WPU Falls to No. 3 Benedictine 40-7
Atchison, Kan.—The Statesmen football team ran out of gas in a 40-7 loss to No. 3 Benedictine in a Heart of America Athletic Conference North-South crossover game Saturday.
No. 13William Penn (2-1, 1-0 Heart North) was outgained 403-245, doing almost all of its damage through the air with 187 passing yards.
The Ravens (2-1) jumped on the Statesmen early when they found the endzone just five minutes into the game, giving them a 7-0 lead. The Ravens struck again, finding the end zone on a rushing touchdown on the opening play of the second quarter to extend their lead to 14-0.
WPU finally got on the scoreboard when Emery Floyd (Grad., Tampa, Fla.) connected with Keithon Davis (So., McKinney, Texas) from 23 yards out, cutting the Ravens lead in half, 14-7.
Floyd and Christian Benning (So., Streator, Illinois, Business Management) both contributed at quarterback for the Statesmen. Floyd went 6-for-16 for 112 yards and a touchdown, while Benning was 5-for-13 for 75 yards.
On the ensuing possession Rhyan Sewell (Fr., Little Elm, Texas) forced and recovered a Benedictine fumble. Unfortunately, Floyd’s next pass attempt was intercepted and returned for a Benedictine touchdown. WPU ended the first 30 minutes of play down 21-7.
It did not get better for William Penn in the second half as BC scored 19 unanswered points to wrap up the victory.
WPU used a trio of running backs as Emmanuel Igbonagwam (So., Vancouver, Wash.) (4 carries, 18 yards), Derion Morris (Fr., East Chicago, Ind.) (5 carries, 13 yards), and Anthony Carey Jr. (Fr., Lauderhill, Fla.) (4 carries, 6 yards) all saw action.
Defensively, the Statesmen were led by Sewell who finished with 10 tackles, 2.5 sacks, and two forced fumbles. Rodrick Colquitt (Jr., Palmdale, Calif.), Kameron Cummings (Jr., Houston, Texas, Business Management), and David Anigbogu (Fr., Missouri City, Texas) joined Sewell in the sack column with one apiece. Tierre Butler (Sr., Springfield, Ill., Business Management) also added another forced fumble to the stat sheet.
“We made too many mistakes early,” Head Coach Marc Benavidez said. “Adversity hit us, so now we have to ask ourselves how are we going to respond. We have a big week ahead.”
Up Next: William Penn is back in Oskaloosa next Saturday as it faces off with Missouri Baptist in a Heart North-South crossover game at 6 p.m.
