Florida Memorial Stuns 10th Ranked Southeastern

LAKELAND, FL – Florida Memorial stunned No. 10 Southeastern 28-23 on Saturday night at Victory Field after Jerodd Sims scored on a one-yard run with 20 seconds left in the fourth quarter that handed the Fire their first loss of the season in a back-and-forth Sun Conference battle.

Southeastern jumped out to an early 10-0 after a 48-yard field goal by Joel McGrath and a and a 20-yard touchdown run by quarterback Nate Mikell. The Lions answered with two second-quarter scores. Sims scored on a one-yard run and Nygel Osborne’s 24-yard run gave Florida Memorial a 14-10 halftime lead.

Southeastern reclaimed the lead after Curtis Kimmons scored on a three-yard run to make the score 17-14. Florida Memorial quickly jumped back on top when Tyquan Wiggins connected with Sims for a 50-yard touchdown to make the score 21-17 in favor of the Lions.

Jeff McGrath connected on field goals from 37 and 46 yards to give Southeastern a 23-21 lead with 1:56 left in the contest. Florida Memorial then went on a seven-play 72-yard drive which took only a minute and 36 seconds, ending with Sims’ one-yard touchdown run.

Wiggins led the Lions with 296 passing yards and a touchdown, while Sims added 59 rushing yards along with 95 receiving yards and three touchdowns. Jaden Holly had 100 receiving yards on six receptions and Osborne contributed 83 rushing yards and a score.

Defensively, Fernando Jeanty anchored the effort with seven tackles, including 3.5 for loss and a sack. Jordan Vartrell had a solid game with nine tackles, 1.5 for loss and a sack. Darius Stokes has an interception on the game’s last play which sealed the win for the Lions.

Florida Memorial finished with 405 yards of total offense, including 298 in the air. However, the Lions must do a better job of protecting the football.  They lost three fumbles and had a pass that was intercepted.

Florida Memorial (2-2, 1-0 Sun Conference) will look to win their third straight game on Saturday when they host Keiser University at 1 p.m. at Betty T. Ferguson Stadium.