Final Drive Comes Up Just Short for WPU

Fayette, Mo. — The Statesmen finally arrived at week two as they took on the Eagles of Central Methodist. The road trip took WPU down to Fayette and no scores were put on the board after the first half. Unfortunately, the third quarter swayed in favor of the home side and despite a spirited comeback, William Penn came up just short, taking the loss 14-12. The team is now 1-1 on the season.

Both defenses came to play in the first half though the Statesmen made a good drive to start the game. WPU took the ball 61 yards on 16 plays as the run game grinded out almost the entire first 15 minutes of the game. However, with a narrow field, the Eagles defense stood up on their own 14-yard line. Two penalties set the navy and gold back and they could not make up those yards, as Jeremiah Flewellen (Fr., Fullerton, Calif., Political Science) got stopped on 4th-and-18 by the Eagles.

The defense for WPU trotted on to the field for the first time and quickly forced the Eagles into a punt. Jadrian Gibbs (Fr., Stillwater, Okla., Human Resource Management) made two stops on the first drive as the punt set up the visitors with a first down at their own 44-yard line. The second drive for William Penn bled into the second quarter but the squad could not advance out of their own half of the field.

Both teams traded field position in the second quarter as every drive ended in a punt. D’Mauryon Hunter (Fr., Bollingbrook, Ill., Sports Management) recorded a sack of Eagles QB Jalen Brown to help knock the Eagles back on one drive. The offense for WPU tried to get room on the edges, but no there was not enough room as the Eagles kept a loaded box throughout the first half. CMU almost got on the board as Brown connected with Treyvon Hands for a 48-yard pass, but Brian Davison (So., Goodyear, Ariz., Sports Management) made the touchdown-saving tackling to end the half at the WPU one-yard line. No scores in the first half saw both teams jog off for the intermission to try to make the changes needed to jump ahead on the scoreboard.

The fumble problem reared its ugly head in the third quarter as Alex Crehan, (Sr., Troy, Ill., Business Management) dropped the ball on a third and six play from his own 19. It was punched out as he tried to go over the right side of the line and the ball rolled backwards as hands tried to pick it up, with an Eagle eventually picking it up in the endzone to get the home side on the board 7-0.

After each side exchanged punts on their next drives, the Eagles went 36 yards on four plays to score as Brown found a receiver in the endzone. Up 14-0, the Statesmen were looking down the barrel of a loss they did not want to take.

With some success in the first half, Ben Sherman (Sr., Troy, Pa., Wellness and Recreation) started to take over the game as the next Statesmen drive started in the third quarter with 2:44 on the board. Rushing for a couple yards to start the drive, he took the first play of the fourth quarter 53 yards for the score as he burst through the line. The point after attempt missed, leaving the navy and gold behind14-6.

Jace Neugebauer (Sr., McArthur, Calif., Business Management) came up big on the next Eagle drive as he hauled down the ball carrier on a fourth-and-three to give the ball back to the Statesmen. Again, grinding away, the drive started at their own 28, but Sherman and Crehan quickly got it to the 32-yard line. Luke Masters (Jr., Branson, Mo., Undecided) then found a hole and blew by most of the defense on a 44-yard run into the CMU half. The rushers pushed the pile on the next few plays ever closer and eventually, Crehan dove home on a six-yard TD run. Needing to go for two, Archer Charles (Jr., Guntersville, Ala., Sports Management) was given the ball, but he was denied.

The defense was asked to hold once more and despite letting the Eagles close to the red zone, they did not break and forced an incomplete pass on fourth-and-nine to give the Statesmen the ball back with 2:04 on the game clock.

The offense worked the ball to midfield as Crehan found Masters for a 24-yard strike. The QB then found Spencer Steele (So., Goddard, Kan., Mechanical Engineering) for another chunk gain into the Central Methodist half. Fourth-and-two saw WPU take a bad penalty to make it fourth-and-seven. Dropping back, Crehan came under duress and was brought down with all of one second left on the board. A kneel down by Brown saw that second come off the clock and the Statesmen take their first loss.

The Statesmen picked up 16 first downs on the day, but were a less than stellar 7-for-16 on third-down conversions. They also had the lone turnover of the day. Penalties also hurt the team as WPU picked up 75 penalty yards on 10 infractions.

The team racked up 263 rushing yards on 60 attempts, while Crehan was five-of-nine through the air for 37 yards. Sherman again led the way with 194 yards on 25 carries, while Chauncey Andrews (Fr., Tulsa, Okla., Psychology) was second on the team with 32 yards on 10 rushes. Charles had 20 yards on four carriers, while Masters had 13 yards on five carries. Crehan ended the day in the negatives on 13 attempts.

“It was a tough loss because we really felt like we missed some opportunities to win the game,” said Head Coach Todd Hafner. “We got down inside the 10-yard line to start the game and shot ourselves in the foot and then had a big turnover for a touchdown. I thought our kids showed a lot of fight and guts, but in the end we just needed to execute a little better. I thought our defense was again off-the-charts good and we need to make sure as an offense that we’re matching their play with our play. We have a great team right now and are excited to get back to work tomorrow to prepare for another week.”

Next Up: The team will host Missouri Valley on October 3 at 2:30 p.m. for Homecoming.