FAYETTE — The William Penn football team remained undefeated after trouncing Central Methodist 38-6 in a Heart of America Athletic Conference North-South crossover game Saturday.
The Statesmen dominated in nearly every aspect of the game, finishing with 432 yards of offense, while holding Central Methodist to 189. It is William Penn’s first 2-0 start since the 2015 season.
The Statesmen offense started out firing on cylinders as Christian Benning (Fr., Streator, Ill., Business Management) led the crew down the field on an 11-play, 75-yard drive. The navy and gold unfortunately stalled out at the Central Methodist 8-yard line, settling for a 25-yard field goal by Javier Delgado (Fr., Tampa, Fla., Mechanical Engineering).
Benning finished 19-of-30 for 285 yards, three touchdowns, and one interception.
The Statesmen defense then allowed only eight yards on Central Methodist’s first possession, forcing a three-and-out. The scoring remained quiet for most of the first quarter, until the Statesmen were able to break through again as they went 68 yards on just three plays. The drive was finished with a 32-yard touchdown pass from Benning to Fabian Early III (Fr., Humble, Texas, Business Management).
The next few drives saw each team punt the ball away. The Eagles were then able to work with a short field and score on a 39-yard field goal to cut the score to 11-3 with 8:49 left in the first half.
The navy and gold fortunately answered with a 13-play, 74-yard drive, ending in a seven-yard touchdown run by Destynd Loring (Sr., Charleston, S.C., Sports Management). Loring carried the ball 23 times for 92 yards and two touchdowns. A missed extra point left the score at 17-3 with 2:30 left in the second quarter.
Headlined by a sack by Jovoni Welch (Jr., La Habra, Calif., Business Management), the Eagles lost 13 yards on their next possession. After a home punt, CMU unfortunately got the ball right back via an interception. The Eagles took advantage of the takeaway with a field goal to make it 17-6 at the break.
Jeremiah Dennard (So., St. Petersburg, Fla., Business Management) set the tone for the rest of the afternoon by picking off the Eagles on their opening drive of the second half.
The Statesmen then produced a methodical 12-play, 81-yard touchdown drive with Loring punching it in from two yards away.
The Statesmen defense forced yet another punt and the offense went to work again. Highlighted by a 48-yard pass from Benning to Kendrick Canon (So., North Miami, Fla., Wellness and Recreation), the Statesmen made it 31-6 when Benning connected with Ezekiel Mills (So, Tampa, Fla, Biology) on a 13-yard touchdown pass.
Cannon led William Penn with four catches for 86 yards.
Amir Everett (Sr., Minneapolis, Minn., Sports Management) eventually capped the day’s scoring with a 35-yard grab early in the final stanza. The senior tallied 74 yards on five grabs.
While Loring topped the rushers, Benning also picked up 56 yards on six runs. Alexander Price (Sr., Dallas, Texas, Sports Management) contributed three catches for 34 yards as well.
Lloydarius Garner (Jr., Houston, Texas, Sports Management) and Jerome Schaubert (Jr., Spring, Texas, Biology) were the defensive leaders with six tackles apiece, while Welch, Jaden Reed (Fr., Missouri City, Texas, Business Management), and Matt Mehrhoff (Sr., Fenton, Mo., Business Management) all recorded sacks for the victors.
Garner and Quincy Classeus (So., Pompano Beach, Fla., Business Management) each posted two tackles for loss as well.
“This was a great team win,” Head Coach Marc Benavidez said. “We challenged our guys at halftime to play to our standard, and they responded instantly and finished the game strong. To start 2-0 for the first time in a decade is a credit to their hard work and commitment. We have a big week up ahead for our third straight away game.”
