NAPLES, Fla. -- Notre Dame racked up 30-plus points and a win for a fourth time in as many weeks, as the Falcons defeated the Gyrenes of Ave Maria University (Fla.), 49-3, on Saturday.  (Box)

NDC had a monster first half, rolling up 344 total yards en route to scoring 35 points in the opening 30 minutes of action.  Quarterback Rob Partridge rushed for 83 yards in the first and passed for 200 more as the Blue & White scored 35 unanswered points to start the game.

After having endured slow starts in most of its games this season, NDC found ways to score early and often in what were windy and warm conditions on the turf field of Palmetto Ridge Stadium.

“That was good to see,” said Head Coach Adam Howard.  “Playing well early on gave us confidence and allowed us play some guys late in the game who normally don't get in that many quality snaps.  But up and down our depth chart I saw good execution today.”

The wind playing havoc on the passing and punting games in particular.  Only an impressive 45-yard field goal by Gyrenes kicker Ryan Halter kept NDC from recording its first shutout in program history.  The Falcon defense held AMU to just 213 total yards and was especially dominant in stopping the run.  The Gyrenes ran the ball 40 times for just 66 yards (1.7 average).

On offense, the Falcons set program records for points scored as well as total yards (549), rushing yards (306) and passing yards (243).

Notre Dame (5-2), which hasn't lost a game since Sept. 17, has now outscored foes, 158-39, over the last four weeks.  Their latest victim -- Ave Maria (0-5) -- is a startup program in 2011.  Saturday's tilt marked their fifth game.

The Blue & White scored two touchdowns in the first quarter, both on Pedro Powell runs.  With the game being well in hand, Powell did not register any carries in the second half. He finished with 57 yards on 10 carries.

With NDC leading, 14-0, after the first quarter, the second stanza became the Rob Partridge show.  Partridge used his legs and his right arm in threading through the AMU defense on nearly every drive.  The Massillon, Ohio, native had a 44-yard TD pass to Aramis Greenwood early in the second.  Later, he had a rushing TD -- a 45-yard run around the left end of what had been designed as a quarterback sneak on third-and-1.  Like Powell, Partridge piled up some impressive numbers (83 rushing yards on nine carries, 200 passing yards in a 14-of-19 performance) without the benefit of playing in the second half.

Notre Dame rounded out its first-half scoring with the second defensive touchdown in program history.  That TD was scored on a forced interception that flew into the waiting arms of sophomore safety Mo May, who darted 32-yards to paydirt. May's TD at 3:40 gave Notre Dame its 35-0 halftime lead.

In the second half, Shawn Riley was the big producer on offense.  Riley racked up career highs in attempts (14) and yardage (156) in leading NDC to safely maintaining its significant advantage on the palm-encircled scoreboard in Southwest Florida. 

Neither side managed a score in the third quarter.  Ave Maria caped off a nice drive with Halter's fine field goal two-and-a-half minutes into the fourth.  Notre Dame rounded out the game's scoring with a 1-yard Ray Russ-to-Randy Greenwood touchdown pass and a 22-yard TD run by Riley.

Russ and James Flowers split the snaps at quarterback in the second half.  They combined with Partridge to spread the ball around to no less than nine different receivers in the game.

The leader among those Falcon receivers was Michael Fields, who had six catches totaling 57 yards.  Fields now has 14 catches over NDC's last two games.

The NDC defense was paced linebacker Michael Lanigan (eight tackles) and safety Bo Grunder (seven).  The Falcon defensive line and linebacking corps were a disruptive force in the AMU backfield throughout the game.  NDC registered a well-dispersed four sacks and 10 tackles for loss.

For the Falcons, the game in Southwest Florida marked their longest road trip in two seasons.  NDC will be on the road again next week, this time in Central Ohio, as the Falcons are slated to be at Urbana on Saturday, Oct. 22.  

“This trip was a great experience for our team on a number of levels --,” said Howard, “as student-athletes, football players and young men. Now we want to carry forward the experiences and the momentum gained the last few weeks.”