LAKELAND, Fla.—The Fire blew up for a record 87 points in an 87-28 win over Virginia University Lynchburg.
Southeastern (5-1) wasted little time getting the scoring going with a six-yard touchdown pass from
Railond Garrett just 50 seconds into the game. On the ensuing possession, the Fire forced and recovered a fumble to set up a seven-yard pass from Garrett to
Jarrell Reynolds with 11:55 to go in the first.
Reynolds finished the night with 56 yards receiving and two touchdowns, and rushed for 106 yards on nine carries.
For the fourth consecutive game, the Fire defense came up with a score when
Alex Mack picked off a pass and raced 32 yards to make it 21-0 SEU with 10:57 left in the first.
Dakota Duron gave the Fire a four score lead on a 31-yard touchdown reception; Garrett's third of five on the night at the 8:20 mark. Garrett was 13-of-22 for 212 yards and threw one interception.
"It was very important for (Railond) to get another game under his belt before we start a three-game conference run," said coach
Keith Barefield. "I felt he played well at the start of the game, which was important for us to see."
The Dragons (1-4) got on the board for the first time with 5:51 left in the first on a 52-yard touchdown pass from Kevin McBride to Johnny Rembert. The Fire fumbled the kickoff, which was recovered by VUL and turned into a 5-play, 22-yard drive to make it 28-14 with 3:48 to go in the first.
The Fire scored the next 24 points of the game, including a touchdown on special teams, when
Johnathan Hicks recovered a punt that never crossed the line of scrimmage in the end zone. At halftime, SEU led 52-14.
VUL came out strong in the second half, returning the opening kickoff 62 yards for a touchdown. The Fire answered with a string of 35 straight points to take an 87-20 advantage with 10:11 to play. This included Wheary's second score of the night, a 41-yard pass from Garrett, and two touchdown runs by backup quarterback
Jacob Carter.
Southeastern finished the night with 642 yards from scrimmage, with 430 coming in the rushing game.
"It's very important for us to control the line of scrimmage and the battles are won or lost on both sides of the ball up front," said Barefield. "Week in and week out, our offensive line has gotten better and has opened up some holes for our backs. Hopefully, we're gelling, because we have three tough conference opponents coming up."
The Fire will be back at Victory Field next week for Homecoming against Ave Maria at 7 p.m.
