FULTON, Mo. - Westminster football earned a 21-13 win over MacMurray to stay undefeated at home.
The Blue Jays are 5-4 overall and 5-3 in the Upper Midwest Athletic Conference.
"Consistency was the key tonight. We prepared as we always have, we didn't change anything when it came to preparation," said Westminster Head Coach John Welty. "We are growing anf maturing as a football team. We are finally gaining confidence and getting in a rhythm as a team and adapting to new coaching styles."
Westminster came out strong in the first quarter, scoring two of their three touchdowns.
The first score came on a one-yard rush from Latif Adams on a drive that lasted eight-plays and 35 yards. Adams carried the balls on six of the eight plays in the drive.
The second score came on the next possession from Westminster, starting with a 32-yard reception from Trent White to Matt Quarles to get in the red zone. Another 12-yard pass from White to Lucas Robinson resulted in the Blue Jay touchdown to put Westminste rup 14-0 after the first 15 minutes.
A second quarter resulted in another shutout of the MacMurray offense from a strong Westminster defense, forcing the Highlanders to punt six times in the first half.
"Our defense is as good as they are because of our Defensive Coordinator, Jake White," said Welty. "We goes above and beyond to prepare himself and his guys for games. His guys have confidence in his play calling. He is as good of a defensive coach as I've seen. MacMurray has a strong offense and we were able to shut them down."
MacMurray was finally able to score in the third quarter after going 70 yards down the field in under two minutes.
Westminster went back to a two-score lead with a drive that spanned over the end of the third quarter and into the beginning of the fourth. Trent completed a pass to Kidd Sutherlin on third and 18 to preserve the possession for Westminster and create another scoring opportunity. Adams eventually ran for another one-yard touchdown to make the score 21-7 in favor of the Blue Jays.
On the next possession, MacMurray again turned the game into a one-score game with a touchdown. The extra point, however, created a problem for the Highlanders as it was blocked by Westminster to make the score 21-13 with eight minutes remaining in the game.
Westminster took another four minutes off of the clock despite not being able to score to give MacMurray just four minutes to attempt to tie the game.
After a Highlander 31-yard completion, Antoine Harris stepped into gear to block a long pass that could have tied the game. DJ Gerhart then came up with one of the biggest plays of the game with a sack for a loss of four yards on third down.
Westminster ran out the rest of the clock to claim to victory.
White went 11-24 passing for 177 yards. Adams carried the ball 37 times to rush 108 yards, including two touchdowns. Matt Quarles had four receptions for 93 yards.
"We have too many weapons so that when you try to take away one, another thrives," said Welty. "We're continuing to improve and get better offensively."
Jackson Ringhausen led the team in tackles with eight, including two for a loss.
Westminster plays its final game of the season next weekend at home against Iowa Wesleyan to attempt to stay undefeated at home for the season. Kickoff is set for 1 p.m.
