Fourth Quarter Helps Fire Football Beat Ave Maria

LAKELAND, Fla.—The game was a little too close to comfort for Southeastern with 15 minutes to go.
Starting the fourth quarter, the Fire had a 14-10 lead, and in those final 15 minutes, the Fire created some breathing room with 16 unanswered points in a 30-10 win over Ave Maria in its Mid-South Conference Sun Division opener.
Big plays were the key to the final stanza, starting with quarterback Cooper Jones finding Myles Henderson for a 27-yard touchdown with 13:50 to play.
Jones finished the day 24-of-37 passing for 282 yards and one touchdown. Adam Toombs was the top target, making a career-high six catches for 70 yards.
The Fire defense responded with a 3-and-out, which set the Fire up with good field position and a Lorine Parker 40-yard touchdown run down the right sideline, breaking multiple tackles on his way to his third touchdown of the game.
“The blocking from the offensive line was really good and I was able to bounce it and get a stiff arm on the safety, and saw another guy coming too hard and just stepped back on him,” said Parker of the long run.
Parker finished with a career-high 112 yards on a career-high 16 carries, and added a pair of one-yard touchdown runs in the first half to help the Fire lead the Gyrenes 17-7 at the half.
“The biggest thing was having the second half kickoff, and we knew we had to do something,” said coach Keith Barefield. “Our guys had a tremendous drive down the field, which made all the difference in the world, using up about half of the third quarter.”
Special teams also contributed in the fourth quarter with Myles Henderson blocking an Ave Maria punt into the endzone for a safety.
A 39-yard Derek McCormick field goal with 3:24 to go in the third got AMU within four and was the lone score in the quarter.
The defense made a big stand again with the Gyrenes driving in the final minute of the game, holding the visitors scoreless on a 4th-and-goal from the 2-yard line.
Cory Rahman was the top tackler with eight, with Loobert Denelus recording two tackles for loss, including a sack. Tyland Simpson was responsible for the lone Fire takeaway with his first career interception.
With the victory, the Fire are 4-0 for the first time in program history.
Southeastern returns to action next Saturday at St. Thomas for a noon kickoff.