LAKELAND, Fla. – Warner University football battled No. 24 Georgetown College throughout its first home contest of the 2026 season, but the Royals ultimately fell to the Tigers, 39-14, Saturday afternoon at LCS Stadium.
The Royals came out firing in the opening quarter, answering Georgetown's opening touchdown with a scoring drive of their own. Warner marched 75 yards on seven plays, with Michael Ryan connecting with Mark Hanniford for a 14-yard touchdown to give the Royals a 7-6 advantage with 8:04 remaining in the first quarter.
Georgetown responded with a rushing touchdown later in the quarter before adding a pair of field goals in the second quarter to take an 18-7 lead into halftime.
Warner continued to battle throughout the second half, and the Royals found the end zone again early in the fourth quarter. Traven Green connected with Hanniford on a 52-yard touchdown strike, cutting the deficit to 18-14 with 13:09 remaining in the contest.
Georgetown answered on its next possession, recovering a Warner fumble in the end zone for a touchdown. The Tigers added another rushing touchdown before recovering a second Warner fumble for their final score of the afternoon, securing the 39-14 victory.
Despite the result, Warner's offense produced 281 total yards, including 230 passing yards. The Royals completed 19 of 32 pass attempts without an interception and recorded 17 first downs. Green led the passing attack, completing 10 of 15 attempts for 154 yards and a touchdown, while Ryan added 76 passing yards and a touchdown.
Hanniford provided a major impact in the passing game, finishing with three receptions for 70 yards and two touchdowns, including the 52-yard score in the fourth quarter. Trevarus Walker added five receptions for 46 yards.
On the ground, Fareed Coleman led the Royals with 32 rushing yards on six carries, while Deejay Grimes added 21 yards on nine carries. Defensively, Eysaw Parrish paced Warner with seven total tackles, while Jai Robinson recorded six tackles, 1.5 tackles for loss and half a sack.
Warner's defense also recorded four sacks as a team, with Robinson and Reverson Pierre each accounting for half a sack. Micah Doster added a forced fumble and fumble recovery, while Drayden Wood recorded four tackles and a pass breakup.
The Royals will now turn their attention to their next road contest as Warner travels to Atlanta, Georgia, to face NCAA Division II opponent Clark Atlanta University on
Saturday, September 26, at 2:00 p.m. at
CAU Panther Stadium.
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