Robert Morris University Beats St. Joseph, 40-35

The Robert Morris Football team won their third consecutive game with a 40-35 victory over NCAA DII foe Saint Joseph's College (Ind.) on Saturday, Sept. 15 at Morris Field.  The Eagles are now 3-1 for the season.

The Eagles struck early and often, building a 19-0 lead in the first quarter.  Matt Westerkamp hit Dontrel Chance on an 81-yard touchdown pass for the first RMU score just under two minutes into the game.  Running back Lamont Wims then scampered for 52 yards for his first of three touchdowns on the day and Westerkamp connected with Sean Zingshiem on a 14-yard TD reception with 5:27 to go in the opening quarter.

The Pumas closed the gap to 19-7 with 1:43 left in the first quarter on a 5-yard touchdown pass and scored another touchdown with 9:12 left in the second quarter to narrow the RMU lead to 19-14.  However, the Eagles went on a 14-play, 75-yard drive that was capped off by a 2-yard TD plunge from quarterback Matt Westerkamp to up the RMU lead to 26-14 at the half.

The teams traded off touchdown scores in the second half with Saint Joseph's scoring with 11:58 left in the third quarter on a 3-yard run to make it 26-21, but the Eagles answered back with a 17-yard run from Lamont Wims to put RMU back up 33-21. 

Once again, the Pumas drove 59 yards on 12 plays and scored on a 5-yard touchdown pass with 44 seconds left in the third quarter to narrow their deficit to 33-28.  RMU's star running back Lamont Wims scored his third touchdown of the day on a 6-yard run to give the Eagles a 12-point lead with 8:57 to play.  Saint Joseph's made the game interesting scoring on a 1-yard TD pass with 5:23 to go but the Eagles defense held strong in the final minutes to give the Eagles a 40-35 win.

Lamont Wims, who came into the game ranked fourth in the NAIA in total yards rushing, led the Eagles in rushing with 164 yards on 27 carries to go along with his three touchdowns while quarterback Matt Westerkamp was 13-21 for 222 yards and two TD's.  Dominique Sashington led RMU with 13 tackles while Angelo Parker had 10.5 tackles andMark Tabaka chipped in with two sacks.

The Eagles are back on the road next Saturday, September 22^nd as they take on Lindenwood University-Belleville.  Kick-off is set for 12:00 P.M. in Belleville, Illinois and the game can be heard live on the Eagles Sports Network.

— Article submitted by Nancy Donohoe, Director of Public Relations for RMU