Football Game Notes: Week Ten: St. Ambrose
Recent William Penn Statesmen Football action at the Lacey Complex Stadium
Oskaloosa–Although the postseason is still two weeks away, the smell of playoffs will be in the air Saturday as two top-15 programs face off in Lacey Complex Stadium.
#10 William Penn (8-1, 4-0 MWL) hosts #11 St. Ambrose (7-1, 3-1 MWL) in Midwest League play at 1 p.m.
A video broadcast will be available on MCG’s local channel as well on the internet at http://origin.peg.tv/pegtv_player?s=wpenn
An audio broadcast will also be available on KBOE 740 AM and on the internet at http://client.stretchinternet.com/client/kboe.portal
SERIES HISTORY: William Penn is 10-12 all-time in its series against St. Ambrose.
The Statesmen are riding a three-game winning streak in the series, including last year’s 14-7 win. Both programs were ranked in the top 15 last year as well (WPU was #8, SAU was #12).
Last year’s contest was dominated by the run (90 of 118 plays were rushes). The Statesmen outgained the Fighting Bees 283-246, including a 220-174 edge on the ground. Dalton Phelps (Jr., Tipton, Iowa, Physical Education) and DeMarco Sanders both scored as William Penn had to come back after a first-quarter SAU touchdown put it in an early hole. Taylor Parsons (Jr., The Woodlands, Texas, Sociology) led the offense with 73 rushing yards. The Statesmen defense stepped up in the end, providing a goal-line stand as time expired.
The series since William Penn joined the NAIA in 2001:
2002–St. Ambrose, 34-7
2003–St. Ambrose, 35-6
2004–St. Ambrose, 31-14
2005–St. Ambrose, 43-10
2006–St. Ambrose, 31-14
2007–St. Ambrose, 45-10
2008–St. Ambrose, 41-21
2009–William Penn, 26-21
2010–William Penn, 41-35
2011–William Penn, 14-7
WILLIAM PENN PROFILE: Todd Hafner is in his ninth year as head football coach at William Penn, entering the campaign with a 52-37 career record.
Hafner guided William Penn to a 9-2 record last year and the team again led the NAIA in rushing with 3,634 yards. He was also at the helm in 2010 when the navy and gold won their fifth league crown (first since 1976). The team finished 10-1, tying the school record for wins, and also broke NAIA single-season marks for total rushing yards and yards per attempt. Numerous other school marks were set in 2010.
The 2008 and 2010 Midwest League Coach of the Year, Hafner was also the recipient of the VSN NAIA Coach of the Year and the NFCA Region 2 Coach of the Year honors. As skipper, he has produced 119 all-conference players and 14 All-Americans.
Prior to his career at William Penn, Hafner had coaching stops at Carl Junction HS, Southwest Baptist University, Emporia State University, and Pittsburg State University (student coach). Hafner graduated from Pittsburg State in 1994 with a degree in mathematics.
William Penn got back on the winning track with a 36-25 victory over Trinity International in MWL play last Saturday.
Parsons garnered MWL Offensive Player of the Week honors with his performance as he tallied 103 rushing yards with three scores and passed for 121 yards and another score. Shawn Davis (Jr., Hamersville, Ohio, Physical Education) paced the offense with 111 yards.
The Statesmen scored on their final five drives of the game. It was closer than it should have been with the Trojans recovering an on-side kick in the third quarter, and with the score, they took a one-point lead entering the final stanza.
Greg Beatty (So., Brooklyn, Iowa, Industrial Technology) was named MWL Defensive POW with eight tackles and two interceptions.
For the year, William Penn is averaging 36.2 points and 382.4 yards per game, including 322.7 rushing and 59.8 passing.
The squad is second in the NAIA in total rushing yards (2,904), third in rushing yards per game, and tenth in total scoring (326).
Parsons now leads the Statesmen offense with 581 rushing yards and eight touchdowns. Six other players, including Evan Ressler (So., Cascade, Iowa, Physical Education) with 562 yards and nine scores, are also over the century mark.
Parsons is now 27-of-68 in the passing game, accounting for 453 yards and three TDs. Aaron Broyles (Jr., Escondido, Calif., Physical Education) has nine receptions, while Ed Cazenave (Jr., Marietta, Ga., Communications) has collected 171 yards through the air.
William Penn has only committed 13 turnovers this year.
Defensively, the Statesmen are giving up an average of 12.8 points and 279.3 yards, including 149.1 passing and 130.2 rushing. William Penn is fifth nationally in points allowed per game.
Brock Peery (Jr., Payson, Utah, Secondary Education) tops William Penn with 66 stops. Nick DiMarco (So., St. Charles, Mo., Physical Education) has a team-best 4.5 sacks, while three players have recorded three interceptions. The Statesmen have forced 28 turnovers.
Marcus Kerrigan (Jr., Cary, Ill., Sociology) is having another strong year, going 29-of-35 in point-after-attempts and 10-of-12 in field goals. He ranks ninth in the nation in field goals made.
The team is again utilizing a two-punter formation with Kerrigan, DiMarco, and Jason Johnson (Jr., Geneseo, Ill., Industrial Technology) having all sent the pigskin into the air. Kerrigan has 14 punts for a 39.6 yard average, while Johnson has kicked eight times for a clip of 35.4 yards. DiMarco also has seven attempts for a 31.9 mark.
Cazenave has taken nine kickoffs back for an average of 20.8 yards (long of a school-record 98 yards), while Joel Medina (Sr., Palmdale, Calif., Sociology) has seven punt returns for a clip of 11.4 yards (long of 40 yards).
William Penn was picked to finish second in the Midwest League.
St. ambrose PROFILE: Mike Magistrelli is in his sixth year as the head football coach for St. Ambrose, entering this campaign with a 34-19 record.
Magistrelli began his tenure by leading the Fighting Bees to back-to-back Midwest League crowns and trips to the NAIA playoffs in 2007 and 2008.
A two-time all-conference quarterback at Coe College, Magistrelli began his coaching career as a graduate assistant at St. Ambrose from 1997-1999. He returned to Coe in 1999 and served as the quarterbacks coach and recruiting coordinator for three seasons. In 2000, his quarterback set the single-season Iowa Conference record by throwing for 2,275 yards.
Magistrelli was promoted to defensive coordinator at Coe in 2001, and the following year, the Kohawks won their first conference championship in school history.
After five seasons at Coe, Magistrelli came back to St. Ambrose in 2004 as the defensive coordinator. He remained in that position through the 2006 season before taking the head coaching job in 2007.
The Fighting Bees rolled their winning streak to four games with a 48-21 victory over Waldorf in MWL play last Saturday.
St. Ambrose only outgained the Warriors 442-361 and trailed 8-0 early, but the rest of the game was dominated by the navy blue and white.
Eric Williamson had a huge performance, completing 14 passes for 202 yards and five scores. Zach Grant was on the other end of three scoring passes. Cole Kelly rushed for 198 yards as well. The quick-strike Fighting Bees took less than three minutes on all of their scoring possessions.
For the year, St. Ambrose is averaging 34.5 points and 448.2 yards per game, including 278.6 passing and 169.6 rushing.
The Fighting Bees are tenth in the NAIA in passing yards per game and total yards per game.
Williamson tops the offense by completing 162-of-260 passes for 2,183 yards and 28 touchdowns. He has six receivers with over 200 yards, including Grant with 71 catches for 927 yards and 15 scores.
Williamson is sixth in the NAIA in passing yards per game (272.9) and tenth in total passing yards. Grant ranks second in the nation in both receptions per game (8.9) and total receptions. He is also fifth in receiving yards per game (115.9), sixth in scoring per game (11.5), sixth in total receiving yards, and seventh in total scoring (92).
Kelly is pacing the ground attack with 523 yards and four TDs. The offense has committed 18 turnovers.
Defensively, the Fighting Bees are giving up an average of 15.8 points and 327.0 yards, including 190.4 passing and 136.6 rushing.
Jacob Wallace has a squad-best 89 tackles and ranks ninth in the nation in tackles per game (11.1). Steve Laski has sacked opposing QBs eight times. Four different players have two interceptions as the defense has forced 21 turnovers this year.
Quinn Treiber is 24-of-29 in extra points and 3-of-5 in field goals. He (13 attempts for a 36.3 average) and Matt Klingler (15 attempts for a 37.1 average) have both punted numerous times for SAU.
Zach Rockford is the main returner with nine kickoff returns for a 24.0 clip. He has also taken nine punts back for a 4.6 average.
St. Ambrose was picked to finish fourth in the Midwest League.
COACH HAFNER SAYS: On the Trinity International game: “We are glad that we got out of there with a win. I think our kids now understand that we are going to get everyone’s best shot and if we don’t show up ready to play, it is going to be a struggle. Sometimes I think we all take winning for granted. Winning in this conference is never easy and any win is just as important as the next.”
On St. Ambrose: “This is a very good St. Ambrose team. They are very balanced on offense and big and strong on defense. We will have to execute at a very high level and it will be vitally important that we play fast. Our goals are still in front of us and this game is the biggest of the season. We will need an enthusiastic crowd to keep us energized. It is going to be a great small-college football game and our team is looking forward to the challenge.”
