AVE MARIA, Fla. — With just a little over four minutes left to play in the first half, things were looking bleak for the Gyrenes. Florida Memorial had just scored their fifth straight touchdown to take a 33-7 lead. Going into the PAT try, Ave Maria was staring down a 26-point deficit.
History would suggest that the game was already decided. The biggest comeback for AMU before Saturday was 20 points back in 2014 against Point. This season, Ave Maria had trailed by 26 points in six games and lost them all. But on that cool November Saturday night, the Gyrenes decided it was time that history changed.
The comeback started on the PAT following the Lions' fifth touchdown. FMU's kicker had already had one PAT blocked in the game, with Rashad Orr stepping in front of the kick on the previous try and getting his second block of the season. On this PAT, it was senior DJ Van Horn getting the block on senior night and returning it 90 yards for the defensive PAT resulting in two points. It was the first blocked PAT to be returned for a touchdown in AMU history since October 2, 2021, when Brunel Desinor blocked a kick against Reinhardt that Solomon Davis returned.
A couple of drives later, Ave Maria found the end zone to pull them a little bit closer to the Lions before halftime. With just 100 seconds left on the clock, Florida Memorial's running back bobbled the ball at the Lions' 15-yard line and freshman defensive back Sean Battle jumped on to set the offense up inside the red zone. Four plays later, Jayden George found Drew Mabrito in the end zone for AMU's second touchdown of the night.
The score was 33-16 heading into halftime, but the way the Gyrenes played in the final four minutes of the quarter was enough to spark hope in the Ave Maria faithful.
"As we went into the halftime break, I told the team 'I hadn't been more confident in their ability than I was at that moment,'" said head coach Joe Patterson. "I thought we had shown enough in the first half that if we could put it together, the second half would be beautiful."
Coach Patterson's premonition was correct as the Gyrenes played lights out in the final 30 minutes.
Each team got a stop to start the second half, but the Gyrenes found navy turf on their second possession. On fourth down in no man's land, George rolled out to his left to escape pressure and heaved a ball down field to an open Tyler Cordero in the end zone. The 36-yard pass brought the Gyrenes back within 10 points of the Lions.
Florida Memorial drove the ball on the next possession but stalled out at the 30-yard line. The Lions trotted out their kicker to try and make the lead 13 points, but the day went from bad to worse for Sean Egloff. Rashad Orr got his second block of the night as he jumped in front of another kick, and Van Horn brought the ball back to Ave Maria's 45-yard line. Orr became just the third Gyrene in program history to record two blocks in a single game, joining Desinor who did it against Lawrence Tech in 2022 and Ramsey Bennett who did it against Cincinnati Christian in 2017.
Following the block, the Gyrenes got another explosive pass play ending in a touchdown. Being flushed out of the pocket again, George connected with Reggie McBride who had gotten behind two linebackers that were more focused on the quarterback. McBride made one more defender missed and took it 53 yards to the house, bringing Ave Maria back within three. It was McBride's second receiving touchdown of the game and the longest pass of the night for George.
The comeback was completed on the ensuing Florida Memorial drive. Already with a block and a return, Van Horn capped his senior night and final game at Gyrene Field with the first pick of the season for Ave Maria. The Lions were once again knocking on the red zone, but Van Horn perfectly timed a jump in front of a receiver to pick off FMU's Tedric Wilcox and take it back 83 yards for the touchdown. It was the first pick six of the senior's career and his fifth interception overall.
Ave Maria scored one more touchdown in the fourth quarter to take a 44-33 lead. It was again through the air as George found Cordero in the back corner of the end zone for his fifth passing touchdown, tying a program record for passing touchdowns in a game. He is just the second Ave Maria quarterback to throw for five touchdowns, joining Clayton Uecker who did it twice, once in 2013 and again in 2014.
The strike to Cordero ended up being the winning touchdown for the Gyrenes as Florida Memorial scored in the last minute to give the 44-39 final score. However, the go-ahead pick six from Van Horn will go down as one of the best Senior Night moments in AMU history.
"[Van Horn] has had such a wonderful career here and to have his final home game be where he scored twice, once on special teams and once on defense, is truly special," said Coach Patterson after the game.
With the win, Ave Maria improves to 3-6 overall, 2-4 in conference play and finishes the home season with a 2-3 record. The Gyrenes also improve to 4-2 against Florida Memorial all time.
The Gyrenes return to the field one final time in 2025 as they close out the season on the road in Lakeland. Ave Maria will take on the Southeastern Fire, who lost to the Lions in their Sun Conference opener on October 4. The Fire are coming off their second loss of the season as they fell to the Keiser Seahawks 34-22.
Kickoff is set for 4 p.m. and the game will be streamed live on the Urban Edge Network.
