Football Drops Game To Eureka 28-42
The Westminster football team could not hold on to the Eureka Red Devils in the second half Saturday and fell 28-42. The Blue Jays move to 2-2 in Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) play and 2-3 overall.
Eureka scored on their second drive, giving them the 7-0 advantage with 8:15 left in the first quarter. The Blue Jays answered back with an 11-yard touchdown pass from junior Joe Plassmeyer to senior Sam Lantz Jr. The kick attempt was good by freshman Jeff Dickerson, tying the game up.
The second quarter began with a 1st and goal for the Red Devils on the 1-yard line. The Red Devils delivered and took back the lead. The Blue Jays answered back yet again and with 3 short plays the Blue Jays were on the Eureka 34-yard line. A 34-yard touchdown pass from Plassmeyer to senior Mac Findeiss and the good PAT (point after attempt) tied the game back up, 14-14.
Westminster committed a penalty on Eureka’s 4th and 6. The penalty moved the Red Devils to 4th and 1 on the Westminster 4-yard line, so they went for it. The Red Devils were able to get the first down and then rush the ball in for a touchdown. The Red Devils increased their lead to 28-14 off a 58-yard touchdown pass with 2:36 left in the half.
A series of passing and rushing put the Blue Jays on the Eureka 8-yard line with just under a minute left of play. Plassmeyer threw an 8-yard touchdown pass to freshman Mike Washington, PAT good, to cut the deficit to 28-21.
The Blue Jays had a rough third quarter start with an interception that led to the Red Devils scoring. A penalty on Westminster’s touchdown pass moved the Blue Jays back to the 8-yard line. The pass was incomplete, turning the ball over to Eureka on their own 8-yard line. Eureka’s 87-yard touchdown pass gave the Red Devils the 42-21 lead.
The Blue Jays were unable to connect throughout the fourth quarter, but on the last drive, the Blue Jays were able to push the ball up the field. With 36 seconds left in the game, senior Ronnie Seals Jr. was able to complete the 2-yard rush to score. The PAT was good, but the game ended with a Blue Jay 28-42 loss.
Plassmeyer threw 256 yards and Lantz Jr. led the Blue Jays with 109 receiving yards. Seals Jr. finished the game with 100 rushing yards and 20 receiving yards. Dickerson was 4-for-4 on PATs and had four kickoffs for 221 yards and five punts for 209 yards.
Senior Josh Bromberg led Westminster’s defensive team with 5 tackles and 5 assists. Bromberg, senior Louvis Johnson and junior Kyle Bryant each had 1.5 tackles for loss.
The Blue Jays will host the University of Minnesota-Morris Saturday, October 12, in Fulton, Missouri. Kickoff will be at 1:00 p.m. The game will be live here.
