Billy Bowl Belt Stays in Oskaloosa
Fulton, Mo.–The William Penn football team opened its 2025 season with a strong 52-23 win over William Woods in a Heart of America Athletic Conference North-South crossover game Thursday.
The second annual Billy Bowl saw the Statesmen dominate in all three phases of the game and keep the belt in Oskaloosa. WPU finished with 422 total yards of offense, while William Woods tallied 358. The Statesmen also came up with all three of the game’s turnovers (all interceptions).
William Penn started the season opener with a long and methodical drive that saw it move the ball 75 yards over 13 plays and take 5:33 off the clock. Sterling Ramsey II (Sr., Broken Arrow, Oklahoma, Business Management) headlined the possession by completing five passes, ending in a 13-yard touchdown pass to Branden Powell (So., Waco, Texas, Kinesiology) on fourth down.
The Owls responded with a touchdown of their own before the Statesmen blocked the extra point to keep the score at 7-6.
On the second drive, Christian Benning (Fr., Streator, Illinois, Business Management) took over at quarterback for the Statesmen. He would remain at the helm for the rest of the evening.
After both teams punted, the Statesmen started at their own 46-yard line and scored in only three plays, ending in a 48-yard touchdown shot from Benning to Amir Everett (Sr., Minneapolis, Minn., Sports Management). Benning completed 13 of his 33 passes for 192 yards and two touchdowns, while Everett tallied two receptions for a total of 68 yards.
William Woods answered right back with an 11-play drive that ended with a 27-yard field goal, making the score 14-9 in favor of the visitors.
The Statesmen offense came up empty in the ensuing possession, but Kameron Cummings (So., Houston, Texas, Business Management) came up with an interception to get the pigskin back for William Penn. Cummings also led the Statesmen in tackles with five.
After a long pass from Benning to Anthony Jones Jr. (Fr., New Orleans, La., Business Management), Destynd Loring (Sr., Charleston, S.C., Sports Management) crossed the goal line from a yard out to push the score to 20-9 with 7:52 left in the second quarter. It was the first of three touchdowns for Loring as he was the squad’s leading rusher with 125 yards on 16 carries.
The next few drives were unsuccessful, but then the Statesmen were able to put together an eight-play, 76-yard drive for a touchdown. Fabian Early III (Fr., Humble, Texas, Business Management) was the recipient of the pass from Benning–his first catch as a Statesmen–going 25 yards to extend the lead to 28-9 at intermission. Early posted an impressive debut, hauling in four catches for 58 yards and a touchdown.
The Owls received the ball to start the second half, and on their first play from scrimmage, Jeremiah Dennard (So., St. Petersburg, Fla., Business Management) intercepted the pass and took it 37 yards for a touchdown.
The Owls’ next drive saw a very similar ending as Dennard collected his second pick and returned the ball 41 yards, all the way to the William Woods’ 23-yard line.
The navy and gold took advantage of its short field, handing the ball off to Loring four plays in a row. He eventually scored from five yards away, taking the score to 42-9 still early in the third stanza.
The hosts pushed deep into WPU territory on their next drive, but were stopped in the red zone at the William Penn 12-yard line. The Statesmen then made a statement, driving 88 yards in just eight plays for the touchdown, finished off by an 18-yard run from Loring.
William Woods produced a long scoring drive of its own, going 79 yards on 12 plays to change the score to 49-16 with 13:16 left in regulation.
William Penn then shorted the game by over seven minutes. Its 15-play, 69-yard drive was capped by a 26-yard field goal by Aiden Gibbons (Fr., Apollo Beach, Fla., Sports Management). In addition to the field goal, Gibbons was also 7-for-7 in extra points.
The Owls wrapped up the night with one final touchdown to put the final score at 52-23.
Ezekiel Mills (So., Tampa, Fla., Biology) saw plenty of time in the backfield with eight rushes for 39 yards, while 11 different receivers caught a pass Thursday.
Defensively, Jovoni Welch (Jr., La Habra, Calif., Business Management), Brian Thomas (Fr., Lewisville, Texas, Psychology), and Tierre Butler (Jr., Springfield, Ill., Business Management) followed Cummings with four tackles apiece. Quincy Classeus (So., Pompano Beach, Fla., Business Management), Matt Mehrhoff (Sr., Fenton, Mo., Business Management), and Jaden Reed (Fr., Missouri City, Texas) each had a sack as well.
“This was a solid team win,” Head Coach Marc Benavides said. “We had success in all three phases, but we still have a lot of work to do to be where we want. I am glad we were able to get a lot of meaningful reps for some of our more inexperienced players. We are looking forward to gaining momentum early in the season.”
Next Up: William Penn travels to Fayette, Mo. next Saturday to face Central Methodist in a Heart North-South crossover game at 1 p.m.
