Westminster College senior quarterback Joe Plassmeyer threw for 356 yards and three touchdowns, but the Blue Jays' defense gave up 618 yards to Hendrix (Arkansas) College in a 42-28 season-opening loss Saturday at Priest Field.
Plassmeyer connected on 33-of-54 passes, was intercepted once and hit freshman wide receiver Kai Silbermann for all three of his scoring throws. Silbermann caught seven passes for 73 yards and Westminster sophomore wide receiver Mike Washington led all players with 12 catches for 125 yards.
Hendrix sophomore running back Dayton Winn opened the scoring on a 6-yard touchdown run with 5 minutes, 8 seconds left in the first quarter. The Warriors then stretched their lead to 14-0 on a 28-yard touchdown pass from sophomore quarterback Seth Peters to sophomore wide receiver Caleb Brake with :51 left.
Plassmeyer found Silbermann on a 5-yard touchdown pass to cut Westminster's deficit in half with 11:52 remaining in the half, before touchdown runs of 32 and 19 yards by Peters pushed Hendrix to a 28-7 halftime lead.
Silbermann grabbed a 12-yard touchdown pass from Plassmeyer with 10:35 to go in the third to cut the Blue Jays' deficit to 15 points after a failed two-point conversion attempt.
Winn capped off a 10-play, 95-yard drive by the Warriors with a 1-yard scoring plunge, stretching Hendrix back out to a 35-13 advantage with 13:11 left in the game.
Plassmeyer and Silbermann connected again on a 23-yard touchdown with 10:42 remaining to bring the Blue Jays within 14 points, but Peters and redshirt freshman receiver Nate Hodapp hooked up on a 19-yard scoring throw to widen the gap to 42-21 with 7:42 to go.
Plassmeyer took the ball in from 1 yard out for the Blue Jays' final touchdown with 6:32 left as Westminster capped off the game with 415 yards of total offense. Freshman running back Latif Adams paced the Blue Jays with 41 yards on five carries as Westminster accumulated just 59 yards rushing as a team in 17 attempts.
Peters connected on 25-of-28 passes for 323 yards and an interception for the Warriors, while rushing for 85 yards on 15 carries. Winn logged a game-high 142 rushing yards in 22 attempts as Hendrix gained 295 yards on the ground. Redshirt freshman Ben Luedtke led the Warriors with eight catches for a game-high 127 yards.
Westminster begins Upper Midwest Athletic Conference play at Crown (Minnesota) College at 1 p.m. next Saturday.