LAKELAND, Fla.—After a week without a game, the Fire football team looks to stay atop the leaderboard in The Sun Conference as they travel to Jacksonville to take on Edward Waters College.
Before the bye week, the Fire had won its last two games, beating Warner 45-9 in The Sun Conference opener, then recorded a 37-7 win over Concordia College.
The Fire defense has been the big story the last two games. In each case, a Fire players was named conference Defensive Player of the Week for their efforts.
Alex Mack's game changing interception against Warner earned him the accolade on September 14
th, and
Will Tillo's new school record 15 tackles and 3.5 for loss against Concordia earned him recognition on September 21
st.
The defense ranks 18
th in the NAIA, allowing just 20.3 points per game, and has limited its opponents to a success rate of just 29.1% on third down. All told, the defense has given up an average of 383 yards per game over the last three weeks.
On offense, the Fire will be looking for a boost in the return of quarterback
Jonathan Pearce, who left the Faulkner game during the second quarter with an upper body injury. He returned to action during the second half against Concordia.
Edward Waters enters the contest at 2-3, coming off of a 56-14 loss at Point last Saturday. The Point defense recorded five sacks, three interceptions, recovered a fumble, and forced six punts.
Starting quarterback Tyler Mahla returned to action Saturday after missing some time the previous weeks. Against the Skyhawks, the sophomore rushed for 54 yards on nine carries, and was 5-of-13 passing for 84 yards. Running back Ray Dukes is averaging 8.1 yards per game in Alvin Wyatt Sr.'s option offense.
Kickoff will be at 7:30 p.m. at Stanton College Preparatory School, 1149 W. 13
th Street in Jacksonville. Follow @SEUFireFootball for game updates.
