OSKALOOSA — The William Penn football team has taken down two ranked foes in as many weeks, defeating No. 12 MidAmerica Nazarene 34-31 in a Heart of America Athletic Conference North-South crossover game Saturday.
The Statesmen (4-0) nearly doubled up the Pioneers (3-1) in total yardage (480-249), including 228-47 edge on the ground, but had to hang on down the stretch. WPU grabbed its fourth win in a row, the longest win streak for the Statesmen since the 2012 season.
The Pioneers started the game on offense, but were stifled by the Statesmen who forced a quick three-and-out. On the other end of the field, WPU’s opening offensive drive was going well until the Pioneers were able to force a fumble.
It was the first of three fumbles by William Penn on the day, but the only one that was recovered by MidAmerica Nazarene.
The next time William Penn had the ball, it was able to move into plus territory after a 37-yard run by Destynd Loring (Sr., Charleston S.C., Sports Management). Unfortunately, the navy and gold again came up empty when a pass from Sterling Ramsey II (Sr., Broken Arrow, Okla., Business Management) was intercepted at the MidAmerica 5-yard-line.
Following another defensive stop and a short Pioneer punt, William Penn’s next drive started at the MidAmerica Nazarene 33-yard-line. This time, the Statesmen were finally able to finish a drive with Ramsey finding Branden Powell (So., Waco, Texas, Kinesiology) for a one-yard touchdown pass.
This was the first of three passing touchdowns for Ramsey. The senior matched this number in interceptions, however, while completing 15 of 30 passes for 252 yards. He also ran five times for nine yards and a touchdown.
MidAmerica Nazarene responded on the next drive with a touchdown of its own to tie the score at 7-7.
The next time that the Pioneers had possession, Marquis Harry (So., Pompano Beach, Fla., Business Management) snagged an interception deep in WPU territory. A penalty shortened Harry’s return.
Penalty issues continued for William Penn as the hosts committed nine for 75 yards.
After the penalty, the Statesmen offense struck quickly. Ramsey connected with Amir Everett (Sr., Minneapolis, Minn., Sports Management) for a 51-yard touchdown throw that gave the Statesmen the 14-7 lead with 11:57 left in the second quarter.
Everett had a stellar day, leading the Statesmen receivers with five catches for 104 yards with one touchdown.
In response the score, the Pioneers moved the ball 54 yards over 12 plays to once again tie the game, 14-14.
Loring was called upon eight times on WPU’s ensuing drive, before eventually scoring on a 14-yard catch.
The senior finished the night with 229 all-purpose yards, carrying the ball 33 times for 178 yards (long of 37). He added three receptions for 51 yards and a score.
MidAmerica Nazarene started its last possession of the first half with only 36 seconds left. The visitors moved the ball, but Harry eventually ended the drive with an interception as time expired, giving William Penn a 21-14 lead at the break.
The Statesmen suffered a poor start to the second half as MNU took an interception and returned it for a touchdown.
When the Pioneers had the ball next, they were able to work the ball to the William Penn 2-yard-line before the drive stalled out, resulting in MNU taking its first lead at 24-21 on a 20-yard field goal.
William Penn then put together a 10-play drive that went 62 yards, but it also stalled out in the red zone. Aiden Gibbons (Fr., Apollo Beach, Fla., Sports Management) punched a 30-yard field goal through the uprights to once again knot the contest, this time at 24-24.
Following a stop, the navy and gold worked their way into field goal range and Gibbons put the Statesmen back on top with a 36-yard field goal as the hosts entered the fourth stanza up 27-24.
Brian Weatherspoon (Jr., West Memphis, Ark., Business Management) then returned the ball to his offense with a fumble recovery, but on the very next play, Ramsey was picked off.
Fortunately, MidAmerican Nazarene could not get anything going as well and William Penn claimed possession on their own 4-yard-line. The Statesmen then looked to put a punctuation on the win as they drove 96 yards (all on the ground) in 12 plays for a 34-24.
Ramsey finished the drive with a seven-yard scoring rush as the Statesmen held a 10-point lead with 6:30 to go in regulation.
Not to be deterred, the Pioneers converted two fourth downs on their next drive. The game was essentially over when the Statesmen recording a pick-six, but it was called back due to a successful challenge by the Pioneers on an illegal substitution. MidAmerican Nazarene eventually scored a touchdown to pull the Pioneers within three points at 34-31 with 2:43 left.
The Pioneers attempted an onside kick, but it was recovered by Everett at MNU’s 48-yard-line.
MidAmerica Nazarene had two timeouts left, so the Statesmen needed to convert a first down to put the game away. After two unsuccessful runs, William Penn found itself with a third down with nine yards to go, but a screen pass from Ramsey to Loring went for 25 yards and the home squad was able to kneel to run out the clock.
Defensively, Tierre Butler (Jr., Springfield, Ill., Business Management) led William Penn in tackles with 10, while Lloydarius Garner (Jr., Houston, Texas, Sports Management) had two tackles for loss for the Statesmen.
“This was a great team win!” Head Coach Marc Benavidez said, “I am so proud of these guys. This was a game on paper that we weren’t supposed to win, yet our guys had the mindset to push through! Our defensive coordinator, Jay Burns, was having a baby right before halftime and the rest of the staff didn’t miss a beat. Hats off to our players for overcoming adversity, believing in each other, and doing what was needed to get the win!”
