OSKALOOSA — The Statesmen football team could not overcome several miscues as it fell 42-31 to Culver-Stockton in a Heart of America Athletic Conference North Division game Saturday.
William Penn (3-6, 2-4 Heart North) lost the Senior Day matchup despite outgaining the Wildcats 486-316, including a career-high 262 rushing yards by Destynd Loring (Jr., Charleston, S.C., Sports Management).
Unfortunately, the navy and gold lost two fumbles (one returned for a touchdown) and had a field goal blocked and returned for another score.
C-SC (2-8, 2-3 Heart) took the opening drive down the field for a 7-0 edge. After being turned away on downs in visiting territory in its first possession, WPU took advantage of a short field caused by a poor Wildcat punt. Six plays and just 34 yards later, Loring scored from one yard out to make it 7-7 after one quarter.
Culver-Stockton then took over with back-to-back scores and the Statesmen were the chasers the remainder of the afternoon. Inside of the final minute of the first half, Loring again plunged across the goal line from a yard away.
Loring’s rushing tally is the fourth highest in school history and the best since James Jackson had 268 against Olivet Nazarene in 2005.
Unfortunately, on a day when the wind and rain pounded the players throughout, the hold on the extra point attempt was not successful and William Penn trailed 21-13 at intermission.
Loring took the opening handoff of the third quarter and dashed 60 yards to paydirt, but looking to make up for the earlier failed PAT try, the Statesmen attempted a two-point conversion, but it failed, leaving the home team behind 21-19. It would be the closest the squad would come in the latter minutes on Saturday.
C-SC recorded the next two touchdowns, but William Penn did not quit fighting as it scored twice in the fourth stanza. Keegan Simmons (Sr., Cedar Rapids, Iowa, Elementary Education) first darted in from four yards away and Sterling Ramsey II (Jr., Broken Arrow, Okla., Business Management) later found Amir Everett (Jr., Minneapolis, Minn., Sports Management) on a 23-yard passing score to make it 35-31.
Ramsey II was 10-for-29 for 136 yards, while Everett caught three balls for 69 yards. Keithon Davis (Fr., McKinney, Texas) was a popular target of Ramsey II’s as well with four catches for 37 yards.
Unfortunately, the Wildcats capped the day’s scoring with one more touchdown just outside of the two-minute timeout.
Daequan Johnson (Sr., Marion, Iowa, Kinesiology) headlined the defense with 10 tackles, while Malcolm Bryant (Sr., Cincinnati, Ohio, Sports Management) had nine stops and Tyler Green (Fr., Tampa, Fla., Business Management) added seven (six solos).
“Our team showed a lot of promise in the way we moved the ball offensively and held strong on defense,” Head Coach Marc Benavidez said. “Unfortunately, the tough weather conditions, along with a few costly mistakes, got the better of us today. We will work hard to correct those mistakes and build on the positives to put these seniors out on a high note a week from now.”
Next Up: William Penn travels to Marshall, Mo. next Saturday to face Missouri Valley in a Heart North-South crossover game at 1 p.m.
