The Westminster football team dominated Iowa Wesleyan College 27-6 in the home and conference opener Saturday afternoon. The Westminster Blue Jays start Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) play with a 1-0 record and bring their overall record to 1-1.
The Blue Jays scored on their second drive of the game with a 22-yard field goal by senior kicker Kevin Ludwig with 7:07 on the clock. The Iowa Wesleyan Tigers held possession of the ball for the rest of the first quarter, and senior Bret Robertson intercepted the Tiger's first pass of the second quarter to take control of the ball.
The Blue Jays were held to punting with 13:05 left in the second quarter. Three sacks by the Blue Jays on the next drive forced the Tigers to punt and the Blue Jays took over on their own 21-yard line. Sophomore quarterback Trent White connected with junior Mike Washington for 45 yards and freshman Teddy Deas for 11, and sophomore Latif Adams rushed for 16 yards to bring the Blue Jays down to the Tiger's 7-yard line. White rushed the ball the remaining seven yards into the right corner of the endzone for a touchdown to bring the Blue Jays up 10-0; Ludwig's extra point was good.
A fumble by the Blue Jays on the Tiger's next punt was recovered by the Tigers, and they converted the drive into a touchdown. Freshman Cj Landor blocked the extra point to leave the score at 10-6 heading into halftime.
The Tigers received the second half, but the Blue Jays forced the punt and started their drive on their own 1-yard line. A 53-yard pass from White to junior Jack Williams brought the Blue Jays into Tiger territory, and multiple small passes and rushes landed the Blue Jays on the 16-yard line. White found Adams for a 16-yard touchdown with 7:33 on the clock. Ludwig's PAT was good to take the 17-6 lead.
The Blue Jays grabbed 45 yards in the air to bring them to the ten yard line. White connected with Washington for a 10-yard touchdown, and Ludwig hit the extra point to take the 24-6 lead. On the Tiger's second play, senior Christian Houston sacked the quarterback for a loss of nine yards, resulting in a punt. The Blue Jays converted their next drive into a 37-yard field goal by Ludwig, bringing them up 27-6 with 3:02 left in the game.
The Blue Jays held the Tigers to three-and-out in their final drive of the game, turning the ball back to the Blue Jays with 36 seconds left in the game. A team rush ended the game with a score of 27-6.
The Westminster defense tallied 55 tackles including an impressive nine sacks and 14 tackles for a loss of 49 yards. Sophomore Sean Freeman led the Blue Jay defense with six tackles. Senior Steven Scott pulled down the Tiger's quarterback twice for two sacks for a loss of 10 yards and finished with 2.5 tackles for a loss.
The Westminster offense compiled 284 receiving yards through eight receivers and 138 rushing yards from seven Blue Jays. White completed 29 passes for 284 yards and two touchdowns. Washington led the Blue Jays in the air with seven receptions for 81 yards and a touchdown. Adams led the ground with seven rushes for 50 yards.
Ludwig scored nine of the Blue Jay points after going 3-3 on extra points and hit two field goals. In six kickoffs, he totaled 329 yards, averaging 54.8-yards per kick. For punting, he averaged 32.3-yards per punt with one landing in the 20-yard line.
The Blue Jays host MacMurray College on Saturday, September 19, on Priest Field in Fulton, Mo., at 1:00 p.m.
