LAKELAND, Fla.—Southeastern is looking to end a two-game slide by remaining unbeaten on Homecoming Saturday night when the Fire host Keiser at Victory Field.
The Fire should be well rested following their third week without a game in the last five weeks and are looking to bounce back from a 10-point loss to Webber International on October 8
th.
Five turnovers put Southeastern in a near impossible position to win against the Warriors, trailing 34-7 going into the fourth quarter. The Fire made it interesting in the final stanza, returning a blocked punt for a touchdown and recovering an onside kick which led to a score, all in the final five minutes of the game.
Defensively,
Marc Viechec set a program record for tackles in a game with 20 which included a pair of sacks.
This season, the SEU offense has averaged 4.8 yards per rush which is 13
th nationally and 176.2 rushing yards per game which is good for 21
st in the NAIA. Quarterback
Kaylan Wiggins leads the ground game with 312 yards on 42 carries with five touchdowns.
Southeastern and Keiser have met four times previously with each team winning twice. The Fire won the first meeting between the two teams in 2018, rallying to win 27-17 at Victory Field and won the most recent meeting last year with a 20-17 win in West Palm Beach over the sixth-ranked Seahawks after trailing 14-0 in the first quarter.
Keiser comes into the contest with a very misleading 4-3 overall record. The Seahawks three losses came in consecutive weeks to Valdosta State by 15, Mississippi College by 16, and Lindenwood by 34. All three games were on the road with Valdosta State and Mississippi College both Division II programs and Lindenwood now in Division I FCS.
The Seahawks have responded with three straight wins, including a 36-31 comeback win at St. Thomas in a game which they trailed 24-7. They boast an offense averaging 406.4 yards per game which is 20
th in the NAIA and a defense that has forced 16 turnovers in seven games.
Running back Marques Burgess is averaging five yards per carry this season and has seven touchdowns. He rushed for 183 yards and a touchdown last year against the Fire.
Southeastern is 8-0 all-time on Homecoming weekend with three shutout victories.
A limited number of tickets are available at
fire.seu.edu/tickets.
