New Ulm, Minnesota 11/5/2022- The Westminster College traveled to Minnesota to take on the Martin Luther College Knights in the final road game of the season. The Blue Jays would score a touchdown on the opening drive to take an early 7-0 lead, but the Knight would come back to score a touchdown to tie it right before halftime. Then Martin Luther would score a field goal early in the fourth quarter to take a 10-7 lead and hold on to win the game. The Blue Jays fall to 1-7 on the season and 1-4 in the UMAC. The Knights improve to 2-7 on the year and 2-3 in the UMAC.
Things were looking promising for the Blue Jays after they marched downfield on the opening drive of the game. They would have fourteen plays for fifty-three yards as junior running back Jordan Kern (St. Louis, MO / Parkway North) punched the ball into the end zone on a one-yard touchdown run to put the Jays up 7-0.
The Blue Jay defense forced the Knights to punt twice and turned them over on downs on their first three possessions of the game. Martin Luther would score on their final drive of the first half to tie the game 7-7 at halftime. Their drive was ten plays for forty yards and they would score on a seven-yard run by their running back.
Both offenses would continue to struggle in the second half as the first six drives resulted in a punt by both teams. The Martin Luther offense got the ball at the Westminster thirty-seven-yard line after their defense forced the Blue Jays to punt. The Knight's drive would continue as the game moved into the fourth quarter. They would get the ball down to the Blue Jay ten-yard line, but the Jays' defense stood tall, forcing a fourth down and a twenty-yard field goal attempt. The Knight's kick would be good, and they took a 10-7 lead with 13:25 left in the game.
The Westminster offense would punt on their next two drives. The Blue Jay defense forced a turnover on downs with 5:25 left to play as Martin Luther attempted a punt but Robert Anthony (Herrin, IL / Herrin) got in the backfield for a nine-yard tackle for loss and forced a turnover on downs.
The Blue Jays' offense got the ball back with 5:09 left to play and the ball near midfield. They would try a trick play with a screen pass to Jaben Shockley (Camdenton, MO / Camdenton), he would throw the ball downfield and the Knights would intercept his pass.
Martin Luther would run the ball to chew time off the clock but was eventually forced to punt by the Blue Jays. Westminster would get the ball back with two minutes left to play and a chance to win the game. Unfortunately for the Blue Jays, they would fumble the ball and it would be recovered by the Knights. They would take a knee and hold on to win the game 10-7.
Kern led the Blue Jays' offense with eighteen carries on forty yards and the rushing touchdown. Peyton Byerly (Mountain Grove, MO / Cabool) threw 7 for 20 with 69 yards passing. He had a long of 25 yards as he found Elijah Teal (Memphis, TN / Whitehaven) on a big gainer. Aden Campbell (Slater, MO / Slater) had three catches for eighteen yards.
Thomas Valentine (Detroit, MI / Mansfield Lake Ridge) leads the team in tackles with eleven. Colton Sheehan (Jefferson City, MO / Capital City) had nine tackles. Rothman Harris ( Farmington, MO / Farmington) would also have nine tackles, with one of them being a sack.
The Blue Jays will be back in action next week for the last game of the season on Saturday, November 12th, when they host Crown College on Senior Day. That game is scheduled to kick off from Blue Jay Field at 12:00 PM.
