Blue Jays use big second half to top Crown in UMAC opener

Westminster senior quarterback Joe Plassmeyer and sophomore wide receiver Mike Washington hooked up for a pair of touchdowns as the Blue Jays downed the Storm 34-13 to open Upper Midwest Athletic Conference play on Saturday.

Westminster (1-1, 1-0) outscored Crown 20-0 after halftime to secure its first win of the season and the 75th in the tenure of head coach John Welty.

Sophomore running back Matt Michaud's 3-yard touchdown run put the Storm on top 6-0 after a blocked extra point with 6 minutes, 51 seconds left in the opening quarter.

Plassmeyer hit Washington for a 5-yard scoring toss and used junior kicker Kevin Ludwig's extra point to pull in front with :11 to go in the quarter.

Crown (0-2, 0-1) regained its edge at 13-7 after a 6-yard scoring plunge by sophomore running back Josh Edlund with 9:27 to go in the half. Blue Jays junior CJ Vaughan - normally a free safety - hauled in a 10-yard touchdown from Plassmeyer with 4:25 remaining to send Westminster into intermission ahead 14-13.

Blue Jays sophomore cornerback Kyree Hart extended Westminster's advantage to eight points when he returned a fumble 38 yards for the score with 8:51 left in the third quarter.

Senior wide receiver Christian Moulton pushed the Blue Jays to a 28-13 lead on a 10-yard scoring sprint with 9:29 left in the fourth and Washington pulled in a 14-yard touchdown toss from Plassmeyer to conclude Westminster's scoring with 2:07 to go.

Plassmeyer connected on 21-of-34 passes for 248 yards and an interception. Vaughan led all players with 92 receiving yards on six catches, while Washington totaled 65 yards on six grabs. Freshman running back Latif Adams paced the Blue Jays with 112 rushing yards on 12 carries as Westminster ran 26 times for 143 yards.

The Storm ran for 227 yards on 53 attempts, led by Michaud's game-high 119 yards on 21 rushes.

Westminster gained 391 yards of total offense to Crown's 289.

The Blue Jays stay on the road for a UMAC contest at St. Scholastica this week. The Saints (2-0, 1-0) began conference play with 41-14 triumph at Iowa Wesleyan on Saturday.