Babson Park, FL – The Webber International Football team opened SUN Conference play at home against the Ave Maria Gyrenes Saturday afternoon on the Warrior Turf Field. The Warriors only needed two plays to score first and used a strong first half and defense to hold the Gyrenes to nine points, winning 28-9.
The Warrior defense forced the Gyrenes into a three-and-out in their first offensive drive. A five-yard completion to Tim Young put the Warriors on their own 40-yard line. Webber drew up a play-action pass, as Asaivien McWilliams broke through the Gyrene defense, catching a 60-yard touchdown to open the scoring and put Webber up 7-0. The defense forced another three-and-out for the Ave Maria offense, as Tre’ Mobley, Jalen Williams, and Warren Laguerre all picked up tackles. Terry Weems Jr got his first touches of the game before Grotjan connected with McWilliams for another 20-yard completion and a first down. The Warriors stalled after that, as Jaxson Rivera punted for the first time of the afternoon. A rush for no gain set up 2nd and 10 for Ave Maria, but Warren Laguerre was there on the pass, intercepting the ball and returning it 18-yards to the AMU 24-yard line. Webber only needed one play, as Weems Jr went 24 yards to the house for a touchdown, extending the lead to 14-0. The Warrior defense again came up big as Mobley forced a fumble on first down giving the Warriors the ball deep in AMU territory. A 15-yard rush from Antonio Dawson put the Warriors in goal-to-go, but Webber was unable to capitalize on the field position as Zachary Van Fleet’s field goal attempt was blocked and caught at the 1-yard line. The Gyrenes offense was forced to punt again after another three-and-out, punting from their own 10.
Three straight rushes from Weems Jr brought the Warriors to the 29-yard line, where the Warriors dialed up another play-action pass, with Grotjan connecting with McWilliams again for a 29-yard touchdown, as Webber took a 21-0 lead. After an 11-yard rush, Ave Maria stalled again, punting on 4th and three. Jahseim Lesaine and Dawson combined for 21-yards and another first down for the Warriors, but Rivera would come out to punt on 4th and two at midfield. Another punt from the Gyrenes set up more offense for the Warriors, but Grotjan would be sacked on third down, forcing Rivera to punt from his own one-yard line. A return and an unnecessary roughness penalty set the Gyrenese up on the Warrior 13-yard line. Ave Maria was able to finally get on the board with a field goal, making the score 21-3. On the Warriors’ next play Taylor Scarbrough had the ball ripped out of his hands, turning it over to the Gyrenes. Ave Maria found the endzone two plays later on a six-yard touchdown pass, but missed the extra point, putting the score at 21-9. Multiple penalties had the Warriors with 1st and 15 from their own 20-yard line. Grotjan completed passes to Kenneth Davis, Young, and Keyon Dickens, but on third down would throw an interception to end the drive. Josiah Everett picked up a sack to help force another three-and-out by the Gyrenes, and Weems Jr would end the half with a 10-yard rush.
The Warriors started with the ball in the third quarter and drove down the field once again. Weems Jr, and Scarbrough took rushing duties while Grotjan connected passes to McWilliams and Dickens, who took a pass 32-yards to the house, to give the Warriors a 28-9 lead. With the Gyrenes driving down the field, the Warrior defense forced them into another 4th down play. Kayden Hill forced a fumble and recovered it, giving the Warriors the ball around midfield. Webber was unable to capitalize on the field position, punting the ball again. The Gyrenes had six straight plays of positive yardage, as a 13-yard completion brought the Gyrenes inside the redzone and into the fourth quarter.
Webber was able to stop the Gyrenes in a goal-to-go situation as David Brack came up with a field goal block on 4th and six. On third down for Webber, Grotjan and McWilliams connected again, this time for a 23-yard first down. On fourth down, D’Markus Mathis had a four-yard rush for the first, with 15-yards tacked on due to a penalty on Ave Maria. Grotjan had a seven-yard rush on 2nd and 10, but multiple penalties had the Warriors with 4th and 18. An incomplete pass turned the ball over to Ave Maria. On 1st and 10 from midfield, Laguerre picked off the Ave Maria quarterback again, but a penalty on the Warriors negated it. Tyron Washington and Derick Lewis got in on a combined sack on 3rdand eight, and on 4th and eight, an incompletion gave Webber the ball back. Webber ran the ball three straight times and punted it back to Ave Maria. After a first down, Ave Maria went for it again on fourth down, and were unable to connect. Mathis would fail to get the two-yards needed to ice the game in the fourth, giving Ave Maria one more chance with the ball in the fourth quarter. After completing a pass on fourth down, the drive would be stalled thanks to an unnecessary roughness penalty and the Gyrenes turned the ball over on downs one more time as Grotjan took a knee to end it with a final score of 28-9 in favor of the Warriors.
Grotjan and McWilliams each had career days on the field, as Grotjan threw for 250 yards, and McWilliams had 142 receiving yards, both of which were career highs. Weems Jr led the team with 77 rushing yards while Scarbrough had 39. Williams led the team with 11 total tackles, while Mobley added eight solo tackles of his own as well as the fumble. Laguerre had the lone interception while Everett had one sack and Washington and Lewis each had half a sack.
The Warriors will be back in action on Saturday, October 5th when they travel to Lakeland, Florida for a SUN Conference matchup against Polk County Rival Southeastern University.
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