The Fire answered back all night against another top five-ranked team. No. 18 Southeastern University saw its football upset bid fall short in the final two minutes as No. 5 St. Thomas University booted an 18-yard field goal for the 20-17 victory.
After being tied at half and exchanging a touchdown apiece in the third quarter, St. Thomas took over its own 32-yard line and put together a string of four first downs covering 67 yards where SEU stopped it on the home 1-yard line. The Bobcats’ Zachary Alvarez then connected on an 18-yard field goal with 1:39 left in the game.
SEU took over after the ensuing kick-off at its own 25-yard line, but an 11-yard sack and then an interception ended the home upset bid.
In two games against the No. 1 and No. 5 teams, SEU has lost by a combined 10 points. St. Thomas won the fourth game in a row over SEU, as the Fire dropped to 5-2 (2-2 SUN). The Bobcats improve to 7-1 (4-1 SUN).
The final score was close, and it was reflected in the stats as well, as St. Thomas accumulated 336 yards on 65 plays, while SEU accounted for 285 yards on just one more snap.
Quarterback Henry Austad completed a season-high 20 passes on 32 attempts for 198 yards with two scores and one interception, a pick-six in the third quarter. His top target was Leroy Lopez, who pulled in three passes for 83 yards and a 37-yard touchdown. Desi Lester pulled in three passes for 31 yards and Lucas Williamson had four grabs for 21 yards.
The Fire rush attack was held to 87 yards on 33 carries. Jocquet Jiles carried for 31 yards on five totes, while Josiah Neos covered 26 yards on seven rushes. Dominic Larry had one rush for 23 yards and caught two balls for 15 yards.
On defense, Aaron Walton had 10 tackles. Chris Sharpe added seven, one for a loss, while both Brady Nowlan and Carlos Gerardino had six tackles and one for a loss.
Both Joseph Bonga, who also had five tackles, and Brandon Higgs picked off a St. Thomas pass. Jamil Jones and Vincent Brown broke up a pass each and Berton Venter had a tackle for loss.
Rontavious Farmer guided the St. Thomas rushing attack with 133 yards on 29 carries.
The Bobcats showed their mettle and started the game with a long 74-yard scoring drive capped by a 41-yard touchdown pass for a quick, 7-0, lead.
The Fire tried to answer with points of their own but they saw a 46-yard field goal go wide left. After St. Thomas turned the ball over on downs, SEU went back to work and drove 64 yards down the field, but it came up empty a second time when a rush on 4th-and-1 from just inside the 1-yard line was stopped in the backfield.
St. Thomas made it a 10-0 game on its second scoring drive with a 35-yard field goal at 12:11 in the early second. SEU saw the third scoring attempt be the charm as Joel McGrath hit his own 35-yard field goal to cut the Bobcat lead to 10-3.
Higgs picked off the Bobcat pass on the next possession and put his offense back in business. Austad found Lopez on a 37-yard scoring strike with 4:11 before half to even up the game at 10-10.
After opening second-half punts by each team, St. Thomas picked of an Austad pass and returned it 21 yards for a touchdown to retake the lead at 7:24 of the third.
Again, SEU answered the visitors’ score with one of their own. as the Fire drove 69 yards to pay dirt when Austad hit Colin Campbell from two yards out for a touchdown to tie game at 17-17 at 2:15 in the third quarter. The key play on the drive was a 26-yard pass to Lopez.
The Fire return to action next Saturday, when they travel to Ave Maria. Kick-off is slated for 7 p.m.
