LAKELAND, Fla. — Warner University Football fell to the Southeastern University Fire, 45-16, in a Sun Conference matchup Saturday afternoon at Lakeland Christian Stadium, the Royals' designated home field.
Warner (3-6, 2-3 SUN) came out firing offensively, scoring 10 points in the opening quarter, but Southeastern (6-2, 3-2 SUN) used a strong offensive performance and three interceptions to pull away for the conference victory.
The Royals struck first with an explosive play just over five minutes into the contest. Mark Hanniford connected with Cameron Dixon for a 79-yard touchdown pass, and Nicholas Andreopoulos added the extra point to give Warner a 7-0 lead.
Southeastern answered with a 41-yard rushing touchdown to even the score at 7-7. Warner responded with Andreopoulos drilling a 50-yard field goal to regain the lead, 10-7. The Fire added two touchdowns before the end of the opening quarter to take a 21-10 advantage.
Southeastern extended its lead with a 30-yard field goal in the second quarter, carrying a 24-10 advantage into halftime. The Fire added another rushing touchdown in the third quarter before finding the end zone twice in the fourth to extend their lead to 45-10.
The Royals continued to compete until the final whistle. With time expiring, Gavin Nurmi capped Warner's final scoring drive with a three-yard rushing touchdown, bringing the final score to 45-16.
Offensively, Hanniford provided one of the game's biggest highlights, completing his lone pass attempt for 79 yards and a touchdown while also recording three receptions for 64 yards. Dixon led the Royals in receiving with 94 yards and a touchdown on two catches. Fareed Coleman paced the rushing attack with 38 yards on 11 carries.
Defensively, Kendrick Smith, Jhavin Westbrook and Jai Robinson each recorded eight total tackles to lead the Royals. Elijah Perry added five tackles, a sack, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery.
Up Next
The Royals will regroup and prepare to host Thomas University, November 7th at Lakeland Christian Stadium, for Warner's 2026 Homecoming game. Kickoff is scheduled for 3pm.
#TogetherAsOne | #GodBlessGoRoyals
