Billings leads Westminster to win over Clements
Clements didn’t have an answer to Westminster Christian’s Jackson Billings, who scored seven total touchdowns to lead the Wildcats to a 59-34 win over the Colts Friday night in a Class 3A, Region 8 matchup.
Billings had a hand in all of Westminster’s offensive scores. He ran for three touchdowns, threw three touchdown passes and caught a touchdown pass to break open what was a close game for most of three quarters.
Clements (3-1, 1-1) led for much of the first half after Jairrice Pryor broke loose for a 79-yard touchdown run on the Colts’ first possession to take an 8-0 lead following Hayden Graves’ 2-point conversion run.
A Cade Rawlings 39-yard field goal was all Westminster (3-2, 2-1) could muster for most of the first half until Billings got heated up. He first scored on a 4-yard touchdown run with 3:28 remaining in the first half to give the Wildcats an 11-8 lead following his 2-point conversion run. Billings then gave Westminster a 10-point lead when he tossed an 8-yard touchdown pass to Evan Sheppard with 32 seconds left until halftime.
Clements fought back at the start of the third quarter. Miles Fleming returned an interception 40 yards for a touchdown on the first play of the second half to cut the lead to four points, and the Colts then took a 22-18 lead when Pryor scored on a 3-yard run midway through the third quarter.
However, that’s when Billings took over with three straight touchdowns.
He first scored on a 42-yard run to give the Wildcats the lead back before he tossed a 70-yard touchdown to Samuel Sheppard. He then threw a 23-yard touchdown pass to Isaiah Lattimore to put the Wildcats up 39-22 after three quarters.
Clements trimmed the lead to 12 points on a 7-yard touchdown pass from Braden Tucker to Deontae Crenshaw early in the fourth quarter, but Billings scored yet another touchdown on a 24-yard run to answer right back. Elijah Baldwin then returned an interception 30 yards for a touchdown and Billings finished off his spectacular night with a 24-yard touchdown reception late in the fourth quarter.
Clements got one final touchdown with 30 seconds left in the game when Pryor scored on a 22-yard run. Pryor broke the 200-yard barrier for the fourth straight game, rushing for 248 yards and three touchdowns on 33 carries.