Ave Maria (FL) football defeated Webber International (FL) 21-19 Saturday in Babson Park, Fla., earning its first Sun Conference road victory of the season after two lightning delays.
Logan Howard led Ave Maria with 247 passing yards and one touchdown on 20-of-27 passing. He also rushed for 42 yards as Ave Maria improved to 3-3 overall and 1-1 in conference play.
Ave Maria takes control early
Ave Maria opened the scoring with a 14-play drive that ended when Howard connected with freshman tight end Jordan Beck for a three-yard touchdown. The reception was the first of Beck’s career, and it also produced his first touchdown.
Howard added a 19-yard rushing touchdown early in the second quarter, giving Ave Maria a 14-0 lead after Jake Matigian’s extra point. Isaiah Thomas and Javien Durham contributed runs during the drive, which ended with Howard scoring on third and 11.
Webber International answered with a 22-yard touchdown pass from Trent Grotjan to Kendall Johnson. Ave Maria held the Warriors out of the end zone on fourth and 16 from the Ave Maria 22-yard line and carried a 14-7 lead into halftime.
McBride restores two-score advantage
Webber opened the second-half scoring with a 35-yard Tyler Sapp field goal, cutting Ave Maria’s lead to 14-10. After the first lightning delay, the Gyrenes responded with a four-play touchdown drive.
Howard connected with graduate transfer Andrew Picard on a play that moved the ball to the Webber 9-yard line. Reggie McBride scored on the first play of the fourth quarter, putting Ave Maria ahead 21-10 with a nine-yard touchdown run.
Picard finished with three receptions for 91 yards, while Mitchell Soltau led Ave Maria with eight catches for 84 yards. McBride led the team’s running backs with 29 rushing yards, and Ave Maria totaled 321 yards, including 247 passing yards and 74 rushing yards.
Defense protects the lead
Webber added a 31-yard field goal by Sapp before the second lightning delay interrupted an Ave Maria drive. When play resumed, Sean Battle forced a fumble by Grotjan, and Nate Harrison recovered for Ave Maria.
Ave Maria later lost a fumble, giving Webber possession 13 yards from the end zone. Grotjan found Quinton Moore for a nine-yard touchdown with 1:03 remaining, but Webber failed on the potential tying two-point conversion when freshman defensive back Wendell Copeland made a diving deflection in the end zone.
Battle recovered the ensuing onside kick, allowing Ave Maria to run out the clock. Marco Casci led the defense with nine total tackles, while Elijah Douge recorded two tackles for loss, including a sack for eight yards.
Matigian made all three of his extra-point attempts. Webber finished with 278 total yards, including 112 passing yards and 166 rushing yards, while Sapp made field goals of 35 and 31 yards and an extra point.
First win over Webber since 2023
The victory was Ave Maria’s first over Webber International since 2023 and ended a two-game losing streak to the Warriors. It also gave Ave Maria its first Sun Conference road win of the season.
Ave Maria will host the Thomas Night Hawks in its next game. The Hometown Heroes game will honor active-duty service members and veterans, with kickoff scheduled for 7 p.m. at Gyrene Field and live streaming available on the Sun Digital Network.
FSB Take
Ave Maria made the key plays on both sides of the ball in a 21-19 Sun Conference road win. Howard supplied production as a passer and runner, while Copeland’s late deflection and Battle’s onside-kick recovery secured the result. The victory moved Ave Maria to 1-1 in conference play and ended its two-game losing streak to Webber International.
Source: Original report