MIAMI GARDENS, Fla.—The Fire are looking to improve to 5-0 on the season for the first time since 2019.
The last time it was 4-0, SEU traveled to St. Thomas and came away with its first win against the Bobcats.
Southeastern will be looking to do the same three years later.
A little more is at stake this time around with both teams ranked in the NAIA FirstDown Playbook Top 25. The teams will meet under the lights at AutoNation Field in Miami Gardens for just the second game on the new turf surface on the campus of St. Thomas University.
Southeastern was idle last week after receiving a forfeit victory from its game with Fort Lauderdale. Saturday's game will serve as the final non-conference test for the Fire before commencing Sun Conference play next Saturday at Ave Maria.
On offense, the Fire are 18
th in the NAIA in points per game at 38.3 and are averaging 424.7 yards per game which is good for 17
th nationally. The Fire are in the top 20 nationally in yards per pass attempt at 7.9 and yards per rush at 5.1.
Quarterback
Kaylan Wiggins has completed nearly 60% of his passes and ranks 14
th nationally in efficiency at 155.8. His top target has been
Shane McLaughlin, who has a team-best 13 catches for a team-high 315 yards. McLaughlin is sixth nationally in yards per catch at 24.2.
Defensively, junior linebacker
Marc Viechec has a team-high 22 tackles and has added 1.5 sacks, a pass breakup, and two fumble recoveries.
Ryan Cunningham has 20 tackles with a forced fumble and a pass breakup from his safety spot.
Khalid Scott has added 3.5 tackles for loss from his nickel spot and
Eddie Davis has two pass breakups and a fumble return for a touchdown.
St. Thomas sits at 2-1 on the season with the lone loss to Butler University by five in Indianapolis. A week later, the Bobcats took down then-11
th-ranked Saint Xavier University 31-10 and last week defeated North American University 52-0.
Wide receiver C'quan Jnopierre had an 11-yard touchdown run and a 52-yard touchdown reception on the day which saw him rack up 117 total yards on just five touches. Jnopierre ranks ninth nationally in yards per game at 112 and has helped STU rank 15
th nationally in yards per game at 426.3 and 19
th in scoring at 36.3 points per game.
This will be the fifth meeting between SEU and St. Thomas and for the fourth time, the teams meet in Miami Gardens. The Fire have won all four of the previous meetings, scoring an average of 44 points per game. Last year, the Fire knocked off St. Thomas 24-21 for their second Top 25 win of the season.
