BABSON PARK, Fla.—Southeastern was able to grind out a win over county rival Webber International Saturday afternoon, 17-9.
The Fire (3-2, 2-0 SUN) had 20 first downs during the contest and a season-best 352 total yards.
Southeastern got on the board first after the teams exchanged turnovers on their first possessions of the game, getting a 16-yard touchdown run from
Josiah Neos with 8:01 to go in the second quarter. The Fire got on the board again with 16 seconds left in the second quarter, capping an eight-play, 78-yard drive.
The Warriors (1-4, 0-2 SUN) picked up a 78-yard touchdown pass on the last play of the first half but the Fire blocked the PAT to take a 14-6 lead to the locker room.
"I thought we had pretty good control of the game in the first half but gave up the bomb at the end of the first half which was a backbreaker for us and gave them a lot of momentum going into the second half," said coach
Adam Waugh. "Our kids fought back and were resilient and played good defense when it mattered."
Following a scoreless third quarter, Webber cut the deficit to five with 9:46 left with a 41-yard field goal. After the teams exchanged punts, Southeastern drove 81 yards on 13 plays and ate up 6:39 of the final frame and got a 32-yard field goal from
Joel McGrath with just 67 seconds left to ice the game.
"The message going into the game was that the toughest team would win," said Waugh. "Every time we go against Webber, it's two scrappy ball clubs getting after it and I thought this game would go 60 minutes and the toughest team was going to win. Thankfully, we were able to do that."
The run game amassed 138 yards with
Josiah Neos rushing for 102 yards on 16 carries.
Daniel Parker added another 29. Additionally, the offensive line did not yield a sack.
"They've taken on the persona of their coach, they're getting tough, being aggressive and taking a lot of pride in the run game," said Waugh of the offensive line. "I think the confidence to build each and every week."
Hayden finished 22-of-34 passing for 214 yards.
Shane McLaughlin had 51 yards receiving on three catches and
Dominic Larry added 50 yards on four catches.
Aaron Walton led the defense with 10 tackles.
Ryan Cunningham added eight along with an interception during a three-takeaway day for the defense.
"They play really hard and play for each other," said Waugh. "They play really good team defense; it's not a star here or a star there, everyone contributes and we play a lot of guys."
The Fire will be back at home next Saturday to host Thomas for the first time in program history at 7 p.m.
