LAKELAND, Fla. — The Ave Maria Football team had some good plays defensively but had a tough time generating offense as the Gyrenes fell to 33-7 to the Warner Royals.
Ave Maria's best play of the afternoon was the very first play of the game, with Tyler Cordero returning the opening kickoff 41 yards out to the Warner 48-yard line. It is the longest kick return of the season so far and set the Gyrenes with good field position to start the game. Unfortunately, the possession came up empty as Ave Maria missed a 53-yard field goal. Kicker James Scmitt had the leg but pushed it wide left.
In the following Warner possession, Ave Maria snagged the first of their three interceptions of the game. Rashad Orr recorded the first pick, undercutting a Royal route and coming down with the ball for his third pick of the season.
The two teams traded three-and-outs before Warner opened the scoring by returning a fumble 47 yards for a scoop and score.
Over the next few drives, the offense had trouble getting anything going, traveling just 15 yards. On the other side of the ball, Warner kicked a field goal and scored another touchdown to push their lead up to 16-0.
In the middle of the second quarter, Brain Holmes came down with the second interception for the Gyrene defense. Much like Orr's pick, Warner quarterback Michael Ryan floated a ball down field that Holmes was able to track and snatch away from the Royal wide receiver. It is the fifth pick of the year for Holmes, which has him leading the entire Sun Conference.
The Gyrenes traveled 24 yards following the interception, but came up short on fourth down, ending the drive.
AMU got their third and final interception of the game on the next Warner drive, with DJ Van Horn coming down with his first of the season. Unlike the first two picks which were off floaters, Van Horn's pick was off a tip drill that bounced off the intended receiver's hand. It is the second game in a row the Gyrene defense has come away with three interceptions and brings their season total up 10. They are just two picks away from matching their total from last year.
Ave Maria was stuffed on fourth down again following the interception and Warner took a 16-0 lead into halftime.
In the third quarter, Warner tacked on 10 more points while the Gyrenes lost a fumble punted on their two drives in the frame.
In the fourth quarter, Warner scored their final touchdown of the game to go up 33-0.
The Gyrenes punted one more time before finally putting together a nice drive. In their final possession, Ave Maria marched 63 yards down the field in 10 plays and scored a touchdown with a two-yard pass from Logan Howard to Wesley From.
With the loss, Ave Maria falls to 2-5 on the year and 1-3 in conference play.
The Gyrenes are back home after two games on the road as they host the #2 Keiser Seahawks November 1. Keiser remains undefeated as they beat Webber 45-0 to move up to 7-0 on the year. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. from Gyrene Field and the game will be streamed live on the Urban Edge Network.
