GREENVILLE, Ill. 10/15/2022–The Westminster football traveled to Greenville, Illinois to take on the Panthers in a week seven UMAC matchup. The Blue Jays would lose 52-0 to the Panthers and are now 0-6 on the year and 0-2 in UMAC play. Greenville improves to 4-3 on the season and 2-1 in the UMAC.
Both teams would go three and out on their opening drives and punt on their first two drives. After forcing the Blue Jay offense to go three and out. They would start their third drive of the game for their twenty-yard line after a forty-yard punt by Dawson Brandt (Eldon, Mo. / Eldon).
Greenville would find the end zone ten plays and eighty yards later they would find the end zone on a four-yard touchdown pass to take an early 7-0 lead. The Panthers would score again on their next drive after forcing the Blue Jays to punt after another three and out. They scored on a twenty-two-yard touchdown throw to go up 14-0 early in the second quarter. The Panthers would score one more time right before the half on a six-yard touchdown pass to take 21-0 at halftime.
Greenville would score four more touchdowns and a field goal in the second half. Two of the touchdowns were on a pick-six and a fumble-six. They would also score on a fifty-yard punt return for a touchdown. The Panthers would run away with it 52-0.
Blue Jays' offense could not break the defense of the Panthers, being held to 157 yards of total offense. The Panthers would keep the Blue Jays out of the red zone the whole game, the Jays' offense could not get past the Greenville 30-yard line.
Senior cornerback Robert Anthony (Herrin, IL) forced the lone Panther turnover, getting an interception right before halftime. His third interception of the season.
The Blue Jays were led by freshman quarterback Reece Davidson (Lake St. Louis, MO / Liberty) who threw for 66 yards on the day and would go 7 for 17 with his longest pass being a thirteen-yard completion to follow freshman wide receiver Aden Campbell (Slater, MO / Slater). Jordan Kern (St. Louis, MO / Parkway North) and Dante Billups (Mexico, MO/ Mexico) led the ground attack. Kern picked up forty-two yards on the ground and ten attempts with a rush of eleven being his longest of the day. Billups ran for twenty-three yards on eight attempts with his longest run being eight yards.
Brandt led the team in tackles, picking ten solo tackles and one assisted tackle. He would have three tackles behind the line of scrimmage that resulted in a loss of twelve yards. Garrett Burger (California, MO / California R-1) would also have nine tackles in the game.
The Blue Jays return home to Fulton and prepare for their first home game in two weeks. They will take on Northwestern next Saturday, October 22nd. That game is Military Appreciation Day and it will be a noon kickoff from Blue Jay Field.
