WICHITA — The William Penn football team’s historic season came to an end Saturday with a 53-36 loss to Friends in the second round of the NAIA Football Championship Series.
The Statesmen (11-2) could noto keep up with undefeated Falcons (12-0), putting together 378 yards of offense, while allowing 412.
The season will go down as one of the strongest in program history. William Penn set a record for wins in a season, with 11, breaking the record of 10 set in 1972, 1975, and 2010.
The Statesmen also posted program records for points in a season with 515, surpassing 486 in 2010. It also set a new mark for touchdowns in a season with 70, breaking the 2010 record of 67.
Friends opened the game with a quick scoring drive, but the Statesmen responded as Destynd Loring (Sr., Charleston, S.C., sports management) punched in a 12-yard touchdown run to tie the game at 7.
Loring had another solid outing, toting the ball 32 times for 175 yards and a score. He also had three receptions for 43 yards and a touchdown.
Friends regained the lead on its next drive, then capitalized on a muffed kickoff to go up 21-7 with 3:35 left in the first quarter.
William Penn’s defense came up big at the end of the first quarter when Lloydarius Garner (Jr., Sports Management, Sports Management) got a safety for the Statesmen defense.
The Statesmen drove to the Falcons’ 7-yard line on the ensuing possession but threw an interception in the end zone. The defense responded again with a quick stop, giving the offense the ball back at the Friends 29.
Using the short field, Sterling Ramsey II (Sr., Broken Arrow, Okla., business management) connected with Loring for a 15-yard touchdown pass.
Ramsey finished the contest completing 13 of 23 passes for 205 yards and four touchdowns.
At the end of the day, Ramsey set the program record for single-season completion percentage at 56.7%, breaking Jeff Parson’s 54.9% mark from 1974.
Friends added another score to go up 28-16 with 4:39 left in the half, then immediately tacked on a defensive touchdown off a scoop-and-score.
After a William Penn fourth-down stop, the Falcons struck again with a 33-yard trick play to take a 42-16 lead into halftime.
Amir Everett (Sr., Minneapolis, Minn., sports management) opened the second-half scoring for William Penn with a 17-yard touchdown reception from Ramsey.
Everett led the Statesmen with five catches for 72 yards and two touchdowns.
Everett’s performance also secured the program record for receiving yards in a season with 1,095, surpassing James Fountaine’s 1,032 from 2004. He also tied the school record for touchdown receptions in a season with 11, matching Skyler Crouch’s mark from 2009.
Friends drained most of the remaining clock on its next possession, though the Statesmen added a late score as Ramsey hit Fabian Early III (Fr., Humble, Texas, Business Management) for a 20-yard touchdown with 15 seconds left in the contest.
Defensively, Jovoni Welch (Jr., La Habra, Calif., Business Management) led William Penn with 12 tackles, while Willie Page (Sr., San Diego, Calif., Business Management) and Garner each had seven, and Sherman Johnson (So., Tampa, Fla., Sports Management) had six. Welch, Johnson, Garner, Quincey Classeus (So., Pompano Beach, Fla., Business Management), and Marquis Harry (So., Pompano Beach, Fla.) each had a tackle-for-loss.
“Tough way to end the season,” Head Coach Marc Benavidez said, “but I couldn’t be more proud of these guys for fighting all year and making history!”
