Fire outlast No. 22 Warriors on the road
WINTER HAVEN, Fla.— David Larson has made plenty of field goals, but when went out to attempt a 35-yard field goal to help the Fire upset No. 22 Webber, he wasn’t as prepared as he usually is.
“It was rough getting ready, because Tyson (Kee) landed on our net earlier,” said Larson.
Still, the sophomore drove the kick through the uprights as time ran out to help the Fire pick up a 20-17 win at Denison Stadium for SEU’s first Sun Division win of the season.
“Of course there’s nerves, but being such a short field goal, it was pretty sure in my head,” said Larson, who also connected on a 32-yarder on the first drive of the game. “As soon as I saw it go, I started celebrating.”
After getting stopped at the one-yard line on its previous possession, the Fire were given a short field, thanks to the SEU defense securing a three-and-out from the Warriors.
The Fire defense also got a fourth quarter takeaway on a fumble recovery by Amone Gragg Jr., and held the Warriors to just 64 yards and three first downs in the final 15 minutes.
“Playing great defense has to be our hallmark right now,” said Barefield. “They battled, there were a few times they bent, but didn’t break, when we had to have it, they gave it to us.”
Kwamaine Brown’s second touchdown run of the game with 10:33 to play tied the game at 17. Brown also had an 86 yard scoring run with 1:38 to play in the first half tied the game at 10 going to the intermission.
“Our guys kept battling. We were flat coming out, there was no emotion, but they found a way to get going in the second half.
Ryder Litten capped off a seven-play, 47-yard drive with a three-yard touchdown run to put the Fire back on top with 4:40 left in the third. Litten rushed for 61 yards to lead the team, and passed for 37 in the second half.
Elijah Oltean took a majority of the snaps, completing 18-of-29 passes for 188, and found Maurice Anglin for a 16-yard touchdown strike in the first quarter to put the Fire up 10-0. Anglin had a game-high 74 yards receiving with four catches.
Southeastern will travel to Ave Maria next Saturday, which also upset a Top 25 team on Saturday with a 21-20 win over No. 21 Faulkner.
Game Stats SEU WIU
First Downs 22 16
Total Offensive Yards 366 322
Passing Yards 225 51
Rushing Yards 141 271
Penalty Yards 6-40 5-49
3rd Downs 6-16 5-17
4th Downs 1-2 1-1
Time Of Possession 28:14 31:17