WINTER HAVEN, Fla. (November 3, 2018) – It was an epic Senior Day for the Webber International University football team as the Warriors defeated first-place and nationally-recognized Ave Maria University, 20-17, on a 24-yard field goal by Marcus Mannerstedt in overtime.

It was senior day for No. 3 Jeremiah Harris, No. 5 Antwan Washington, No. 7 Tequavious Barnes, No. 14 Tajh Milliken, No. 22 Dalton Pollock, No. 25 Keith Neal, No. 27 Antonio Brown, No. 31 Aaron Givens, No. 44 Tyson Burch, No. 53 Clayton Monroe, No. 61 Charles Bernard, No. 73 Destin McAllister, No. 94 Amari Way, No. 95 Dequan Harvin and student athletic trainer Madeline Krebs.



One of those seniors, Jeremiah Harris, had an electric final home game, finishing with a game-high six catches for a game-high 59 receiving yards.

Dalton Pollock, a fullback who has been a leader for the Warriors his entire career and has been a mainstay for Webber as a blocker, added one rush for five yards on Saturday.

Defensively, Keith Neal and Aaron Givens each finished with a game-high nine tackles while Neal also added a forced fumble and Givens added a seven-yard sack. Antonio Brown was also solid all-around, finishing with four tackles, 3.5 tackles for loss and 1.5 sacks.



In a matchup featuring the only team in the Mid-South Conference Sun Division without a win and the only one without a loss, the win for Webber (5-4 overall, 1-4 MSC Sun Division) represented its first in the Sun Division during the 2018 season as the Warriors got back in the win column, snapping a four-game skid. Ave Maria is now 5-4 and 4-1 after previously winning four straight, including three wins over nationally-ranked opponents, as Webber put the Sun Division's chances at having a representative in the NAIA postseason in jeopardy.

It was also the fifth straight win for Webber over Ave Maria as the Warriors now lead the series 7-1 all-time.

During the Warriors losing streak entering the matchup, the Webber offense was held to 17 points or under in all four contests. That streak ended as well on Saturday as after Travonte Haynie blocked a 43-yard field goal attempt by the Gyrenes to start the overtime period, freshman quarterback Brady Ooten connected with freshman running back Davonte Williams on a 12-yard pass play to quickly get Webber into field goal range for the winner by Mannerstedt.

Two plays before the winning field goal, Williams would go on to make the attempt just a little bit easier for Mannerstedt with an 11-yard run to get the ball within the Gyrenes' five-yard line.



Earlier in the fourth quarter, Mannerstedt hit his first field goal attempt of the contest, a 22-yarder, to tie the game at 10-10.

Webber took its first lead of the day at 17-10 with six minutes left in regulation on a six-yard pass from Ooten to Williams as Webber again took advantage of a blocked kick, this time a blocked punt by Emmil Glover, to set the offense up in prime real-estate.



After being held to minus-11 yards from scrimmage in the first quarter, the Warriors finally got it going a little bit before halftime on a beautiful 32-yard pass and catch from Ooten to Christian Acevedo. It was yet another example of Webber taking advantage of a strong defensive effort as on the previous Ave Maria drive, Neal forced a fumble to set the Warriors up in Gyrenes' territory.

In all, Ooten completed 14 of his 25 passes for 133 yards and two touchdowns, giving him what was arguably one of the best performances of his freshman campaign.



Other strong defensive performances for Webber were provided by Amin Gilbert (7 tackles; 7-yard sack), Brandon Bell (5 tackles), and James Mallory (4 tackles).

Next up, Webber will conclude its 2018 season on the road against Edward Waters College at 4 p.m. on Saturday, November 10, in Jacksonville, Florida. The Warriors are 10-4 all-time against the Tigers and are riding a current four-game winning streak in the series.