WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — Keiser used a dominant rushing performance and a pair of defensive touchdowns to secure a 30-13 victory over Ave Maria on Saturday afternoon at Keiser Football Field.
The Seahawks improved to 6-2 overall and 4-1 in Sun Conference play with the homecoming victory, while the Gyrenes fell to 5-4 and 3-2 in conference action.
Keiser struck first in the opening quarter when quarterback Damari Charlton connected with Israel Marion for a 22-yard touchdown. The Seahawks extended their advantage to 13-0 later in the quarter on a 32-yard touchdown run by Jontay Hais.
Ave Maria responded with two field goals from Jeremy Burch, including a 52-yarder as time expired in the first half, to cut the deficit to 13-6.
Keiser regained control in the third quarter, putting together an 18-play, 62-yard drive that consumed nearly 10 minutes. Raphael Ekechi capped the possession with a 1-yard touchdown run to extend the lead to 20-6.
The Seahawks’ defense delivered another crucial score early in the fourth quarter when Daniel Bello recovered a fumble in the end zone for a touchdown, pushing the advantage to 27-6. Dorian Hall added a 35-yard field goal to make it 30-6 before Ave Maria scored its only touchdown with 1:29 remaining on a 20-yard pass from Logan Howard to Joshua Raphael.
Hais led the Seahawks’ ground attack with 97 yards and a touchdown on 10 carries. Ekechi added 42 rushing yards and a score, while Charlton accounted for 213 yards of total offense, throwing for 168 yards and a touchdown while adding 45 yards on the ground.
Marion paced Keiser’s receiving corps with six catches for 98 yards and a touchdown.
Defensively, Keiser limited Ave Maria to 192 total yards, including minus-2 rushing yards on 23 attempts. The Seahawks also held the Gyrenes to just two conversions on 12 third-down opportunities.
Keiser finished with 422 yards of total offense, including 247 rushing yards, and controlled possession for 36:07.
The Seahawks return to action Saturday, Nov. 7, when they travel to Lakeland to face Southeastern.
