OSKALOOSA — The William Penn football team was defeated for the first time this season, falling 41-9 to rival and Heart of America Athletic Conference North Division opponent Grand View Saturday.
The Statesmen (5-1, 1-1 Heart North) were unable to keep up with the Vikings (5-0, 2-0 Heart North), being outgained 393-245 as Grand View retained the Rock and Ladder Trophy for another year.
Grand View started on offense and moved the ball 67 yards over 10 plays before punching the ball in to take a 7-0 over the Statesmen.
The ensuing kickoff was returned 46 yards by Jersharius Lawrence (Fr., Decatur, Ga., General Accounting) to start the Statesmen offense at the Grand View 27. William Penn moved to the 13-yard-line before fumbling the ball away to the Vikings.
It unfortunately was the first of four turnovers by William Penn, including three interceptions.
The Vikings took advantage of the fumble and moved the ball down field to make the score 14-0 late in the opening stanza.
The scoring was halted until the 9:19 mark of the second quarter when Micheal Johnson III (Jr., Dallas, Texas, Computer Science) blocked a Grand View punt. The ball bounded into the endzone, but several navy and gold members failed to pounce on it as it went through the back of the endzone for a safety.
The navy and gold got the ball right back after the safety, but came up empty, while GVU answered with the first of its two field goals.
WPU attempted to mount a comeback, but on its next drive, the Vikings intercepted a pass and turned it into three more points for a 20-2 halftime lead.
When the second half started, the Vikings showed why they are the No. 1 team in the NAIA, and outpaced the Statesmen for the rest of the matchup.
GVU scored on each of its three third-quarter drives and put the game to rest early. The Vikings ended the day with over an 11-minute advantage in time of possession with 35:50, while William Penn only had the ball for 24:10.
William Penn was able to finally able to find the endzone with 4:05 left in the afternoon on a two-yard run from quarterback Sterling Ramsey II (Sr., Broken Arrow, Okla., Business Management). Ramsey finished the day 22-for-42 for 183 yards. The drive also saw the longest reception for William Penn in the contest, a 19-yard grab made by Amir Everett (Sr., Minneapolis, Minn., Sports Management). Everett ended the day as William Penn’s top receiver with 53 yards on six catches.
William Penn’s potent running game was stymied as Destynd Loring (Sr., Charleston, S.C., Sports Management) was held to only 45 yards on 17 carries.
Defensively, Willie Page (Sr., San Diego, Calif., Business Management) led the Statesmen with 11 total tackles.
“This was a tough result against a top-ranked opponent, but we will respond,” Head Coach Marc Benavidez said. “We will learn from our mistakes and keep working to finish the second half of the season strong.”
