Box Score LAKELAND, Fla.—With the Southeastern offense struggling to get into a rhythm, the defense took it upon themselves to get the Fire a win in The Sun Conference opener.
The defense finished the night with three interceptions and a fumble recovery, spurring 42 unanswered points in a 45-9 win over county rival Warner.
Southeastern (2-1) struck first with a 34-yard field goal by
Caleb Winter on a drive that was set up by a 35-yard kickoff return by
Johnathan Hicks and a defensive facemask penalty.
Warner (2-1) came back with an 18-yard touchdown pass and a 24-yard field goal to go up 9-3 with 9:12 left in the second. The Southeastern offense struggled to get anything going, going 3-and-out on three straight drives.
The Fire defense came away with an interception by
Alex Mack at the 8:22 mark of the second quarter that was returned 56 yards to the Warner 23-yard line. Three plays later,
Jarrell Reynolds had his first of two touchdown runs of the night to put the Fire up 10-9.
On the ensuing drive,
Treshez Ellzey picked off a Warner pass and returned it 74 yards for a touchdown and a 17-9 halftime lead.
"The takeaways were huge tonight," said coach
Keith Barefield. "Those interceptions gave us a lot of confidence and got us rolling."
In the second half, the Fire hit their stride offensively with Reynolds breaking loose for a 76-yard touchdown run with 9:14 left in the third quarter, and
Railond Garrett running for a pair of 6-yard touchdowns.
After being held to 67 yards on 22 plays in the first half, the Fire amassed 287 yards on 24 plays in the second half.
Individually, Reynolds finished with 148 yards on 15 carries and caught four passes for 38 yards. Garrett was 9-of-14 passing for 139 yards and rushed nine times for 13 yards and a pair of scores.
The defense was led by
Robert Greathouse, who had nine tackles, a tackle for loss, and a forced fumble.
The Fire will host Concordia College at Victory Field next Saturday at 7 p.m.
