Statesmen Rally for 28-27 Upset Over #6 Saint Francis (Ind.)

William Penn Football in their home opener 2014

William Penn Football in their home opener 2014

Fort Wayne, Ind.–A historical win might just set the table for a memorable season as the William Penn football team defeated #6 Saint Francis (Ind.) 28-27 in an MSFA crossover game Saturday.

The seventh time was the charm for the Statesmen (2-1) as they defeated the Cougars (1-1) for the first time ever on Saturday. With help from a 504-356 edge in total yards and three interceptions (two by Isaac Samek (Jr., Bolivar, Mo., Industrial Technology), WPU has now incredibly defeated a top-ten program for the third year in a row. It is also the fifth-consecutive season in which the navy and gold have a win over a top-25 squad.

Paced by 131 yards from Michael Thomas (Sr., Visalia, Calif., Undecided), William Penn (482-94 advantage in yards) dominated the ground game. It was fellow fullback Evan Ressler (Sr., Cascade, Iowa, Biology), though, who got the day’s scoring underway as he cleared the goal line from three yards out just 2:39 into the game. After a quick defensive three-and-out, WPU was propelled to its first touchdown by a 71-yard run by wide receiver Jatavius Stewart (Jr., Rock Hill, S.C., Biology). The junior wideout ended the game with five rushes for 96 yards.

The Cougars answered right back and tied the game at 6-6 (WPU’s extra point blocked; USF’s try missed), but Thomas put the Statesmen back on top with an eight-yard scoring rush as the visitors led 13-6 after one quarter.

Despite a 126-81 edge in yards, William Penn was dominated on the second quarter scoreboard by the home squad. A pair of poor punts into a stiff wind set up USF with short fields for its scores. It could have been even worse as a third punt put the hosts midway into in WPU’s territory as well. Fortunately, Deshon Conley (Sr., Chicago, Ill., Physical Education) came up with the first of his team’s three takeaways as he intercepted a pass at the Statesmen three-yard line.

Earlier in the quarter, starting quarterback Tyler Hafner (Jr., Oskaloosa, Iowa, Undecided), who was filling in for injured first-string signal-caller Taylor Parsons (Sr., The Woodlands, Texas, Sociology), went down with injury as well. That opened the door for Hunter Collins (Jr., Jenks, Okla., Mechanical Engineering) to get the first meaningful snaps of his collegiate career; he did not disappoint.

In his first full drive, the Statesmen went three-and-out, but his second effort was tremendous. Following the Conley interception, Collins guided the navy and gold 89 yards on 16 plays (6:47 off the clock). Unfortunately, on the final play of the first half, a 25-yard field goal by Ante Rogic (Fr., Chicago, Ill., Biology) missed to the right and WPU went into the locker room still down 20-13.

The sides exchanged less-than-stellar first drives to open the second half and then each forced turnovers. Samek came up with the Statesmen takeaway, picking off a pass in USF territory and returning the pigskin all the way to the nine-yard line. On fourth-down-and-goal at the one, Sam Tvedt (Sr., Oskaloosa, Iowa, Business Management) finally crashed over the line, but fumbled the ball. The senior, who managed 89 rushing yards, was fortunate though to fall back on top of it and knot the contest at 20-20 entering the final period.

Saint Francis refused to lose its perfect record against William Penn without a fight and went 86 yards in its next drive to go up by seven one more time with 14:54 left in regulation.

The Statesmen advanced into Cougar territory in their ensuing possession, but came up empty. The Statesmen defense then dug deep and found one more huge play on the next drive, stopping their hosts on a third-down-and-one attempt.

With 6:39 remaining, WPU started at its own 20 and methodically marched down the turf. Ressler, who had just 69 yards on 18 carries, got it done when it counted, drawing the deficit to one with a two-yard plunge with 1:38 on the clock.

It was then decision time; an extra point would tie the game, but a two-point conversion would give the Statesmen the lead over the #6 team in the nation. Head Coach Todd Hafner and his staff decided to follow the old adage of ‘play for the tie at home and play for the win on the road’. The gutsy call paid off as Collins found Kramer Patterson (Jr., Ozark, Mo., Secondary Education) in the endzone. Collins finished with 70 rushing yards and was 3-for-5 through the air for 17 yards.

Recapturing its first lead since the first quarter, WPU did not falter on the defensive end as the first two USF pass plays fell incomplete and the third was intercepted by Samek to put the proverbial nail in the coffin. Ressler rushed for one final first down–one of the 27 accumulated by the winners–to secure the win.

WPU dominated the time of possession 38:52-21:08, including over 13 minutes in the second quarter and 11 in the fourth stanza. The victors were also strong in converting on fourth down (3-for-4), while USF was unsuccessful twice.

Samek will be a serious contender for some player of the week honors as he paced the defense with 11 tackles in addition to the two interceptions. Hunter Barry (So., Morris, Ill., Physical Education) tallied six stops, while three others had five tackles.

“Today was a great team win!” Coach Hafner said. “No matter the situation in the game, our kids were always trying to make a play. Our effort, especially in the second half, was awesome!”

“I cannot say enough about our defense, our offensive line, and especially Hunter on how they played,” Hafner added. “This team is such a brotherhood right now and they are special to coach. We just need to keep working towards our goals.”

Next Up: William Penn travels to St. Louis, Mo. next Saturday to face Missouri Baptist in non-conference play at 1 p.m.

Posted by on Sep 15 2014. Filed under College Sports, Local News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. Responses are currently closed, but you can trackback from your own site.

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