FULTON, Mo. - The University of Minnesota Morris Cougars defeated the Westminster College Blue Jays in an intense conference matchup. The Cougars came away from the day 3-3 in UMAC play and 4-5 overall on the season.

The Cougars broke open the scoring on the opening drive of the game with Izayah Boss taking the ball to the house on a 27-yard rush. Logan Ahlers' kick sailed through the uprights to put Minnesota Morris up 7-0 early in the matchup. The Cougar defense put a stop to the Blue Jay's offense on the next drive, not allowing a turnover on downs to regain possession for Minnesota Morris. Setting up in the red zone on their second drive of the game, the Cougar offense set Ahlers up for a field goal that gave Minnesota Morris a 10-0 lead. A second Westminster scoring attempt was shut down by the Cougar defense, and the Minnesota Morris offense regained possession with 5:29 remaining on the clock. Driving the ball from their own 23-yard line to their opponents 7-yard line, the Cougars scored their second touchdown of the game with 6 seconds left on the clock. Bryson Drake found Cole Mitchell in the endzone to put the Cougars up 17-0 heading into the second quarter. 

Westminster put their first points on the board in their opening drive of the second quarter, scoring a touchdown and successfully rushing the ball into the endzone for a two-point conversion. Down 8-17, the Blue Jays' next possession wielded a second touchdown to close the gap to 14-17. The Cougars were quick to respond with a field goal from Ahlers, maintaining a 20-14 lead. Both teams remained scoreless for the remainder of the quarter, and Minnesota Morris held a 20-14 lead heading into halftime. 

Taking possession of the football with 11:12 left in the third quarter at the Westminster 14-yard line, Drake rushed 13 yards to the house to put the Cougars out of reach with a 26-14 lead over the Blue Jays. Westminster answered right back with a touchdown to claw back within scoring range but still trailing 20-26 on their home field. The Cougars' final drive of the third quarter took them to the Westminster 33-yard line before time expired on the clock, showing a 26-20 score heading into the fourth quarter. 

Continuing their drive, the Cougars found the endzone early in the fourth quarter. Drake rushed 33 yards to score, followed up by a field goal off the foot of Ahlers. Up 33-20, the Minnesota Morris defense once again shut down the Blue Jays in four plays, taking back possession of the football. Continuing to rack up the score, Izayah Boss scored for the Cougars on a 6-yard rush to the endzone. Ahlers once again launched a kick through the uprights, putting Minnesota Morris up 40-20. Westminster responded with a three minute drive that ended in a score for the home team. Drake was quick to answer with a Cougar touchdown, marching the offense down the field and taking the ball to the house on a 9-yard rush. Ahlers made his fifth field goal of the game for the Cougars. With Minnesota Morris leading 47-27, the clock ran down as neither team found the endzone to score again in the matchup. 

Drake led the Cougars in both passing and rushing yards on the day, totaling up 148 and 107 respectively. He also scored three touchdowns for Minnesota Morris. Boss rushed for 103 yards, finding the endzone twice for the Cougars. Ethan Tang hauled in three passes for 65 yards, while Mitchell caught three for 40 yards and scored once for Minnesota Morris. Jaymeson Travis punted twice for Minnesota Morris for a total of 81 yards and kicked off nine times for 481 yards. Ahlers went 2/2 on field goals and 5/6 on extra points. 

Gregory Ohman and Alex Emmrich earned eight tackles each on the day, with Ohman also tacking on 1.5 tackles for loss. Carter Maurice totaled up seven tackles with 2.5 tackles for loss and one sack. Dylan Young and Ahlers found six tackles each, and earned one and 0.5 tackles for loss respectively. 

With the conference championship decided, the Cougars will play their final game of the season at home Nov. 16. The game is scheduled for a 1 pm kick-off at Big Cat Stadium.