AVE MARIA, Fla. — The rain did not let up Saturday night in Southwest Florida, but neither did the Gyrene defense as the Ave Maria Football team beat the Thomas Night Hawks 16-7. The Gyrenes tied the program record for most takeaways in game, collecting six turnovers from the Night Hawks. Two takeaways were interceptions while the other four were fumble recoveries as the wet weather played a factor in Saturday's game.
Two three-and-outs and the first fumble of the game set up Ave Maria in plus field territory for their first three drives. The Gyrenes cashed in on all three drives as freshman Jeremy Burch knocked three straight field goals through. Burch nailed kicks from 35, 26 and 21 yards out to put the Gyrenes up 9-0 early in the second quarter. They were the first three makes for Burch's career and ties the program record for most field goals in a game.
The first fumble recovery for Ave Maria came at the hands of Elijah Douge, who scooped up a loose ball after a low snapped bounced off the shins of the Thomas quarterback.
On the Thomas drive following Burch's third field goal, the Gyrenes collected their second turnover of the game, this time through the air. Thomas tried to force a ball near their own sideline but ended up hitting linebacker Aiden Holmes right in the numbers as the sophomore recorded the first interception of his career.
Thomas picked off Ave Maria on the following drive, but the Gyrenes were still up in the turnover battle.
After a turnover on downs from the Night Hawks, Ave Maria pieced together a 10-play, 61-yard drive that ended in a touchdown. The drive did not have any big plays, yet back-to-back little plays that consistently moved the ball down the field. Reggie McBride closed the drive out with an 11-yard touchdown for his fourth score of the season. A PAT put the Gyrenes up 16-0, a lead they would take into halftime.
Throughout the first half, the rain was a constant presence but was more of a misty drizzle. During halftime however, the heavens opened up and dumped a bunch of rain on the Gyrene faithful sticking out the game. The heavy rain continued through much of the third quarter and made the football especially slippery.
Ave Maria suffered their second turnover of the game on the first play from scrimmage in the third quarter, setting the Night Hawks up in plus territory.
The rain forced Thomas to keep the ball on the ground, and the Gyrene defense answered the call by forcing their fourth three-and-out of the game.
A bad punt at the end of AMU's next drive set the Night Hawks with their best field possession of the game, at the Ave Maria 34-yard line. Seven plays later, Thomas found the end zone for what ended up being the final score of the night. The touchdown cut the Gyrenes' lead down to nine-points.
Ave Maria moved the ball a little bit on the following possession, but the drive stalled out around midfield. Unfortunately, another bad punt again set the Night Hawks up plus territory.
This time the Gyrene defense was up to task and logged their third takeaway of the game. Another bad snap put a loose ball on the turf and sophomore linebacker Nate Harrison returned it eight yards for his second fumble recovery of the season.
On the next Night Hawk drive, junior safety Adam Denver got his second interception of the season, timing his cut to jump right in front of the receiver and pick the ball right out of the air.
Ave Maria punted the ball away on the next drive but got it right back as yet another fumble went the Gyrenes way. This time a wet football slipped out of the Thomas' quarterback's hands and sophomore Alexavier Ferris was first on the scene to fall on the ball and secure his first career fumble recovery.
The Gyrenes took over with 2:42 left on the clock, but Thomas used two timeouts and the two-minute timeout to secure one more possession in the nine-point game.
AMU needed their defense to come up big one more time, and the Gyrenes delivered. Junior defensive end Jade Tenry got a hand on the quarterback's arm and forced the final fumble of the game. Tenry also fell on the football as he recorded his first ever collegiate forced fumble and fumble recovery.
After allowing a touchdown in the third quarter, the Gyrene defense forced a turnover on the final four Thomas drives of the game. Six total takeaways is tied for most in a single game in program history, matching the six turnovers against Salisbury in 2022 and against Point in 2013.
Ave Maria went into victory formation as they secured their fourth win of the season.
Logan Howard led the Gyrene offense, rushing for 98 total yards on 23 carries and completing five passes for 45 yards. His leading receiver was Wesley From, who hauled in a 20-yard catch. Joshua Raphael had the most receptions with two for 15 yards.
Defensively, Harrison led the team with 10 tackles, 1.5 of which were for a loss. Tenry led the team with 2.5 tackles for a loss.
With the win, Ave Maria improves to 4-3 overall and 2-1 in Sun Conference play. The Gyrenes are in a four-team tie for second place in the Sun Conference standings, along with Southeastern, Keiser, and Warner.
The latter is Ave Maria's next opponent as the Gyrenes host the Royals Saturday, October 24. It is homecoming for the Gyrenes, and they will look to continue their winning streak over a Warner team that got an upset win over Florida Memorial on Saturday. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. and the game will be streamed live on the Sun Digital Network.
