Football’s Late Scoring Not Enough To Overcome First Half Deficit

The Westminster football team’s late scoring was not enough to overcome the first half deficit on Saturday afternoon. The Blue Jays fell to Northwestern (Minn.) 21-36, adding another loss to their record. They are now 2-6 overall and 2-4 in the Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC).

Northwestern scored 15 points in the first half and another 7 in the beginning of the third quarter before the Blue Jays were able to get on the board. With 7:04 left in the third quarter, the Blue Jays scored off a 20-yard pass from junior quarterback Joe Plassmeyer to senior Sam Lantz Jr. to put them on the board. Freshman Jeff Dickerson’s PAT was good, but Northwestern scored again before the end of the third quarter, bringing the score to 7-29.

A 15-yard touchdown pass from senior Justin Billiot to sophomore Austin Kempker brought the score to 14-29 just 3:13 into the fourth quarter. Northwestern took 4:16 off the clock before scoring again. The Blue Jays were able to score again with a 12-yard pass from Billiot to freshman Jack Williams, PAT good. The Blue Jays shortened the deficit to 21-36, but were unable to score again.

The Blue Jays finished with 399 total offensive yards, with 340 yards coming from passing. Freshman Mike Washington led the Blue Jays with eight receptions for 110 yards, followed by Kempker with 102 receiving yards.

Senior Josh Bromberg led the Blue Jay’s defense with 9 tackles and one assisted tackle. Three tackles were for a combined loss of 10 yards. He also had a sack for three yards. Sophomores CJ Vaughan and Narvell Smith each had an interception, and Vaughan returned his interception for 25 yards.

The Blue Jays will travel to Greenville, Illinois next Saturday as the face Greenville College at 1:00 p.m. Greenville is undefeated this season with an 8-0 record.