STILL SEARCHING: The Night Hawks are still looking for that elusive first victory.

THOMASVILLE — The Thomas University Night Hawks football team is still awaiting their first win after dropping their fourth game of the season and second conference game to Ave Maria. TU struggled early as Ave Maria came out firing. The Gyrenes scored on an interception just a few minutes into the first quarter and didn’t look back as they scored 28 unanswered points. All three of Ave Maria’s offensive touchdowns were scored by running back Bryan Stiemke, who the Gyrenes relied heavily on.

Ave Maria ran the ball 35 times and Stiemke was the ball carrier on 32 of their attempts. He rushed for 235 yards with an average of 7.3 yards per carry and three touchdowns. While TU couldn’t stop the run game, they defended the pass well. Gyrene QB Andrew Lege had just seven completions on 17 attempts for 67 yards and threw a pair of interceptions.

The Night Hawks may have gotten punched in the mouth, but they finished the first half well. With 35 seconds left in the half, TU quarterback Chris Carter hit Jarek Foster on an eleven yard pass for the touchdown and were able to punch it in for the two point conversion. TU then defended well in the final seconds, recording a hard hitting sack as the horn sounded.

The Night Hawks came out with momentum in the second half. Ave Maria may have scored 28 first half points, but in the second half they the couldn’t score at all. The Gyrenes first two drives of the half ended in an interception. Leading tackler Fabian Yarbrough had one of the interceptions and safety Jackson Amos snagged another, returning it for 22 yards.

Carter would lead the Night Hawks down the field and score another touchdown on a one yard run. TU would convert for two more points making the score 28-16, giving the Night Hawks some life.

TU would score another TD on a James Amaker run, but would fail to score again, losing the game 28-22. However, this was a good showing from TU. They showed fight, coming back from 28-0 and quarterback Chris Carter threw the ball well, digging a solid foothold into the QB one spot. He had 13 completions on the day for 127 yards and a touchdown.

TU will travel the Lakeland, Florida for their next game, a SUN Conference contest against Southeastern University. SU is currently 3-2 and is coming off a 17-9 win over Webber International University. They also defeated Reinhardt University 23-20, who was ranked number ten at the time. The Night Hawks will take on SU this Saturday at 7:00 p.m.