LAKELAND, Fla. - For the second year in a row, Warner University lost their Sun Conference opening game to Southeastern University.  In front of a capacity crowd at Vikings Stadium, the Fire thumped the Royals 45-9 on Saturday night.  The loss is the first of the season for the Royals (2-1) who entered undefeated through the first two weeks of the season while the Fire picked up their first win (1-1).

Mother Nature delayed the start of the game by 90 minutes due to lightning but that did not dampen the mood of the over 2000 fans on hand for the rivalry showdown.

It was a fast paced start once play began just after 8:30 p.m.  Southeastern took their opening possession and went 33 plays in six yards leading to a 34 yard field goal by Caleb Winter.

The Royals countered with a nine play, 79 yard drive capped off by an 18 yard touchdown pass from Darrin Davis, Jr. to Jayvon Young.  The PAT attempt failed and the Royals led 6-3 after the one quarter of play.

Angel Puente booted a 24 yard field goal with 9:12 on the clock before halftime in the second quarter to extend the Warner lead to 9-3.  It was short lived however, as the Royals turned ball over on back-to-back possession and the Fire turned them into 14 points.  The Royals committed three turnovers in the first half and trailed on the scoreboard 17-9 at halftime despite outgaining the Fire 233 yards to 67 yards.

Things did not get better for the Royals in the second half as Southeastern pitched a shutout, 28-0, to extend their lead to 45-9.  Overall the Fire scored 42 unanswered points after the Puente field goal in the second half. 

Turnovers and dropped passes plagued the Royals' offense in the loss.  The Royals threw three interceptions and were just 18-of-44 through the air.

Defensively the Royals forced at least two turnovers for the third straight game.  Loronza Smith caused two Southeastern fumbles.  Smith finished tied for a game-high with nine total tackles including one for loss.  Elevisi Halapio was second on the team with seven stops.

Byron Masoline and Bryant Benton both finished with 33 yards rushing.  Both Darrin Davis, Jr. and Andrew Rodriguez saw action under center for the Royals.  Davis, Jr. tossed the lone Warner touchdown pass and rushed for an additional 31 yards.

Next week the Royals hit the road for a NCAA-II match up with Florida Institute of Technology in Melbourne, Fla.  The Royals and Panthers met once before in the inaugural year of football at Warner University back in 2013.  The Panthers came away with a 37-3 victory.  Saturday night's game is scheduled for a 6 p.m. kickoff at Florida Tech Panther Stadium.


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