Green’s Pick Six Highlights WPU Win Over Evangel
William Penn University Statesmen Football wrapped up Evangel on Saturday for their first home win, second win overall on the season.
Oskaloosa–The Statesmen football team received big plays on both sides of the ball to hold off Evangel 21-10 in a Heart of America Athletic Conference North-South crossover game Saturday.
William Penn (2-3) was outgained 299-264, but the defense succeeded in bending and not breaking as the navy and gold extended its winning streak to two and avenged last year’s road loss.
The contest started slowly with no points being scored through the first 15 minutes. The Statesmen dodged an early bullet as the Crusaders (1-4) missed a field goal on their opening drive.
Just four plays into the second period, however, the hosts struck first as Eric Cooper (Jr., Aguanga, Calif., Human Services) lofted a 33-yard pass into the endzone that Jesse Bade (So., Genoa, Ill., Physical Education) tracked down for a 7-0 lead.
Evangel failed to connect on another field goal on its ensuing drive and then the groups exchanged interceptions to close out the half. Kyle Baldassarre (Jr., Webb City, Mo., Industrial Technology) kept his squad on top by picking off a pass in the endzone in the final minute.
Following a failed offensive series by the Statesmen to begin the second half, the defense recorded its biggest play as Winston Green (Jr., Sacramento, Calif., Psychology and Sociology) stepped in front of an EU toss and sprinted 32 yards untouched to double the advantage to 14-0 with 12:46 left in the third quarter.
Unfortunately, William Penn’s offense began to sputter just as the Crusader offense found its groove. The visitors scored on consecutive possessions to pull within four at 14-10 entering the final period.
EU was awarded great field position twice in the fourth, but WPU’s defense rose to the occasion and prevented any additional points from being scored. The home crowd was forced to hold its collective breath until the waning minutes, especially after a fumble deep in Statesmen territory.
Fortunately, the navy and gold came up with the loose ball and after three shorter runs by Amos Johnson (Jr., Rock Island, Ill., Mechanical Engineering), the junior broke free on the fourth and darted 43 yards to paydirt to ice the victory with 3:11 remaining. Johnson finished with 77 yards on 14 carries, second only to the 86 yards collected by Lyle Jennings (Jr., Toronto, Ohio, Exercise Science); Jennings was actually the very lucky recipient of big yardage when the aforementioned fumble was recovered 36 yards down the field. William Penn notched 231 of its yards on the ground.
Mason Wisse (Jr., Oskaloosa, Iowa, Physical Education) seemed to be on nearly every defensive stop, tallying 14 tackles, including four for loss. Resean Coleman (So., River Rouge, Mich., Exercise Science), Cooper Gosch (So., Reeds Springs, Okla., Education), and Derek Robinson (Jr., Jenks, Okla., Communications) also managed to sack the opposing quarterback in the triumph.
“I am very excited for the way our team played,” Head Coach Todd Hafner said. “We overcame adversity, played tough, and stuck together as a team through it all.”
“Our day got off to such a great start with the Coach to Cure MD initiative; having our special guests Logan Manderfield and Dalton Sowers with us as honorary captains was very special to our team,” Hafner added. “We will look to keep this momentum rolling by having a great week of practice and winning next Saturday.”
Next Up: William Penn travels to Kansas City, Mo. next Saturday to conclude Heart crossover action against Avila at noon.
