The Augusta Christian Lions took down the Westminster Wildcats on the road 26-20 on Friday, Sept. 11.
While Westminster running back TJ Daniels led his team with 24 carries for 104 yards and two touchdowns, the Lions saw a more spread-out contribution, with wide receiver Jordan Sease having a big game, alongside running back Ethan Porter and quarterback Harris Janik. Sease would tally 98 yards rushing and a touchdown, Porter would add the Lions’ other three scores, and Janik would record 93 passing yards on 13 attempts.
After a kickoff delay due to lightning, the game finally kicked off at 7:45 p.m. at Wildcat Field. Both teams struggled to score in the first half, though Westminster (0-4) dominated the clock, running 30 plays to Augusta Christian’s 17. The Wildcats attacked heavily on the ground, only attempting three passes. The hosts gave bellcow Daniels plenty of time to shine with 17 carries for 67 yards and their sole touchdown of the half on their opening drive.
Augusta Christian (3-2) would answer after brief, unsuccessful drives by both teams. Sease ran for 35 yards after a 20-yard pass by Janik, and then Sease capped it off with a 24-yard TD run.
The Wildcats had a scare on the next drive with a fumble at Westminster’s own 24-yard line, but they then held Augusta Christian to a four-and-out.
The half would end with another grinding, but pointless Westminster drive.
The second half was a tale of the Wildcats shooting themselves in the foot, although one might’ve thought the opposite as Augusta Christian fumbled the first play of the half. The Wildcats would capitalize with a score and effective two-point conversion to make it 14-7 before yet again forcing a turnover at their own 13 with a strip sack.
But miscues turned the tide against Westminster on the ensuing drive though, as a sequence of three fumbled snaps in a row (the last eluding and rolling past the Wildcat punter) would lead to the Lions taking the ball at the Westminster 3-yard line.
Wasting no time, the visitors scored on the first play and tied the game with a successful extra point kick.
The Wildcats proceeded to fumble again at their own 35 and then committed a pass interference penalty. Augusta Christian only took three plays to add another score, though a missed PAT kick made it a 20-14 game—and the Wildcats still had a chance.
Looking to regain momentum, the Wildcats would find life with a grinding 64-yard, 13-play touchdown drive on the back of their running back room, a drive that also took the game five minutes into the fourth quarter. A failed two-point conversion kept the game 20-20.
It only took the Lions four plays to regain the lead, though, with a pass interference, 21-yard pass and 27 yards from Ethan Porter making it 26-20, where it stayed after the extra point attempt sailed wide right.
Westminster couldn’t find its footing with 4:51 left on the clock, giving the ball back to the Lions with two minutes left. A last-ditch attempt with 30 seconds left on the clock wasn’t enough as the Lions triumphed.
Coach Roy Stabler of Augusta Christian expressed pride in his team’s running game.
“The last couple of games, we hadn’t run the ball very well,” said Stabler, whose team halted a two-game losing streak. “We hadn’t been able to stop it, either. But the kids found the way to win the game, pushed them [Westminster] around, and got back in the win column.”
Coach Chris Murphy of the Wildcats was proud of his squad, viewing them as getting on the right track.
“Turnovers did us in,” said Murphy, “but this is a young team. We’re playing four or five freshmen, and it’s our first year playing 11-man football instead of eight. We’re learning together and getting better, and we’ll continue to do so.”
Westminster will play again at home next Friday (Sept. 18), taking on Windsor Academy at 7:30 p.m. Augusta Christian will look to make their win against the Wildcats the first of a streak by taking on Cardinal Newman next Friday at home.
Cooper Brady is an Augusta University student. Augusta Good News is an award-winning member of the Georgia Press Association, receiving a second place General Excellence in 2025 and 2026 Sign up for our free weekly newsletter here.
