LAKE WALES, Fla. (October 14, 2017) – Sophomore kicker Marcus Mannerstedt was three-for-three on field goals in the first half, and the Warriors added an opportunistic fumble recovery in the end zone for a touchdown in the third quarter as the Webber International University football team was victorious over Edward Waters College, 16-9, on Saturday afternoon at Legion Field.

Despite the two teams being nearly equal in yardage (250 total for Webber, 116 rushing; 205 total for EWC; 116 rushing), the two offenses looked different as Webber moved the ball better all game, shared the duties in the backfield more consistently, and ultimately came away with points on each of its red zone chances.

Four rushers reached 15 or more yards out of the Warriors' backfield as Garry Chouloute had 33, Austin Logue had 31, Cameron Wakefield had 23 and Dalton Pollock had 15. Chouloute also threw for 134 yards on 14-of-25 passing, completing five passes to Jeremiah Harris for 58 yards, four passes to Timothy Miller for 41 yards, and two passes to Nick Marill for 16 yards.

Edward Waters, on the other hand, saw 186 of its 205 yards accounted for by one player, quarterback Christian Hayes, who rushed for 97 yards on 22 carries and passed for 89 yards on only 10-for-29 passing. Only 13 of the Tigers 35 rushing plays were not by Hayes.

The balance on offense allowed the Warriors to get into scoring territory and finish with a field goal three times in the opening half.

Webber actually trailed 7-3 before rallying to take a 9-6 lead into the intermission, and then after Harris returned an EWC punt 49 yards back to the Tigers 39-yard line with 7:22 on the clock in the third quarter, the Warriors' offense charged all the way down to the eight-yard line where a fumble by Chouloute rolled forward into the end zone and was jumped on by Jalen Cayo to put Webber up by two scores at 16-7.

"Jeremiah [Harris] showed how special of a player he can be today," said Head Coach Kelly Scott. "I was also proud of Marcus' [Mannerstedt] effort today as he made all three of his field goal tries and really helped us make use our red zone opportunities and be able to come away with some points."

The Tigers' defense came away with a safety less than five minutes into the fourth quarter to get EWC back within one score, but a 12-play, 42-yard drive for the Tigers on the subsequent series was all for not as the Warriors' defense held up on fourth and goal to force the turnover and effectively end the game.

"It wasn't pretty, but it was a win," said Scott. "We still have to play better, but we are still alive in the Sun Division, and that is all you can ask for this time of year."

Defensively for Webber, Drakkar Wilson, Brandon Bell and Adam Kuh led the way with five tackles apiece, while Antonio Brown finished a sack and one forced fumble.

Webber improved to .500 on the season both overall (3-3) and within the Mid-South Conference Sun Division (1-1), earning the first ever win for the Warriors in the MSC Sun Division, while Edward Waters fell to 0-6 and 0-2. Saturday's victory also marked the fourth straight win and seventh in eight games for the Warriors over the Tigers.

In its final game of October, Webber will head to Lakeland, Florida, to battle Polk Country rival and No. 14 Southeastern University. Game time is set for 7 p.m. on Saturday, October 21.

"Southeastern is a really good team, obviously, but you better believe we will be ready to play," concluded Scott. "With a big-time game like this against big-time competition in a rivalry atmosphere, this one will not be hard for the guys to get motivated for."