Post-Halftime Struggles Doom WPU in Homecoming Loss
The William Penn football team could not hold on to a halftime lead as it fell 24-13 on Homecoming to Peru State in Heart of America Athletic Conference North Division action Saturday.
The Statesmen (3-4, 1-1 Heart), who were outgained 399-270, led 13-7 at intermission, but failed to hold off the Bobcats (4-4, 2-0 Heart) in the second half.
WPU opened the afternoon with back-to-back drives that ended in turnovers on downs in PSC territory, while the visitors scored the day’s first points on their second possession with a touchdown at the 5:31 mark in the first quarter.
The home squad answered immediately, going 89 yards to knot the score. After starting the drive with four rushes, Sterling Ramsey II (So., Broken Arrow, Okla., Business Management) then hooked up with Trey Mosley (Jr., Fort Dodge, Iowa, Kinesiology) for 17 yards, followed by a 21-yard pass to Lukas Hamilton (Jr., Columbus, Ohio, Secondary Education).
On the next play, Ramsey II finished off the drive with a 38-yard touchdown pass to ODarius King (Fr., Tampa, Fla., Business Management) to even the score with 55 seconds left in the opening stanza.
Ramsey, who connected with seven different receivers, finished the day 12-for-29 with 141 yards. Hamilton paced the receiving corps with three receptions (22 yards), while King had a team-high 43 yards (two catches).
Following the score, Ethan Olivas (Jr., Eddyville, Iowa, Mechanical Engineering) had his onside kick get recovered by the coverage squad for the second week in a row.
Starting at PSC’s 30-yard line, the Statesmen converted two third downs and then scored on a fourth down as Ramsey II connected with Hamilton from three yards out. Unfortunately, William Penn failed to attempt its extra-point attempt, but the Statesmen were still up for the first time at 13-7 with 11:52 remaining in the first half.
The scoring drive was WPU’s last really strong possession of the contest, however, but the home team’s defense kept the game close. Peru State was denied in the redzone later in the second quarter as the Statesmen entered intermission ahead by six.
Unfortunately, the Bobcats scored on their first drive of the second half to take the lead for good at 14-13.
Following a navy and gold turnover–the lone turnover of the matchup–the Statesmen limited PSC to a field goal as the visitors extended their lead to 17-13 in the final minute of the third quarter.
William Penn moved onto Peru State’s side of field three times after intermission, but came up empty on all three occasions.
The Bobcats added a final touchdown with 4:50 left in regulation to seal the victory.
Amir Everett (So., Minneapolis, Minn., Sports Management) pulled in one reception for 31 yards, while the ground attack was paced by Destynd Loring (So., Charleston, S.C., Sports Management) with 67 yards on 11 carries and Keegan Simons (Sr., Cedar Rapids, Iowa, Elementary Education) with 56 yards on 12 carries.
Joey Mars (Jr., Piedmont, Okla., Business Management) led the defense with 14 tackles, while Harlan Plumber (Sr., Bryan, Texas, Exercise Science) tallied 11 stops. Howard Huerta (Jr., Panorama City, Calif., Business Management) recorded nine tackles as well.
“It is disappointing to not get it done at home,” Head Coach Marc Benavidez said. “We had a solid first half, but lost all the momentum after halftime. I am proud of our guys for competing against a solid team, but we simply did not finish. We are going to get back to work and try to finish with a 4-1 road record this coming week.”
Next Up: William Penn travels to Canton, Mo. next Saturday to face Culver-Stockton in Heart North play at 12:30 p.m.
