Statesmen Rebound with 38-16 Ground Attack Win Over St. Mary (Kan.)
William Penn overcame a physical game Saturday afternoon
Oskaloosa–The William Penn football team will go into its bye week on a high after pounding out a 38-16 victory against non-conference foe St. Mary (Kan.) Saturday.
#11 William Penn (7-1) rebounded from last week’s loss to St. Francis (Ill.) with 501 total yards, including 464 on the ground (second most this fall).
It was not easy, however, as the Spires (3-4) pushed the home squad to the limit through the middle of the third quarter, but the Statesmen scored 17 straight to close out the win and keep its playoff hopes alive. William Penn returns to action October 29 by hosting Trinity International (Ill.) for Homecoming at 1:30 p.m.
The navy and gold blasted through the St. Mary defense immediately, going 51 yards on just five plays to take a 7-0 lead after only 100 seconds of play.
P.J. Perry (Sr., Orlando, Fla., East Ridge HS) scored on a 15-yard scamper, but the Spires answered on their second drive to cut the deficit to 7-3 with a Bobby Schattle 34-yarder. The field goal was the first of three for Schattle on the afternoon as the William Penn defense bent, but most definitely did not break in the red zone (six trips netting just one TD and 3 FGs). Perry concluded Saturday with 70 rushing yards.
Evan Ressler (Fr., Cascade, Cascade HS) is emerging as an important asset in William Penn’s offense, rushing 12 times for 60 yards. He scored the team’s second TD on a seven-yard run to extend the advantage to 14-3 with 4:42 left in the first quarter.
The Spires then put up ten points in a row to narrow the margin to 14-13 early in the second, but Taylor Parsons (So., The Woodlands, Texas, College Park HS) gave his program some breathing room entering halftime with a five-yard rush. He topped the navy and gold with a season-best 159 yards on 17 carries, but had some issues through the air, going just 4-of-10 for 37 yards and two interceptions.
Three pre-break takeaways helped keep St. Mary close, but fortunately William Penn’s belt tightened and few mistakes were made after the Spires cut the score to 21-16 early in the third.
The visitors certainly had the Statesmen’s number with its short-yardage passing attack that accumulated 413 yards on 36-of-66 passing (428 total yards). But, as aforementioned, although William Penn may have allowed a good chunk of yardage, it settled in with its proverbial back to the wall.
Case in point, in the third and fourth quarter, St. Mary moved inside the Statesmen six-yard line three times only to come away with three points (1 FG, 1 INT, 1 Turnover on Downs).
Third-quarter points came via Perry with a 12-yard run and Marcus Kerrigan (So., Cary, Ill., Cary-Grove HS) with a 25-yard field goal.
Ressler capped off the scoring with a two-yard plunge early in the final stanza.
Five players, including Shawn Davis (So., Hamersville, Ohio, Western Brown HS) also over the century mark with 111 yards, accounted for 58 or more rushing yards in the win. DeMarco Sanders (Sr., Horn Lake, Miss., Horn Lake HS) had 58 in the win.
The defense, led by seven stops from Scott Adams (Fr., Park City, Utah, Park City HS), did enough to stave off back-to-back setbacks. Junior Delva (So., Miami, Fla., Hialeah HS) and Jacob Batterson (So., Eddyville, Eddyville-Blakesburg HS) each managed interceptions, but several more opportunities were available as the unit broke up 12 passes total.
“St. Mary was a physical team that loved to pass and fortunately we came up with big plays when they mattered most,” Statesmen Head Coach Todd Hafner said. “We know all of the games from here on out will be tough as they are basically playoff games for us and we are ready for the challenge.”
