LAKE WALES, Fla. - Warner University christened the start of football in The Sun Conference on Saturday in dramatic fashion with 14-10 come-from-behind victory over Webber International University in the 2nd Annual Lake Caloosa Clash at Legion Field. The first-ever Sun Conference football game came between arguably the league's biggest rivals in front of a rain soaked crowd of over 1300 fans and took five hours and forty minutes to complete thanks to rain and lightning delays.
The Royals pick up their first win of the season, improving to 1-1 and open conference play at 1-0. The Warriors drop to 0-2 on the young season and 0-1 in league play.
The Warriors made the first splash of the game in the first quarter when Ronnie Hardison stepped in front of a Darrin Davis pass and returned it 68 yards for the game's first touchdown with less than four minutes gone off the clock. The Royals' offense had three possessions in the first quarter and ran 22 plays; the Warriors ran just five plays in one offensive series.
As the clock ticked down towards halftime, the Warriors picked off their second Warner pass and turned it into three points. After a nine play, 25 yard drive Daniel LeZotte nailed a 33 yard field goal and the Warriors took a 10-0 lead into halftime.
The Warriors first possession of the second half stalled forcing a punt. Following the change of possession Mother Nature suspended the contest due to lightning. Both teams left the field at 2:43 p.m. and did not return for nearly three hours thunderstorms moved through the area.
When play resumed the Royals had the ball for two more possessions in the third quarter but managed just 31 yards on eight plays.
Webber looked poised to put the game away with a nine play, 70 yard drive to begin the fourth quarter but linebacker Loronza Smith made the play of the game forcing a fumble by Webber's Billy Pavlock inside the Warner 10 yard line. Greg Hawthorne jumped on the loose ball and the Royals suddenly had new life with 12:43 to go in the game.
The Royals and quarterback Darrin Davis wasted no time on the ensuing possession; after a short gain on first down, Davis connected with Lester Lewis for a 90 yard touchdown pass down the sideline to give Warner their first points of the game. The touchdown pass was also the longest in school history as well as the first points scored for the Royals in the Lake Caloosa Clash.
After the kickoff, the Royals' defense forced a three and out and the Royals' offense got the ball right back with 10:10 left on the clock. With momentum on their side, the Royals marched 53 yards in nine plays eating up 6:08 off the clock. Facing third and goal to go, the Royals called timeout with 4:15 left on the game clock. Coming out of the break, running back Bryant Benton found his way into the endzone from two yards out and following the point-after attempt, the Royals led 14-10.
The Warner defense came up big again on the Warriors' next possession. On third down, Rashodd Hadley sacked back-up quarterback Luke Brigham for a 13 yard loss forcing Webber to punt with two minutes left in the game.
In the closing moments of the game, the Warriors forced a fumble by Benton and returned it 63 yards for an apparent touchdown only to have it called back for a defensive facemask penalty. The fresh set of downs following the penalty sealed the game as the offense took a knee in victory formation.
Darrin (DJ) Davis led the Royals through the air and on the ground in just his second collegiate start. Davis completed 8-of-14 passes for 142 yards and a touchdown. He also churned out 53 yards on the ground. Lester Lewis made his season debut against the Warriors and made the most of his one catch, going 90 yards for the touchdown.
Defensively, the Royals held the Warriors to 199 yards of total offense including just 45 yards through the air. As a unit, they had three sacks and seven tackles for loss. Loronza Smith led the defense for the second straight week with 13.5 total tackles. Smith also finished with 1.5 sacks and had the big forced fumble to spark the Royals' offense. Rashodd Hadley also picked up a sack and five tackles on the night.
The Royals return to action next Saturday night, Sept. 13, in their second Sun Conference game of the season against first-year program Southeastern University. The Fire will open their brand new stadium on campus with a 7 p.m. kick-off next week.