Record-Breaking Passing Not Enough to Overcome Turnovers in Loss to Vikings
The best air assault in school history was unfortunately not enough to make up for numerous costly errors as the William Penn football lost its home opener 33-28 to Missouri Valley in a Heart of America Athletic Conference crossover game Saturday.
Oskaloosa–The best air assault in school history was unfortunately not enough to make up for numerous costly errors as the William Penn football lost its home opener 33-28 to Missouri Valley in a Heart of America Athletic Conference crossover game Saturday.
The Statesmen (1-1) passed for a school single-game record 477 yards, but committed six turnovers (three interceptions, three fumbles) and failed to score in the final minute.
After coming up empty on their first two drives, including fumbling inside the MVC red zone, the Statesmen pinned the Vikings (2-0) deep in their own territory, but the visitors got out in just one play, a long run to take a 7-0 lead.
The sides combined for three straight punts before a big special teams return put the Vikings mere yards from another score. The WPU defense, which allowed just 359 yards of total offense, stiffened and only allowed a field goal as the nay and gold trailed 10-0 early in the second quarter.
William Penn pushed the pigskin down the gridiron again, but another fumble was lost in the Vikings’ red zone.
The ball was given back to the Statesmen again and this time they cashed in as Sterling Ramsey II (So., Broken Arrow, Okla., Business Management) hooked up with Amir Everett (So., Minneapolis, Minn., Sports Management) for a 13-yard passing touchdown to tie the game at 7-7 with 5:45 to go until intermission. After winning with two field goals the week before, it was the first touchdown for WPU in 2023.
Ramsey II had a career, and for that matter a record-breaking evening, completing 28 of his 49 passes for a school-record 477 yards. He found eight different receivers in Saturday’s bout. The sophomore breaks the previous program mark of 443 passing yards, set by Andy Pickering from 1991.
Missouri Valley answered with a touchdown and then forced a WPU punt. The snap on the punt, however, went over the head of punter Cael Crawford (Jr., Mount Vernon, Iowa, Business Management), once again leaving the Vikings with a short amount of yardage to score again. The Statesmen defense turned in another performance, though, and limited the visitors to a field goal and the hosts headed to the locker room down 20-7.
The Statesmen then permitted another touchdown to fall behind 27-7 just five minutes into the second half.
With little going right, the squad could have shut down, but instead kept fighting and marched onto the other side of the field. An interception in Missouri Valley territory seemed to all but wrap things up.
A quick three-and-out kept the Statesmen alive and they finally finished a drive, including Trey Mosley (Jr., Fort Dodge, Iowa, Kinesiology) catching three balls for 50 yards. Mosley would finish the game with a record-breaking 205 receiving yards on 11 receptions. He broke the record of 188 yards by Rakim Lamarre set just last season.
Destynd Loring (So., Charleston, S.C., Sports Management) eventually plunged in from three yards out as hope remained, down 27-13 with 3:08 to go in the third. The sophomore got stronger throughout the night, finishing with 14 rushes for 116 yards.
Another defensive stop put the ball back in the hands of Ramsey II and he knew just where to go with it, finding a wide-open Mosley in the middle of the field and he trotted in to make it 27-20 on the final play of the third period.
Momentum had shifted and eventually swung completely in WPU’s favor when Loring took a pass from Ramsey II and tip-toed down the sidelines and into the endzone. He also caught the two-point conversion and the Statesmen claimed their first lead of the game at 28-27, courtesy of 21 unanswered points, with 8:28 remaining.
The hosts stopped Missouri Valley one more time and were primed to put the game on ice, but the Vikings forced and recovered a fumble. They then went down and scored with 3:11 left.
An interception near midfield unfortunately gave the ball back to MVC, but the visiting crew came up empty, permitting the Statesmen one final chance for heroics inside of two minutes left.
The Statesmen moved across the 50, but as was fitting with the tone of the contest, the hosts turned the ball over on an interception as the comeback fell short.
Overall, the Statesmen compiled 571 yards of total offense and picked up 31 first downs.
The defense, which rose to the occasion numerous times and gave William Penn a chance at victory, was led by Harlan Plumber (Sr., Bryan, Texas, Exercise Science) and his 10 tackles. Kyriee Lewis (Jr., Eight Mile, Ala., Sports Management), who also had a sack, matched Joey Mars (Jr., Piedmont, Okla., Business Management) with nine stops as well.
“This was a tough loss,” Head Coach Marc Benavidez said. “I loved the energy and fight our guys had despite being down 27-7. This loss is on me; we will bounce back.”
Next Up: William Penn travels to Olathe, Kan. next Saturday to face MidAmerica Nazarene in a Heart crossover game at 6 p.m.
