Statesmen Upset #22 Peru State on Homecoming
Amos Johnson galloped for 150 yards Saturday
Oskaloosa–The William Penn football team overcame turnovers and showed a big Homecoming crowd that it is heating up at the right time as it knocked off #22 Peru State in its Heart of America Athletic Conference North Division opener Saturday.
William Penn (4-3, 1-0 North) won on Homecoming for the 12th time in the last 13 years.
The hosts outgained the Bobcats (4-3, 0-1 Heart) by a 260-146 tally, but had to produce a late red-zone stand to come away with their fourth-consecutive win. It is the program’s longest winning streak since 2014.
Wind played a major role in the contest, but could have been even more of a factor had either option running team had much desire to throw the ball; they combined for just 17 passing attempts among the 123 total plays.
The navy and gold had the wind to its back in the first quarter and struck first. Following a quick three-and-out stop by the defense, the offense pushed into PSC territory, but stalled out at the 30-yard line. Freshman kicker Hunter Behm (West Haven, Utah, Mechanical Engineering) then utilized that stiff breeze to drive a 47-yard field goal through the uprights for an early 3-0 lead.
The Statesmen picked up some more yards on their next possession, but once again were forced into a long field-goal attempt. Behm was again asked to foot the pigskin, this time from 51 yards away, and drilled the try for a 6-0 WPU lead after one period of play.
The Bobcats then had the opportunity to take advantage of the wind in the second stanza, notching a pair of field goals of their own (36 and 42 yards) to knot the score at 6-6 entering halftime.
WPU moved onto Peru State’s side of the field twice in the third quarter, but failed to come away with any points. Both squads gambled on faked punts, but neither converted.
Then, exactly halfway through the fourth quarter, the Statesmen offense caught fire and went 70 yards to take the lead for good. After his team converted a pair of long third downs, Nate Van Veldhuizen (So., Oskaloosa, Iowa, Mechanical Engineering) eventually capped the scoring drive with a four-yard plunge.
Peru State answered right back, but with only a field goal to cut the margin to 13-9. William Penn burned off a couple minutes on its ensuing drive, but the wind knocked down the eventual punt, giving the Bobcats the ball at the 40-yard line.
The visitors moved down to WPU’s 12-yard line, but on 4th-and-4, the Statesmen rose to the challenge one final time and stopped the Bobcats shy of the first down marker to complete the win.
Of William Penn’s 260 total yards, 217 came on the ground with workhorse Amos Johnson (Jr., Rock Island, Ill., Mechanical Engineering) doing most of the work. The junior fullback managed 150 yards on 21 carries (only one play went for negative yards), while Eric Cooper (Jr., Aguanga, Calif., Human Services) added 29 yards and Van Veldhuizen had 26. Cooper also completed three of his seven passes for 43 yards with Jeremiah Benson (Fr., Kansas City, Mo., Physical Education) hauling in two balls for 32 yards.
Although its counterparts collected three takeaways (WPU did not force any turnovers), the Statesmen defense was outstanding all afternoon, led by junior linebacker Jake Baptiste (Salt Lake City, Utah, Psychology). Baptiste returned from an injury to guide the crew with 12 tackles. Mason Wisse (Jr., Oskaloosa, Iowa, Physical Education) was next with seven stops, while five more players had seven tackles each.
“I am very proud of our players,” Head Coach Todd Hafner said. “Our defense played as good as I have ever seen. To only give up 126 yards to one of the best rushing teams in the country says a lot about our kids and our defensive staff. The two field goals by Hunter Behm were a huge pick-up to our team. We will continue to improve on our ball security and try to do a better job as coaches to put our offensive players in a position to be successful.”
“In the end, the outcome is all that matters and we are happy to have won the game,” Hafner added.
Next Up: William Penn remains in Oskaloosa next Saturday to host Culver-Stockton in Heart North play at noon. The game will serve as the annual Coaches vs. Cancer game.
