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Shea Spencer action
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21
Pikeville (KY) UPIKE 6-6
56
Winner Keiser KU 10-0
Pikeville (KY) UPIKE
6-6
21
Final
56
Keiser KU
10-0
Winner
Score By Quarters
Team 1st 2nd 3rd 4th F
UPIKE Pikeville (KY) 7 7 0 7 21
KU Keiser 14 14 7 21 56

Game Recap: No. 2 Football |

No. 1 Football Advances to NAIA Quarterfinals with 56-21 Win over UPIKE

Game Information
Score: No. 1 Keiser Seahawks 56, Pikeville (Ky.) Bears 21
Records: Keiser (10-0), Pikeville (Ky.) (6-6)
Location: Keiser Football Field (1,500) - West Palm Beach, Fla.
Time of Game:  2:58
Weather: Cloudy, wind 12 mph, 70 degrees

The No. 1-ranked Keiser football team (10-0) advanced to the NAIA Football Championship Series Quarterfinals with a 56-21 win over the Pikeville (Ky.) Bears (6-6) on Saturday afternoon.
 
The Seahawks offense fired on all cylinders as Keiser boasted a school-record 607 yards of total offense versus the Bears. Keiser gained a season-high 329 yards on the ground with a school-record-tying six rushing touchdowns. Running backs Andrew Burnette and Jaden Miller, each rushed for 100 yards in the game. Burnette gained 136 yards on 19 carries with one touchdown while Miller found the endzone twice with 112 yards on 10 carries.
 
Quarterback Shea Spencer completed 16-of-24 passes for 259 yards and two passing touchdowns. The native of became the school's all-time leader in passing years, posting 5,371 yards for his career following Saturday's win. Spencer passes Eli Mathews, who had 5,337 (2018-20).  Named the Second Round Most Outstanding Offensive Player, Spencer also rushed for a 35-yard score in the game.
 
The Keiser defense held the Bears to 21 points in the game; well under their season average of 43.4 points per game. UPIKE came into the game as the No. 2-ranked passing offense in the nation, averaging 342.5 yards per game. The Keiser defense limited UPIKE to 286 yards on 29-of-48 passing while forcing two turnovers. Justin Carcel, the Second Round Most Outstanding Defensive Player, was responsible for both of those turnovers, forcing a fumble and picking off his team-leading fourth pass of the season.
 
The win extended the nation's longest winning streak to 21 games as Keiser improved to 11-4 all-time in NAIA postseason play.

 

First Quarter
Keiser 14, UPIKE 7
  • The Seahawks got the scoring started with a 11-play, 75-yard drive the ate up 4:29
  • Jaden Meizinger recorded his 52nd-career rushing touchdown with a nine-yard scamper with 10:31 on the game clock
  • Following the made extra point by Nico Cavanillas, Keiser led, 7-0
  • UPIKE tied the game, 7-7, after Lee Kirland connected with Jalen Royal-Eiland for a 12-yard touchdown pass with 1:49 left in the first
  • The Seahawks responded on the ensuing drive as Shea Spencer recorded a 35-yard touchdown run as Keiser led 14-7 with 0:33 on the game clock 
  • Justin Carcel got Keiser the ball back on the Bear's first play of their next drive, forcing a fumble by Kirkland
  • Tai Lologo, the SUN Defensive Player of the Year, recovered the fumble (his second of the season) as the Seahawk regained possession with 0:17 left in the first

Second Quarter
Keiser 28, UPIKE 14
  • The Seahawks turned that Bear's turnover into points as Spencer hit D'Andre Golden for a six-yard touchdown pass
  • Following Cavanillas' third made extra-point attempt, Keiser led, 21-7 (12:36)
  • UPIKE forced a Keiser turnover when Kha'Ron Thrower forced and recovered a fumble by Jaden Miller at the Bear's 18-yard line (8:59)
  • The Bears converted that turnover into a 15-play, 82-yard drive that resulted in a 9-yard touchdown pass from Kirland to Amon Williams, cutting the Keiser lead to 21-14 with 2:04 left in the half
  • The Seahawks closed out the half, pushing their lead to 14 when Spencer found Elisha Edwards in the corner of the endzone with a 15-yard strike
  • The TD pass was Spencer's second of the half and gave Keiser a 28-14 lead with 0:28 left in the half
  • Kirkland drove the Bears down to the Keiser 26-yard line but Carcel picked off his pass in the endzone as time expired 

Third Quarter
Keiser 35, UPIKE 14
  • The Seahawks extended their lead with 4:47 left in the quarter as Andrew Burnette busted a 27-yard run into the endzone
  • The score was his 15th of the season (tied for the third most in a season in Seahawks history)
  • After the KU defense held UPIKE to a three-and-out, Keiser took possession of the ball from their own 33-yard line (4:05)
  • Two plays into the drive, Spencer found Louis Averhart III for a 19-yard completion, making the Vero Beach, Florida, native the school's all-time passing leader - a mark previously held by Eli Mathews ( 5,337 - 2018-20)

Fourth Quarter
Keiser 56, UPIKE 21
  • The Seahawks continued their drive, scoring on a four-yard touchdown run by Miller with 14:19 left in the game
  • The touchdown - his first of two in the quarter - gave Keiser a 42-14 lead
  • On Keiser next possession, Miller took an end-around 58 yards for the score as the lead extended to 49-14 with 11:18 on the game clock
  • The Bears looked to respond, driving down to the KU 26-yard line but an incomplete pass by Kirkland on fourth-and-five gave the ball back to the Seahawks with 7:09 left
  • Six plays later, Damari Charlton competed a 19-yard touchdown pass to Edwards (this second of the day) as Keiser pushed its lead to 56-14 (3:50)
  • UPIKE closed out the scoring a Kirkland found the endzone on a one-yard quarterback keeper with 1:42 on the game clock
  

.Game Notes
  • Today's captains – Jude Guerrier, Hunter Hargrave, Tivon Sutton and Jaden Meizinger
  • The Seahawks wore navy jerseys with navy pants (2-0 this season when wearing this combo)
  • Weather at kickoff – Cloudy, wind 12 mph, 70 degrees
  • The coin toss was won by Pikeville, the Bears deferred, and the Seahawks received
  • Keiser is now 5-0 this season when losing the coin toss
  • Freshman Evan Jackson led the way defensively with 13 tackles - a season-high
  • The Seahawks recorded a school-record of 607 total yards
  • Four Seahawks each had a touchdown, two from running back Jaden Miller
  • Shea Spencer threw for two touchdowns and totaled 259 passing yards
  • On a pass to Louis Averhart III in the third quarter, he became the all-time leader in Keiser history, surpassing Eli Mathews, who had 5,337 (2018-20)
  • He finished the day with 5,371 career passing yards
  • Spencer was named the Second Round Most Outstanding Offensive Player
  • Justin Carcel had five tackles, including two pass break ups, a forced fumble and an interception
  • Carcel was named the Second Round Most Outstanding Defensive Player
  • The Seahawks extended their nation's longest winning streak to 21 games
  • With the win, Keiser will make their fifth straight appearance in the NAIA Quarterfinals, the Seahawks are 3-1 all-time
  • The win marks the Seahawks 17th straight win at home
  • With the win, Keiser improves to 32-4 all-time at home
  • Keiser improves to 10-0 as the No. 1 team in the nation
  • The win improves the Seahawks to 2-0 all-time versus Pikeville, the last game being the first win in program history
  • Keiser has now won 10-or-more game in three straight seasons
  • Prior to 2022, the Seahawks had had never had 10 wins in a season
  • The win marks the first postseason victory for Head Coach Myles Russ
  • During the month of November, Keiser is now 16-3 all-time
  • Keiser is one of two undefeated teams remaining in the NAIA (Grand View - 11-0)
 
Up Next

The Seahawks will host the NAIA Football Championship Series Quarterfinals versus the Georgetown (Ky.) Tigers (No. 10 seed). Kick off from the Keiser Football Field is set for 1:00 PM.
 

Get the latest information on the team by following keiserfootball on Instagram and keiserfootball on X.
 
General athletic news can be found at KUSeahawks on Facebook, kuseahawks on Instagram, and kuseahawks on X.

 
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