LAKELAND, Fla. — The Webber International University football team fell to No. 22 Southeastern University, 35-10, Saturday evening at Victory Field in The Sun Conference action.
The Warriors (2-5, 0-3 SUN) battled the Fire (5-1, 1-2 SUN), highlighted by an 81-yard kickoff return for a touchdown from
Kendall Johnson in the third quarter.
Southeastern opened the scoring with a defensive touchdown on an interception return before adding another score through the air to take a 14-0 lead after the first quarter. The Fire extended their advantage to 21-0 in the second quarter before Webber got on the board with a 40-yard field goal from
Tyler Sapp with 1:05 remaining in the half, making it 21-3 at the break.
The Fire added another touchdown early in the third quarter, but Johnson answered with an electrifying 81-yard kickoff return for a touchdown. Sapp's extra point brought the Warriors within 18 at 28-10. Southeastern added one more touchdown in the fourth quarter to secure the 35-10 victory.
Offensively, the Warriors totaled 235 yards, including 191 on the ground.
Trent Grotjan led the rushing attack with 88 yards on nine carries, including a long run of 62 yards.
D'Markus Mathis added 60 rushing yards on 11 attempts, while
Justin Elwin contributed 28 yards on four carries.
Grotjan also completed five passes for 27 yards, while Noel Rodriquez Santi added two completions for 17 yards.
Quinton Moore led the Warriors with two receptions for 16 yards.
Defensively,
Caden Marsh paced Webber with seven total tackles, including 1.5 tackles for loss.
Javier Frazier recorded six tackles, one tackle for loss, one sack and a pass breakup, while
Aaron Williams also finished with six tackles, including 1.5 tackles for loss and one sack.
Webber controlled the time of possession, holding the ball for 33:41 compared to Southeastern's 26:19, and recorded 16 first downs. However, the Fire capitalized on their passing game, finishing with 261 passing yards and four touchdown passes.
The Warriors return to Warrior Turf Field on Saturday, Oct. 24, to host Keiser University. Kickoff is scheduled for 1:30 p.m.
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