack on third and goal pushed Ave Maria back to the 23 and the Gyrenes missed a 40-yard field goal to keep the score 10-0.
The third quarter was uneventful for the Gyrenes, punting twice and fumbling the ball on a kickoff return. The return fumble was on the heels of Webber's second touchdown of the night, putting them up 20-0. The Warriors punched the ball in on the drive following the fumble to take 26-0 lead.
The fourth quarter is when the Ave Maria offense started clicking. In the longest drive of the night both in time of possession and plays, the Gyrenes scored their first touchdown of the game, driving 63 yards in 17 plays. Ave Maria converted on two separate fourth downs to keep the drive alive, including the scoring play with Jayden George finding Drew Mabrito in the endzone on a fourth and goal. It was the first career collegiate touchdown for both George and Mabrito.
Ave Maria tried an onside kick, but the Warriors recovered with a little over six minutes left on the clock. Webber tried to run out the clock, but ended up scoring, giving the ball back to the Gyrenes.
With 2:10 remaining, Ave Maria drove down the field again and ran 13 plays in just two minutes to get within field goal range for James Schmitt. The freshman kicker knocked the field goal through from 38 yards, recording his first career collegiate field goal.
With seven seconds left on the clock, Ave Maria tried the onside kick again and this time the Gyrenes recovered the ball at midfield.
With time for just one more play, George rolled out to his right and heaved the ball from the Ave Maria 40-yard line all the way into the awaiting hands of Wesley From in the endzone. George threw the ball 60 yards in the air to convert on the Hail Mary and give the Gyrenes six more points to end the game.
As a team, the Gyrenes finished with 272 total yards of offense, with 240 of those yards through the air. George finished the game 17-for-34 with two touchdowns and no interceptions. Mabrito and Tyler Cordero were his go-to targets, each with season-high four receptions. From had the most receiving yards of the group with 79.
Reggie McBride was the leading rusher for the Gyrenes with 53 yards on the ground.
Defensively, Elijah Douge led the team with eight total tackles. James Kingsbury had the most tackles for a loss at 1.5 for 11 yards. He and Nate Harrison tied for the team lead in sacks, each with one.
With the loss, Ave Maria falls to 1-4 overall and 0-2 in league play.
The Gyrenes are one the road for the rest of the month, first traveling north to Georgia to take on the Thomas Night Hawks, then its up to Lake Wales to take on the Warner Royals. Those two teams combined have a record of 0-11. Ave Maria and Thomas will kick off at 7 p.m. on October 18 and the game will be streamed live on the Urban Edge Network.
