Fulton, Mo 10/22/2023- The Westminster College football team welcomed Minnesota-Morris to Kent and Judith Mueller Stadium after the two teams faced each other last week in Minnesota. It was a jam-packed day, with it being military appreciation day and senior day. During pre-game Westminster College and the United States Tiger Foundation honored all military personnel in attendance, including Blue Jay players Ben Wallace, who served in the Marines, and Aden Campbell, who is in the Missouri National Guard. There would also be a flyover by the Kingdom Pilots Association which provided a Cessna 172, a WWII Air Coup, and a Cherokee Piper 140.
After the pregame festivities, the game would kick off with the Blue Jays receiving the opening kickoff and punt after a three and out. The Cougars would also go three and out on their opening drive as the defenses stood tall in the first quarter.
The fireworks would begin in the second quarter, with Minnesota-Morris scoring on a fourteen-yard run to take a 7-0 lead early in the quarter. The Cougars would score again after capitalizing on a fumble from the Blue Jay offense to give them the ball at the Blue Jay twenty-six-yard line. Minnesota-Morris would punch into the end zone on an eleven-yard touchdown run. They would miss the extra point but would still have a 13-0 lead. The Blue Jay offense would get the ball back with 8:29 remaining in the first half. They would march down the field on a thirteen-play, seventy-yard drive. Quarterback Payton Byerley would find Payton Olsson wide open in the end zone on an eighteen-yard touchdown pass and catch. It would be the first touchdown reception of Olsson's collegiate career. Hugo Jover would make the extra point and put the Blue Jays down six, 13-7.
The Cougars would deflate the energized crowd by scoring a touchdown on the kickoff, making it 20-7 in favor of Minnesota-Morris. Disaster would strike once again near the end of the first half. The Blue Jays would attempt a punt in the shadow of their own end zone. There would be a bad snap that resulted in the Cougars' defense falling on the ball in the end zone for another touchdown and taking a 27-7 lead going into halftime.
The Blue Jays would honor their seven senior football players and one senior cheerleader at halftime.
Compared to the scoring outbreak seen in the second quarter, the third quarter would be relatively quiet. Minnesota-Morris started the second half with the ball and wanted to extend their lead. They reached the Blue Jay three-yard line after a forty-three-yard reception. After dropping back to pass, the Cougar quarterback targeted his receiver on the left side of the end zone. However, Keigan Vaughn intercepted the pass and made an attempt to return the interception. Despite having a lot of open field in front of him, he was tripped up and brought down at the three-yard line.
Both teams would punt the ball back and forth for the next couple of possessions. Minnesota-Morris would get the ball back with 4:54 remaining in the third quarter. They would take over near midfield and would score on a two-yard touchdown run, capping off an eleven-play, fifty-two-yard drive ending the third quarter leading 34-7.
Westminster would get the ball to start the fourth quarter and would get the ball to midfield before turning the ball over on downs. The Cougars would find themselves in the red zone once again and knocking on the door of another touchdown. The Blue Jay defense would have to make another red zone stand. It would be third and thirteen from the thirteen-yard line and the Cougars would try a fade route in the right corner of the end zone and Konnor Vaughn would intercept the pass and return ninety-nine yards for pick-six. The Blue Jays would go for two and would be unsuccessful.
Minnesota-Morris would get the ball with four minutes remaining in the game. They would run the clock out and win the game with a final score of 34-13.
Payton Byerley and Brandon Perry would trade quarterback duties throughout the game. Byerley would go 7-13 for fifty-six yards and a touchdown pass. He would rush twelve times for thirty yards. Perry would go 3-5 passing for fourteen yards and rushing seven times for thirty yards. Perry would also play wide receiver and had two receptions. Payton Olsson had three catches for twenty-five yards and a touchdown. Trey King had a catch for fifteen yards, and Dante Billups caught a screen pass for twelve yards.
Defensively, the Blue Jays were led by Dawson Brandt who had nine tackles and a pass breakup. Darvin Fowler continues to have a breakout freshman year, recording eight tackles, three tackles for a loss, and two sacks. He now has six sacks on the season. The Vaughn brothers, Keigan, and Konnor would each have an interception.
The Blue Jays will be back in action next Saturday, October 28th as they host Greenville University in an event-filled homecoming weekend. Westminster College will be dedicating the Kent and Judith Mueller Stadium at 11:30 a.m. and kickoff will follow at noon.
