Lee-Huntsville won a shootout against Westminster Christian, outscoring the Wildcats 18-7 in the second half to win 44-34.

Carlin Long had the game of his life for the Generals, rushing for 354 yards and scoring five touchdowns in the win.

Westminster led 28-26 at the half, but had no answer for Long as he torched the Wildcats for 265 yards and four touchdowns in the first half.

The Wildcats scored first on a 7-yard run by Charlie Billings, taking a early 6-0 lead. Long and Westminster QB Brandon Musch traded touchdowns the rest of the half. Long had touchdown runs of 20, 65, 76 and 62. Musch had a 32-yard touchdown pass to Kyle Everleth and touchdown runs of 19 and 28 yards in the first half.

Westminster (0-1) went up 34-26 on Musch’s 76-yard run early in the third quarter, but Lee answered with a 53-yard touchdown pass from Leshaun Vann to Brandon Johnson to cut the Wildcats’ lead to 34-32.

The Lee defense rose up, intercepting Musch after hitting his throwing arm and taking over at midfield. Long scored his fifth touchdown on the next play, racing 50 yards to giving Lee (1-0) a 38-34 lead in the third quarter. The Lee defense forced a Westminster punt and was able to put the game away in the fourth quarter on Vann’s 76-yard touchdown pass to Johnson.

Musch was injured early in the fourth quarter and was not able to come back in the game.

Star of the Game: Long for his 354 yards rushing and five touchdowns

Play of the Game: Westminster looked as if they had taken control of the game as Musch scored on a 32-touchdown run for a 28-18 lead with only 13 seconds left in the half. However, Long needed just one play, scoring on a 62-yard run to cut the deficit to 28-26 at the half.

Stat Sheet: Lee – 624 total yards, 379 rushing, 245 passing. Vann was 5-of-5 for 175 and two touchdowns. Patrick Bailey was 4-of-7 for 73 yards. Johnson caught seven passes for 246 and two touchdowns.

Westminster – 500 total yards. 336 rushing and 164 passing. Musch gained 242 yards and three touchdowns in three quarters and was 12-of-21 for 115 and a touchdown. Houston Scott was 7-of-11 for 49 yards. Henry Claunch gained 83 yards on 14 carries and caught 5 for 31 yards. Billings gained 22 on six carries and one touchdown. Kyle Everleth caught five for 64 yards and a touchdown, TJ Carter caught 4 for 42

By the Numbers: Both teams combined for 1,124 yards. 3 – Lee had three touchdowns called back because of penalties and had over 100 yards on 13 penalties.

What’s Next: Lee will host Madison County on Thursday. Westminster will be off next week and resume play Sept. 8 at North Jackson.