Westminster Christian won its fourth straight after Friday night, beating Central Florence 71-54 on homecoming.

The 71 points set a school record for Westminster, and Brandon Musch put on a show with 511 total yards and eight touchdowns.

Westminster (4-1, 4-0) started the game with a bang, getting the onside kick. Musch hit Henry Claunch on a 47-yard touchdown to get the track meet started. The Wildcats would build a 43-26 behind Musch’s four passing touchdowns to Adam Hartman, Kyle Everleth and twice to Claunch.

Musch also rushed for one touchdown in the first half. Central Florence (2-4, 1-2) put up impressive numbers in the first half, rushing for 293 yards and getting two touchdowns from Hunter Palmer and two from Evan Hanback.

Central Florence was determined to get back in the game and was able to stop Westminster on a fourth-and-4 at their 19-yard line with 9:34 left in the third quarter. Central was able to cut the Westminster lead to 43-32 with a 65-yard pass from Jackson Brewer to Palmer. The Central defense was able to get a turnover, intercepting Musch on the Westminster 43-yard line, and Hanback scored three plays later to cut the lead to 43-40.

All that did was wake up the Wildcats as they would outscore Central 28-14 in the final 18 minutes of the game getting a four-yard touchdown from Claunch. Musch scored hree times from 22 yards, 18 yards and — the clincher — a 56-yard sprint with 1:54 left in the game to take a 71-54 lead that ended Central’s hopes.

Hanback scored twice for Central in the fourth quarter, but it wasn’t enough to keep up with Musch and Wildcats.

Star of the Game: Brandon Musch with his 511 total yards and eight touchdowns.

Play of the Game: Westminster led 50-40 in the third quarter and Central looked as if they would cut the lead to 50-47, having moved the ball to the Wildcat 12. But a hard hit and a strip of the ball carrier by Evan McClure gave Westminster back the ball and started an 88-yard drive capped off by Musch’s 22-yard touchdown to give the Wildcats a commanding 57-40 lead.

Stat Sheet: Westminster – 641 total yards. Musch was 17-of-26 for 268 yards and four touchdowns and one interception. Musch also had 243 yards rushing and four more touchdowns on 17 carries. Claunch gained 127 yards on 17 carries and two touchdowns. Claunch also caught seven passes for 131 yards and two touchdowns. Hartman caught three for 46 yards and a touchdown, Everleth caught three for 45 yards and a touchdown and TJ Carter caught 3 for 43 yards on his birthday.

Central Florence – 573 total yards. Hanback finished with 218 yards and four touchdowns. Palmer gained 206 yards and two touchdowns. Brewer completed 4-of-14 for 128 yards and two touchdowns.

By the Numbers: 1,214 – total yards by both teams. In last season’s 70-69 win by Central both teams gained 1,236 yards. 11,966 – Musch’s 511 yards moved him into 4th place in all time yards and his eight touchdowns tied him for third with Bo Nix with 161. 9 – Westminster place kicker Wilson Korokty was 9 of 9 in extra points. 5 – There were five onside kicks. Four by Central and one by Westminster, but only the Wildcats were able to recover one.

Coachspeak: “I need an EKG after a game like that, but I’m just so proud of so many guys who stepped up and made plays when we had to have them like Wilson Korokty recovering his own onside kick to start the game. Coach Wood does a phenomenal with that his team and they probably run the wing-T better that anybody and just to beat that team is just a huge step for our team from last year to this year.” – Louis LeBlanc, Westminster Head Coach

They Said it: “That was just a big big homecoming win over Central Florence, and I’m just so proud of this team fighting through adversity as we made so many mistakes on both sides of the ball, but hey we got the scoring record for the school and a big homecoming win.” — Musch

“It is always great to get a big homecoming win and get the scoring record, but the line was opening up some big holes for me and it was just a great game.” — Claunch

“We had to make a lot of adjustments at halftime because we made so many mistakes in the first and second quarter, but we came back and we kept fighting and punching them in the mouth and this was just a great win for us.” – Cole Rossen, linebacker

What’s Next: Westminster Christian will host DAR next Thursday night and Central Florence will host Rogers