Statesmen Stomp Clarke in 70-0 Victory
Oskaloosa, Iowa—The William Penn football team dominated every aspect of the game in a 70-0 win over Clarke in a Heart of America Conference North matchup Saturday.
WPU (6-2, 3-1 Heart North) put on an offensive show case, outgaining Clarke (0-8, 0-4 Heart North) 577-147. The Statesman got the job done through the air, tallying 350 passing yard to go with 227 yards rushing.
William Penn started the game hot and never looked back when Derion Morris (Fr., East Chicago, Ind.) capped the 7 plays, 65-yard opening drive with a six-yard touchdown run, giving WPU the 7-0 advantage.
After a fourth down stop, Christian Benning (So., Streator, Illinois, Business Management) and the WPU passing game got going when Benning found Keithon Davis (So., McKinney, Texas) for a 16-yard touchdown reception, extending the lead to 14-0. WPU primarily went with Benning under center as he finished 17-for-22 for 316 yards and two touchdowns. Braylon Grayson (So., O’Fallon, Ill., Business Management) also saw action, completing all four of his passes for 34 yards and a touchdown of his own.
The following possession saw the Statesmen lean on the run game as Anthony Carey Jr. (Fr., Lauderhill, Fla.) rushed for 53-yards on four attempts, including a 13-yard touchdown with 8:16 remaining in the second quarter, 21-0. 1:52 second later the Statesmen running game turned a Pride 3-and-out into another rushing touchdown, this time Emmanuel Igbonagwam (So., Vancouver, Wash.) found the endzone from one yard out, 28-0.
WPU utilized several rushers, but the duo of Carey Jr (7 carries, 79 yards) and Morris (11 carries, 80 yards) took the bulk of the load.
The Statesmen defense got involved in the scoring frenzy as Omari Campbell (Sr., Pompano Beach, Fla., Sports Management) intercepted a Clarke pass and returned it 51-yards, giving the Statesmen a 35-0 lead going into halftime.
The Navy and Gold ground game got active right after half as Carey Jr. found the endzone from 11-yards out, marking his second rushing touchdown of the game, 42-0. Following another Statesmen stop on fourth down, Emery Floyd (Grad., Tampa, Fla.) found a path to the endzone on a quarterback keeper from 8-yards out, 49-0.
The Statesmen offensive onslaught continued as Benning connected with Henry Hypolite III (So., Houston, Texas, Business Entrepreneurship) from 61-yards out, 56-0. Igbonagwam found the endzone for his second time on the following possession, this time from four yards out.
WPU finalized their dominate win when Grayson found Nasear Cumberbatch (So., St. Petersburg, Fla., Business Management) for a three-yard score, 70-0.
The Statesmen defense was anchored by linebacker Jerome Schaubert (Sr., Spring, Texas, Biology) who finished with seven tackles, Kameron Cummings (Jr., Houston, Texas, Business Management) was close behind with six of his own. William Penn’s secondary dominated, recording three interceptions for a combined 111 return yards and a touchdown. Campbell led the way with a 51-yard interception return for a touchdown, while Jeremiah Dennard (Jr., St. Petersburg, Fla.) added a 48-yard return and Brian Thomas (So., Lewisville, Texas, Psychology) recorded a 12-yard return.
“Had a great team win!” Head Coach Marc Benavidez said. “Proud of how our guys responded after last week. On to the next one!”
