LAKELAND, Fla.—Southeastern will look to end the 2023 season on a positive note and end a three-game slide when it closes out the campaign with Ave Maria on Saturday night at Victory Field.
Despite a 12-point loss at No. 17 St. Thomas on Saturday, the Fire took numerous positives from the game heading into their final contest. Southeastern outrushed one of the top ground attacks in the NAIA by five yards and converted a season-best 10 third downs in the game.
Henry Austad completed a season-best 24 passes for a season-high 241 yards and had a pair of touchdown passes in the game. On defense,
Ryan Cunningham's 11 tackles matched his season-best.
Cunningham's 53 tackles this season ranks seventh in the conference.
Even after surrendering the lead, the Fire fought their way back into the contest to get within six in the fourth quarter.
The difference in the game came down to five plays of 20+ yards by the Bobcats, including a 71-yard touchdown pass on third-and-eight with just over 2:00 to play to ice the game.
For the third week in a row, the Fire will be tasked with stopping one of the top running backs in the country. Ave Maria's Bryan Stiemke has rushed for 1,192 yards and 11 touchdowns, averaging 149 yards per game which leads the NAIA. He has three 200-yard games this season and seven games with 20+ carries.
The Southeastern defense comes into the game third in The Sun Conference in both scoring and yards and are fourth in the league against the run.
Defensively, the Gyrenes allow 377.4 yards per game but have recorded 17 takeaways with Nate Hyman recording three interceptions, including one for a touchdown. Dray'sun Bonney and Willie Jackson have five sacks each.
This is the 10
th meeting all-time between the Fire and the Gyrenes with Ave Maria winning the most recent contest at Victory Field in 2021 34-10 to snap a three-game win streak against the Gyrenes. In the four prior meetings in Lakeland, the Fire had outscored AMU 195-10.
Before the game, the Fire will honor 15 seniors prior to their final home game. Kickoff is at 7 p.m. and tickets can be purchased at southeastern.universitytickets.com.
