Pair of Pick 6’s Nearly Help Statesmen to Upset

William Penn University Athletics

by Wade Steinlage

Oskaloosa–The William Penn football team had the #12 team in the land on the ropes by returning two interceptions for touchdowns, but failed to finish off the upset in a 42-29 Heart of America Athletic Conference North Division setback Saturday.

The Statesmen (5-4, 1-2 North), who were playing for their postseason and league title lives, outgained the Ravens (8-1, 3-0 North) 250-248, but committed too many mistakes in the loss.

The teams combined for just six first downs in the opening 15 minutes and entered the second quarter in a scoreless tie. The lack of offense should not have come as much of a surprise as both rank high nationally in numerous defensive categories.

WPU’s coaching staff looked to get something going early in the second quarter and rolled the dice, but unfortunately failed on a fourth-down play in their own territory. The visitors took advantage with a touchdown three plays later.

An interception on the next drive gave the ball right back to the Ravens and they punched it in again and appeared on their way to a rout. Fortunately, the Statesmen were able to get back in it as they again gambled on fourth down (twice actually), but converted both times. On the second try, Tyler Wood (So., Newton, Iowa, Education) hit Jeremiah Benson (So., Kansas City, Mo., Physical Education) for a 33-yard pass touchdown on a fourth-and-four. The teams entered the break with BC on top of WPU 14-7.

Punt plays were William Penn’s nemesis all day with the worst one coming to start the third quarter. The snap shot through the legs of the punter and the Benedictine players ended up tracking him down at the WPU two-yard line. BC went back ahead by 14 one play later.

Each squad punted on their ensuing possessions, but the home team was not yet ready to throw in the proverbial towel. The offense, highlighted by a 59-yard pass-and-catch from Wood to Benson on the first play, went 88 yards on just six plays to get within one score. Christian Williams (Sr., Elk Grove, Calif., Exercise Science) capped the drive with an 11-yard TD run.

The defense has been spectacular all fall and did not disappoint on the national scene (Saturday’s game was on ESPN3 in addition to other regional television channels). Detorien Rawlinson (Fr., York, S.C., Psychology) managed the first big play as he hauled in a deflected pass and ran untouched 31 yards to get the Statesmen within two at 21-19.

A Raven punt then set the Statesmen up for another score. This time around it was Hefflefinger who sent a 31-yard field goal through the uprights and WPU was on top 22-21. The momentum climaxed in the game’s next drive as Josh Vasquez (So., Draper, Utah, Undecided) came up with another interception and returned it to paydirt 14 yards away for a 29-21 edge just 50 seconds into the final period.

One more defensive stop gave WPU a chance to put a nail in the coffin, but lest anyone forget, the visitors also have one of the stingiest defenses in the NAIA and forced the hosts into a punt. As aforementioned, bad snaps plagued the team earlier in the contest, but this time around, the Ravens directly caused the havoc by blocking the kick.

The rest of the afternoon belonged to BC as it scored on its last three drives to completely change the course of the matchup. The Statesmen were within six midway through the fourth quarter, but the Ravens thwarted the upset bid with a scoring drive that milked over five minutes off the clock. BC converted on three third-down plays on the drive.

Benedictine entered as the Heart’s top rushing program, but was limited to just 165 yards on the ground. The Ravens’ 248 total yards were less than half of their season average entering Saturday.

The trio of Resean Coleman (So., River Rouge, Mich., Exercise Science), Winston Green (Sr., Sacramento, Calif., Psychology & Sociology), and Mason Wisse (Sr., Oskaloosa, Iowa, Physical Education) guided that strong WPU defensive effort as all three finished with eight tackles. Wisse and Graham Carnahan (Fr., Cottonwood, Calif., Biology) both sacked the BC quarterback as part of seven tackles for loss by WPU.

Offensively, Amos Johnson (Sr., Rock Island, Ill., Mechanical Engineering) picked up 50 rushing yards, while Wood completed six of his 10 passes for 141 yards. Benson ended up with 92 receiving yards.

Next Up: William Penn travels to Lamoni next Saturday to face Graceland in Heart North play at 12:30 p.m.