FULTON, Mo. - Despite leading for most of the game, a fourth-quarter surge from the Saints led to a 21-20 loss by Westminster.
Westminster falls to 4-5 overall and 4-4 in the UMAC. St. Scholastica improves to 6-3 overall and 6-2 in the conference.
"I'm disappointed in the loss but I'm humbled by the effort from our offense and defense today," said Westminster Head Coach John Welty.
Despite the loss, Welty was optimistic about the good performances he saw from his underclassmen.
"I know what I'm going to get out of our veterans, but our younger guys were great today," said Welty. "Our linebackers were really good."
Westminster added the first score of the game in the first quarter on a four-yard pass completion from Trent White to Mike Washington.
The next drive, White completed a 49-yard pass to Washington for another touchdown to put the Blue Jays up 14-0.
Westminster would keep that lead for most of the game until the fourth quarter, when St. Scholastica began its scoring drive.
The Saints added two touchdowns in back-to-back drives to make even the score at 14-14.
With just over five minutes to play, the Blue Jays answered on an eight-yard rush from Latif Adams. After a missed extra point, Westminster took the lead 20-14.
"In all my years of coaching, I've never seen anyone do what Latif did today," said Welty. "He had no gas left and just kept going and going. I tip my cap to him."
St. Scholastica delivered the final punch with 3:30 left in the game on a 17-yard rush for a touchdown and a good extra point attepmt, making the final score 21-20.
White went 12-26 for 139 passing yards. Adams added 189 yards rushing on 36 attempts. Washington led the team in receptions with seven for 97 yards.
Bret Robertson added 10 tackles to lead the team and add on to his program record in tackles.
Westminster plays its last game of the season next Saturday at Minnesota-Morris.
While the Blue Jays are out of the hunt for a conference title, Welty still stresses the importance of this last game.
"Our seniors have never had a losing season so next weekend is important for us," said Welty. "It also sets the tone for next year for our younger kids and heps them to carry on our winning tradition."
