Hot Start Propels Statesmen to 60-7 Win Over Mount Mercy
Cedar Rapids, IA—The Statesmen football team extend their winning streak to three games after beating Mount Mercy 60-7 in a Heart of America Athletic Conference North Matchup Saturday.
No. 20 William Penn (4-1, 1-0) more than doubled the Mustangs (0-4,0-0) yards at 438-167, Doing most of their damage through the air, as they have all season, the Statesmen tallied 265 passing yards.
WPU wasted no time getting onto the score board when a Mustang punt was blocked and recovered by Chidozie Mogbo Jr. (Fr., Bloomington, Ill., Kinesiology) who returned it 15 yards for a Statesmen touchdown giving the navy and gold a 7-0 advantage at the 11:58 mark of the first quarter.
After the Statesmen defense forced another Mount Mercy punt, Christian Benning (So., Streator, Illinois, Business Management) and the WPU passing attack got to work as Benning found Keithon Davis (So., McKinney, Texas) for a 61-yard touchdown pass, doubling the Statesmen lead to 14-0.
MMU had a hopeful drive building until Jeremiah Dennard (Jr., St. Petersburg, Fla.) intercepted a Mustang pass, returning it 30 yards and setting up Benning with his second touchdown pass of the game, this time finding Branden Powell (Jr., Waco, Texas, Kinesiology) for the 27-yard score, unfortunately the extra point attempt was no good. The Statesmen ended the first quarter with a 20-0 advantage.
Benning continued to build onto his hot start when he connected with Anthony Jones Jr. (Fr., New Orleans, La., Business Management) for a 25-yard touchdown, giving the Statesmen a 26-0 lead.
The Statesmen utilized three quarterbacks, with Benning finished 9-for-16 for 158 yards and three touchdowns to three Statesmen wide receivers, while Braylon Grayson (So., O’Fallon, Ill., Business Management) finished 4-for-4 for 84 yards and two touchdowns. Emery Floyd (Grad., Tampa, Fla.) rounded out the trio of quarterbacks as he finished 3-for-6 for 23 yards.
Mount Mercy finally found their footing on a 36-yard touchdown pass, cutting into the 26-7 WPU lead. The celebration did not last long as Branden Powell (Jr., Waco, Texas, Kinesiology) took the ensuing kickoff 88 yards for another William Penn touchdown.
The William Penn scoring frenzy continued as the defense got involved when a cluster of Statesmen sacked the Mustang quarterback in the endzone for a safety. Floyd added a score of his own on an 18-yard quarterback run giving the statesmen a 42-7 lead.
Chris Paniagua (So., Houston, Texas) added a 20-yard field goal, while Grayson wrapped up the scoring with two touchdown passes, one to Nasear Cumberbatch (So., St. Petersburg, Fla., Business Management) and another to Henry Hypolite III (So., Houston, Texas, Business Entrepreneurship).
The duo of Anthony Carey Jr. (Fr., Lauderhill, Fla.) (12 carries, 90 yards) and Derion Morris (Fr., East Chicago, Ind.) (10 carries, 41 yards) took most of the carries for the Statesmen.
The stout Statesmen defense was anchored by Rhyan Sewell (Fr., Little Elm, Texas) who finished with six tackles, two sacks and a forced fumble. Jovoni Welch (Sr., La Habra, Calif., Business Management) followed with seven tackles while Jaden Reed (So., Missouri City, Texas, Business Management) and Jaquarius Butler (So., Cordova, Tenn.) each tallied a sack.
The WPU defense forced three turnovers, including interceptions by Brian Weatherspoon (Sr., West Memphis, Ark., Business Management) and Dennard, along with a forced fumble and recovery by Mogbo Jr.
“It was a great team win. Glad how our guys came out to compete from the opening whistle in all three phases.” Head Coach Marc Benavidez said. “This is a perfect transition into the bye week as we start the second half of the season and have another big road game against CSC.”
Next Up: The Statesmen are on the road next Saturday as they head to Canton, Mo. to face off with Culver-Stockton in a Heart North matchup at 12:30 p.m.
