LAKELAND, Fla.—Southeastern will look to bounce back from a tough loss on the road last week when it hosts Florida Memorial for Homecoming tonight at Victory Field.
In a 51-21 loss to Keiser, the Fire allowed over 500 yards of offense and 300 rushing yards for the first time since a loss to Bethel (Tenn.) on September 22, 2018. The Fire also committed three turnovers after having just two total over the last three weeks.
In the second half, the offense found some rhythm racking up 202 yards on 17 plays in the fourth quarter and accounted for all 21 of their points.
Henry Austad completed 8-of-13 passes for 171 yards and a pair of touchdowns in the second half.
Shane McLaughlin and
Devonte Bowie had four catches each.
Freshman
Dillan Harrell was a bright spot on defense, making three tackles and breaking up a pair of passes against the No. 7 team in the country.
Ryan Cunningham led the Fire with 11 total stops.
The Fire now turn their attention to one of the top offenses in the NAIA this season in Florida Memorial which averages 529.4 yards per game. There are only nine schools in the NCAA that average more yards per game than the Lions do. Their 40.9 points per game is 12
th in the NAIA, tied with defending national champion Northwestern.
Most of the damage has been done by the rushing attack at 284.3 yards with Walter Wilbon averaging over eight yards per carry.
The Lions are 4-3 on the season, picking up a five-point win over Webber International last week. A three-point loss at Bluefield on a touchdown with 25 seconds left in Week 0, Division I Grambling State, and No. 17 St. Thomas account for the three losses this season.
Both teams enter the contest at 3-1 in Sun Conference play, looking to keep pace with Keiser which sits at 4-0 in league play.
This will be just the fourth meeting between the two programs with the Fire winning all three of the previous games. Last year, Southeastern was a 27-13 winner in Lakeland and picked up a 41-13 victory in Miami Gardens. The Fire have also won eight of their nine Homecoming games to date.
Kickoff is at 7 p.m. and tickets are available at southeastern.universitytickets.com. There will also be fireworks after the contest.
