Statesmen Roll to 51-20 Win Over Missouri Baptist
William Penn Football in their home opener 2014
St. Louis, Mo.–Not suffering a letdown from last week’s huge upset, the William Penn football team ruined Missouri Baptist’s inaugural home game celebration with a 51-20 victory Saturday.
The 20th-ranked Statesmen (3-1) had little trouble with the first-year Spartans who were playing in front of their home crowd for the first time ever.
The visitors nearly doubled up MBU (0-4) in yardage, 541-277, including 453 on the ground. It marks the third time this year that WPU has had over 400 rushing yards and over 500 total yards. The navy and gold are averaging well over 500 yards of total offense (532.3) in their three contests against NAIA competition.
The defense, though, made the initial impact on Saturday when Kevin Shrauger (Jr., Nixa, Mo., Physical Education) picked off a pass on the first play from scrimmage and returned it 47 yards for a score just 26 seconds into action. The two-point conversion was unsuccessful.
A quick defensive stop gave the ball back to WPU and the offense, led by third-string quarterback Hunter Collins (Jr., Jenks, Okla., Mechanical Engineering), more than doubled the advantage in its next drive. Collins finished off a 65-yard possession with a 15-yard scoring run (two-point conversion good).
Another three-and-out and another scoring drive ensued with Michael Thomas (Sr., Visalia, Calif., Undecided) crashing in from three yards out as the first quarter closed with William Penn up 22-0.
WPU’s momentum stopped abruptly as it exchanged turnovers with the Spartans in the following drives. Missouri Baptist then finally got on the board with a field goal at the start of the second quarter, but the Statesmen answered right back with a 25-yard touchdown rush by Evan Ressler (Sr., Cascade, Iowa, Biology). Ressler topped his squad with 76 rushing yards. The hosts finished off the first half scoring with another field as William Penn led 30-6 at intermission.
Despite the huge lead, the visitors actually only held a 198-134 edge in yardage. That margin ballooned exponentially after the break, beginning with a 77-yard scoring drive out of the gate. Sam Tvedt (Sr., Oskaloosa, Iowa, Business Management) highlighted the drive with a 41-yard scamper–the longest run of the game. Tvedt finished with 63 yards, but it was Thomas (66 total yards) who crossed the goal line for the second time on a ten-yard run.
MBU got into double figures later in the quarter, but then Nathan Tvedt (Jr., Oskaloosa, Iowa, Business Management) made the score 44-13 with an 11-yard rushing score. He accounted for 66 yards on only four attempts.
Ressler wrapped up the visiting program’s scoring by hauling in an eight-yard touchdown catch from Collins. The senior fullback paced the receiving crew with four grabs for 58 yards, while the junior quarterback completed eight of his 14 passes for 88 yards. The eight completions are the most for WPU this fall.
Defensively, Jake Baptiste (Fr., Salt Lake City, Utah, Psychology) finished with a team-high seven tackles, while Freddy Griggs (Sr., Tallahassee, Fla., Business Management) joined Shrauger with an interception. Joseph Frye (Sr., Detroit, Mich., Physical Education) managed the contest’s lone sack.
Helped by over 20 minutes with the ball in the second half, William Penn dominated the time of possession 35:06-24:54. The Statesmen were 4-for-5 in fourth downs and were also helped by 120 MBU penalty yards. WPU posted 32 first downs–its highest tally since having 34 against Peru State (Neb.) on October 30, 2010.
“Today was a very challenging day for our kids,” Head Coach Todd Hafner said. “I thought we played great in the first quarter, but went a little bit flat and did not do as well in the second.”
“After halftime, we came out with a lot more intensity and did a great job of playing hard on both sides of the ball and closing out the game.”
Next Up: William Penn returns to Oskaloosa next Saturday to host Taylor (Ind.) for Homecoming. Kickoff is set for 1 p.m.
