Fulton, Missouri – Crown College took to the road for a big UMAC matchup against the 3-1 Westminster College Bluejays. The Crown offense took control from the start, and the defense would pitch a first half shut out as Crown was able to weather a late rally from the Bluejays for a 29-21 win.
Crown struck first on the second play from scrimmage as
Terrell Thomas (Charleston, S.C.) took a short McCormick pass and made a defender miss for a 47 yard touchdown. Crown's defense would take over and force a punt as Crown's offense took the field. Unfortunately,
Brandon McCormick (Edwards, Ill.) fumbled on a play action pass putting Crown's defense in a tough spot. The defense would answer the call though holding the Bluejays to zero points as the field goal attempt missed wide left.
Crown capitalized on the next drive though taking the ball 64 yards on a deliberate drive for the second score of the game. The drive was highlighted by a big third and ten catch from
Trey Peace (Raleigh, N.C.) and capped off by a 12 yard run from
Josh Edlund (Crookston, Minn.). Crown threatened two more times before halftime as the defense was stellar but could not put any more distance between the two teams as Crown took a 14-0 lead into half.
The Bluejays answered right away in the third quarter with a 14 play, 65 yard drive to narrow the score to 14-7. Crown's offense answered though with their own 7 play, 61 yard drive highlighted by a huge 33 yard run by Edlund before
Matt Michaud (Woodbury, Minn.) punched it in to go up 22 – 7 after
Tate Pringle (Lincoln, Neb.) threw a two point conversion to
Cody Bedlion (Bottineau, N.D.) after a botched hold on the extra point. The Bluejays answered back on the final play of the third quarter to once again narrow the score to 22-14.
Both teams exchanged punts in the fourth quarter before
Chris Strange (Houston, Texas) came up with a huge interception to spark the team. Crown would score 3 plays later on an Edlund 36 yard touchdown run to go up 29-14 with 2:08 left in the game. Westminster scored quickly to make it a one score game at 29-21, but Crown recovered the ensuing onside kick and ran out the clock.
Crown was led by the duo of Edlund and Michaud as Crown's offensive line paved the way for 291 yards on the ground and three touchdowns. Peace and Thomas led the way receiving corps. Freshman
Alex Banks (Newman, Calif.) made his first start at linebacker and led the team with seven solo tackles followed by Strange and
Jake Nohr (Merrill, Wis.)with six and 6.5 respectively.
Jalen Phoenix (Cincinatti, Ohio) got on board with two sacks.
Crown will return to home for another UMAC game against Greenville College next Saturday.
