LAUDERDALE LAKES — Visiting Florida Christian capitalized on three turnovers and 11 penalties for 135 yards by Westminster Academy and thumped the Lions 52-16 in the Sunshine State Athletic Conference game on Friday night.
Quarterback Joey Padron Jr. threw for three touchdowns, while four different running backs scored for the Patriots in the rout. Aamir Wright caught two TD passes and added a TD run in the team’s sixth straight victory. The Patriots entered the game ranked No. 9 in the SSAC.
“They (Florida Christian) played a good game and they are well coached,” said Westminster Academy coach Ehren Wallhoff, whose team entered the game ranked fifth in the SSAC. “They came out here and kicked our butts. Our guys have to learn to play through some adversity, and we didn’t do that tonight.”
Senior Night started well for host Westminster Academy (6-2) as they took the opening kickoff and scored on a 1-yard run by Rashard Lewis with 10:11 left in the first quarter that capped an eight-play, 80-yard drive.
Florida Christian (7-1-1) battled back to take the lead for good at 14-6 on a 33-yard scoring pass from Padron to Wright and a 50-yard touchdown run by Wright.
Westminster Academy picked up a 28-yard field goal by Gavin Patterson to cut the lead to 14-9 with 7:32 remaining in the first half before the Patriots scored two more times in the second quarter as they capitalized on the second of two interceptions by Vankino Bethea and a fumble recovery by Brett Vigna.
After a 15-yard TD run by Jahini Smith, Westminster Academy turned the ball over on the ensuing kickoff when their returner thought the ball was going out of bounds, and Vigna recovered the ball on the Lions’ 13. Two plays later, Timothy Chennis scored on a 1-yard run to extend the lead to 28-9 with 4:58 left in the second quarter. The scores were 35 seconds apart.
“That was 14 points right there and a momentum swing,” Wallhoff added. “We were down 12 points at the half, and you have to be able to respond in the second half, and we didn’t. We had a couple of unfortunate plays with penalties that gave them 20-25 extra yards on plays, and those are momentum killers. We have to play better.
The Lions forced Florida Christian to turn over the ball on downs, and they drove 83 yards in 10 plays, capped by a 2-yard quarterback keeper by Cortland Brownfield to trim the lead to 28-16 with 22 seconds remaining in the half. Brownfield finished the game with 15 carries for 27 yards, and 15 or 23 for 244 yards passing with two INTs.
“I think this (loss) helps test us a little bit,” Wallhoff continued. “We’ve gotten out on some teams with big leads, and I think ultimately this will help us for the playoffs. You go through the grind of the season, and sometimes you have wins that are great. I know this group and we’ll bounce back.”
The Patriots put the game away with 24 unanswered points in the second half. Florida Christian entered the game averaging 175 yards rushing and finished the contest with 40 carries for 250 yards.
Westminster Academy saw its five-game winning streak come to an end.
https://www.sun-sentinel.com/2025/10/18/florida-christian-thumps-host-westminster-academy/
