ST. PAUL, Minn. – The Westminster football team was defeated University of Northwestern 27-17 on Saturday afternoon. The Blue Jays finish the season 4-6 and 4-4 in UMAC play.
The Eagles opened the game with a 75-yard touchdown on a play-action pass to take an early 7-0 lead. On the first drive of the game for Westminster Wyatt Ellis threw an interception to give the ball back to Northwestern. The Eagles were able to capitalize off the turnover and kicked a 22-yard field goal to increase their lead to 10-0. After the kickoff, The Blue Jays opened the drive with a 14-yard run from Kalyn Davis. On next play, Cornell Young picked up nine yards on a jet sweep followed by an eight-yard rush by Ellis for a first down. After the first down the Blue Jays were forced to punt after a false start penalty and a couple of short gains.
After the punt, the Blue Jays got the ball back on the Northwestern two-yard line when Clayton Bristol recovered a fumble. However, the Northwestern defense held off the Westminster rushing attack and forced a field goal attempt. Kicker Brad Hammel could not convert the field goal as his kick hit off the upright. The Eagles then drove 80 yards down the field on 12 plays to score another touchdown and take a 17-0 lead with 12:11 remaining in the first half.
After punts by both teams, the Blue Jays got into the red zone and Ellis found senior Seth Cline in the endzone for a touchdown. The touchdown was the first of Cline's career. Taylor Dobbins ran for 38 yards on six carries on the drive. Neither team scored in the remaining two minutes of the half. Westminster went into halftime trailing 17-7.
In the third quarter, Westminster got the ball on their own 12-yard line after a punt. After a one-yard rush by Davis, Ellis found Jamal Martin for a four-yard completion and then connected with Young for 12 yards and a first down. On the next play, Cline caught a 16-yard pass from Ellis. Davis helped the Blue Jays advance the ball with rushes for 10 and 15 yards before Westminster was sent backward due to a fumble and penalty. On third and long Ellis scrambled for 16 yards to give the Blue Jays a shot at a field goal. Tim Branneky kicked the ball through the uprights from 42 yards to cut the lead to 17-10.
In the fourth quarter, Northwestern added a touchdown and a field goal to increase their lead to 27-10. The Blue Jays got the ball back with a minute-and-a-half remaining in the game. Ellis scrambled for a seven-yard pickup and then had a six-yard rush for a first down. Following the first down, he completed a 30-yard pass to Martin to bring the ball into Eagles territory. On the next play, Ellis threw a 28-yard touchdown pass to Alec Fleetwood. Hammel made the extra point to make the score 27-17.
The onside kick attempt by Branneky went out-of-bounds and Northwestern ran out to clock to win 27-17.
Ellis finished the game with 124 yards passing and two touchdowns. Martin led Westminster receivers with three catches for 41 yards. Dobbins ran for 75 yards and Davis added 49 rushing yards.
Dominic Licameli led Westminster with 11 tackles followed by Ben Holt with eight. The Westminster defense had three sacks on the day and five tackles-for-loss. Justin Scales (1.5), Kobe Kaminski (1), and Holt (0.5) each registered sacks for the Blue Jays.
