William Penn Football Game Notes: Week Four: Waldorf
William Penn University Athletics
Oskaloosa–The Statesmen football team looks for a big crowd as it returns to league competition Saturday.
#6 nationally-ranked William Penn (3-0, 1-0 MWL) hosts Waldorf (0-2, 0-0 MWL) in Lacey Complex Stadium at 6 p.m. for Fill the Stadium Night. Anyone who presents a perishable food item will receive free admission.
STATESMEN BROADCASTING: Every William Penn football game can be followed through several different mediums.
Radio (all games): Heard live on KBOE 740 AM or 104.9 FM
Internet (home games): Viewed and heard live at http://origin.peg.tv/pegtv_player?s=wpenn
TV (home games): Viewed and heard live on Mahaska Communication Group’s local channel
Internet (away games): Heard live at http://client.stretchinternet.com/client/kboe.portal
SERIES HISTORY: William Penn is 4-0 all-time in its series with Waldorf, including winning last year’s meeting 58-10.
Taylor Parsons (So., The Woodlands, Texas, College Park HS) rushed for 115 yards and Shawn Davis (So., Hamersville, Ohio, Western Brown HS) tacked on 84 more and two touchdowns.
Defensively, Damon Harrison (Sr., Lake Charles, La., Lake Charles Boston HS) scored the day’s first points by recovering a fumble in the endzone.
WILLIAM PENN PROFILE: Todd Hafner is in his eighth year as head football coach at William Penn, entering the campaign with a 43-35 career record.
Hafner guided William Penn to its fifth league crown in 2010 and its first since 1976. The team finished 10-1, tying the school record for wins, and also broke NAIA single-season marks for total rushing yards and yards per attempt. Numerous other school marks were set in 2010.
The 2008 and 2010 Midwest League Coach of the Year, Hafner was also the recipient of the VSN NAIA Coach of the Year and the NFCA Region 2 Coach of the Year honors. As skipper, he has produced 98 all-conference players and 12 All-Americans.
Prior to his career at William Penn, Hafner had coaching stops at Carl Junction HS, Southwest Baptist University, Emporia State University, and Pittsburg State University (student coach).
Hafner graduated from Pittsburg State in 1994 with a degree in mathematics.
Last week, William Penn held off NCAA Division III Luther 24-13.
With Parsons out most of the game with an injury, the Statesmen performed well under the direction backup signal-caller Jacob Ballanger (Sr., Carlisle, Waldorf). He rushed for 83 yards and passed for a touchdown.
Chris Crawford (Jr., Muskegon, Mich., Grand Valley State) also returned a punt 49 yards for a fourth-quarter touchdown.
Both were named MWL Players of the Week for their showings, while Joseph Frye (Fr., Detroit, Mich., Highland Park HS) intercepted two balls in the second half.
For the year, William Penn averages 453.7 yards per game, including 397.7 rushing and 56.0 passing.
Davis leads the Statesmen offense with 304 rushing yards and two touchdowns, while Parsons has an additional 229 yards and five scores.
Four other individuals have also eclipsed the century mark in rushing.
Due to the powerful running attack, Parsons has not been asked to throw the pigskin much. The sophomore is 8-of-21 for 152 yards and two TDs.
DeMarco Sanders (Sr., Horn Lake, Miss., Horn Lake HS) tops the receiving corps with two catches for 58 yards and a touchdown.
Defensively, the Statesmen are giving up an average of 204.3 yards, including 124.7 passing and 79.7 rushing.
Rushawn Stewart (Sr., Houston, Texas, Eisenhower HS) is the top tackler for the navy and gold with 27 stops. Damon Harrison (Sr., Lake Charles, La., Lake Charles Boston HS) and Brandon Dunbar (Jr., Houston, Texas, Booker T. Washington HS) each have two sacks and Reed and Frye have two interceptions apiece.
Marcus Kerrigan (So., Cary, Ill., Cary-Grove HS) is a perfect 17-for-17 in extra points and 1-for-3 in field goals. The team utilizes two punters, Kerrigan and Jason Johnson (So., Geneseo, Ill., Geneseo HS). Johnson has punted two times for a 43.5 yard average, while Kerrigan has kicked seven times for a clip of 35.6 yards.
Sanders is topping the kick return game with three returns for a 23.7 average. The team has not returned many punts either with Crawford taking four back for a clip of 18.8 yards.
William Penn is picked to win the Midwest League, the first time it has been chosen as the favorite since joining the MSFA in 2002.
WALDORF PROFILE: Greg Youngblood is in his fifth season as head football coach at Waldorf, owning a 7-35 record entering this campaign.
Youngblood brings 16 years of coaching experience at both the high school and college levels. Prior to his appointment at Waldorf, he was an assistant at Taylor University and before that was head and assistant coach at three different high schools in New Mexico.
A 1994 graduate of Bates College (Maine), Youngblood was a three-year letterwinner and earned the team’s Bob Schmidt Award for courage, strong character, and positive attitude.
He earned his master’s in sports administration from the University of New Mexico.
A nice second quarter was not enough to get the Warriors into the win column last week, losing 35-10 to Briar Cliff in non-conference play.
Waldorf scored all ten of its points in the second stanza to hold a 10-7 halftime advantage, but allowed 28 unanswered points in the second half.
The Warriors gave up 365 total yards and committed four turnovers in the loss.
Quarterback Ryan Young completed 11 passes for 108 yards, while Marshall Williams accumulated 65 yards on the ground.
For the year, the Waldorf offense is tallying 183.0 yards per game, including 92.5 passing and 90.5 rushing.
Young leads the Warriors through the air, completing 23-of-54 passes for 205 yards. Williams has netted 95 rushing yards.
James Loydd is Young’s top target, hauling in nine passes, while Adam Isaacson has posted a team-high 63 yards.
Defensively, Waldorf gives up 292.0 yards per contest, including 181.5 rushing and 110.5 passing.
Chris Oliver has tallied 13 tackles and two sacks, while Tevin Padgett has two interceptions.
Braden Williams is 1-for-1 in PATs and 1-for-3 in field goals. He has been busier in the punt game, however, sending 13 attempts for an average of 34.0 average.
Padgett is the team’s best kick returner, taking five kickoffs back for an average of 19.0 yards and four punts for a clip of 5.0 yards.
Waldorf is picked to finish seventh in the Midwest League.
COACH HAFNER SAYS: On Luther Game: “I thought our team played extremely hard all day. Offensively, we gave up some scoring opportunities but executed well. I thought our defense and special teams were both outstanding all day. It was a great win against a very quality opponent.”
On Waldorf: “We have taken this week to improve in every area of the game. Waldorf presents many challenges that we will also see later on down the road. They have a very young but talented team and we will have to play and execute well in every area.”
WILLIAM PENN RATED IN NAIA & VSN POLLS: The Statesmen continue to be one of the nation’s hottest teams. William Penn is #6 in the NAIA’s first ranking and #8 in VSN’s preseason poll.
STATESMEN HIGH IN NAIA STATS RANKINGS: William Penn ranks very high in numerous NAIA statistical categories.
The navy and gold are the best in the nation in total rushing yards (1,193) and rushing yards per game (397.7). With three games under its belt, the squad is also second in total points (122). William Penn also ranks eighth in total yards per game (453.7).
Defensively, the Statesmen are ranked third in points allowed per game (6.7) and sacks (9). William Penn is also fifth in total yards allowed per game (204.3).
Individually, Kerrigan (100% PAT kicking) is at the top of the NAIA. Davis is third is total rushing (304 yards), while Parsons is fourth in scoring (30 points). Kerrigan is also fifth in scoring (kicking) with 20 points. Frye and Reed are seventh in total interceptions (2).
