FULTON, Mo. – Greenville University matched Westminster for much of the first half, but a pair of costly turnovers swung the momentum as the Panthers fell 34-7 to the Blue Jays in their SLIAC opener Saturday afternoon at Kent & Judith Mueller Stadium.
The Panthers answered Westminster's first touchdown with their lone scoring drive of the day midway through the second quarter.
After the Blue Jays took a 7-0 lead on a six-yard touchdown pass from Trey Thomas to Cole Harrell, Greenville responded with an 11-play, 65-yard march. Quarterback
Breylan Dewberry capped the drive with a seven-yard touchdown pass to
Logan Keith, and
Derek De Haan's extra point tied the game at 7-7 with 3:20 remaining in the half.
Westminster regained the lead less than three minutes later when Matthew Wiegand scooped up a Greenville fumble and returned it 10 yards for a touchdown with 57 seconds left before halftime, giving the Blue Jays a 14-7 advantage at the break.
The Blue Jays took control in the third quarter. Martez Stephenson broke free for a 33-yard touchdown run to extend the lead to 21-7, and Thomas connected with Jeremiah Thomas on a 30-yard scoring strike just over two minutes later to make it 28-7.
Westminster added the game's final points early in the fourth quarter when Thomas found James Jones for a 30-yard touchdown pass.
Greenville finished with 126 rushing yards but was limited to just 57 passing yards as Westminster's defense intercepted four passes and recovered three fumbles. The Panthers totaled 183 yards of offense compared to 384 for the Blue Jays.
Dewberry completed 10 of 25 passes for 57 yards and a touchdown while adding 15 rushing yards.
Trevion Taylor led Greenville on the ground with 63 yards on 16 carries, and Keith hauled in two receptions for 12 yards and the Panthers' lone touchdown.
Defensively,
Jamuary Taylor paced Greenville with eight total tackles.
Julian O'Malley added seven tackles and a tackle for loss, while
Jayden Morris recorded six tackles and forced a fumble.
Greenville dropped to 1-3 overall and 0-1 in conference play. GU returns to action Saturday when it hosts Martin Luther at noon.
