Football Crashes the Party, Beats Westminster 30-21

Published: April 13, 2021

FULTON, Mo. -- The Greenville College football team (5-3, 4-0 UMAC) used their superior depth to ruin the homecoming of Westminster College (3-4, 1-3) with a 30-21 victory.

The Panthers have been feeling the effects of a long season as they started backup quarterback Brendan Chambers (San Clemente, Calif.) for the injured Joel Lira (Lubbock, Texas). Chambers took what the defense gave him going 8-for-9 passingwith 74 yards andeight rushes for 27 yards withtwo touchdowns. After onlynine rushes for 61 yards and atouchdown, running back Anthony Ambers (Apple Valley, Calif.) was sidelined with a shoulder injury in thefirst quarter. Freshman Justin Honeycutt picked up the slack and had an Ambers-like performance finishing with 22 rushes for 108 yards.

The Panthers also lost their second linebacker in three weeks when David Maurer (Greenville, Ill.) sat out the second half with a concussion. What they missed in Maurer, the Panthers gained in Randy Mixson (Jacksonville, Fla.). He led the team with 10 tackles,one tackle for loss and a late forced fumble that sealed the Panther victory.

The Blue Jays were led by their two top tacklers Tashan Fultz and Clark Roberts who combined for 22 tackles and one sack. On offense, Westminster used the quarterback duo of Scott Rodgers and Tyson Kankolenski to throw for 168 yards and a touchdown.

Greenville's freshman kicker Luis Diaz had another stellar day going 3-for-3 on his field goal attempts and recording two touchbacks. Diaz connected on attempts of 27, 25 and 25 yards to help finish stalled Panther drives.

It is a short week for the Panthers whocan clinch their second consecutive conference championship with a win on Friday if they defeat Crown (5-2,3-1UMAC). The Pantherswill play in the annual UMAC Dome Day in Minneapolis on Friday, Oct. 29, at 7 p.m.at the HHH Metrodome.