Statesmen Control Second Half to Extend Homecoming Win Streak to Nine

William Penn Football extended their Homecoming win streak to 9 on Saturday

Oskaloosa–One of the least successful first halves in recent history was quickly forgotten as the William Penn football team pulled away from Olivet Nazarene (Ill.) 27-3 in Midwest League action Saturday.

The 7th-ranked Statesmen (5-0, 2-0 MWL) won their ninth straight Homecoming game, but it was far from easy. Despite nearly doubling up the Tigers (0-5, 0-3 MWL) in total yardage, 359-185, the two teams combined for just six first-half points on a field goal by each.

As it has all five times this fall, the navy and gold scored first, taking advantage of a poor ONU punt after the game’s opening possession. Starting at the opponent’s 46-yard line, William Penn moved 32 yards on eight plays before finally settling on a 31-yard field goal by Marcus Kerrigan (Jr., Cary, Ill., Sociology) just 5:32 into the afternoon.

Nearly eight minutes transpired before the Tigers knotted the contest with an Andrew Muzljakovich 45-yarder. The visitors actually out-gained the Statesmen 67-51 in the first quarter. That trend basically continued as neither team added to their tallies in the second stanza, going into the locker rooms tied at 3-3. The navy and gold claimed a slight 134-128 advantage in yardage at the break.

A rejuvenated Statesmen squad, playing in front of its biggest crowd of the year, accepted the opening kickoff in the third quarter and methodically dissected the ONU defense. Seventeen plays, 80 yards, and nearly nine minutes later, Taylor Parsons (Jr., The Woodlands, Texas, Sociology) gave his team the lead for good on a 12-yard scamper. William Penn rushed for 250 yards with Parsons tallying 77 of that total.

The offense held the ball for much of the second half, owning a final time of possession margin of 39:09-20:51 (23:07-6:53 in the second half).

Poor kickoff coverage allowed the Tigers to start their next drive in Statesmen territory, but the defense stiffened and got the ball right back with a stop on fourth-and-one. William Penn then extended the lead to 17-3 with 13:14 remaining on a two-yard drive by Shawn Davis (Jr., Hamersville, Ohio, Physical Education). The Junior led all rushers with 79 yards.

Kerrigan added a 35-yard field goal less than two minutes later and Evan Ressler (So., Cascade, Iowa, Biology) concluded the scoring on a 24-yard run with 4:23 still on the clock. Ressler managed 65 yards on the ground.

Offensive Coordinator Aaron Hafner was very pleased with his offense’s positive reversal in the second half.

“We stuck with our game plan, but our kids made some important fundamental changes,” Offensive Coordinator Aaron Hafner said. “We came out with a different fire and controlled the line of scrimmage. Our effort was just tremendous and, in the end, I think we just wore them out.”

William Penn utilized a balanced attack in the first half, as Parsons completed six of his 11 passes. Once the running game got going, however, the ball was kept on the turf as Parsons finished seven-of-13, tying a season high with 109 yards. Ed Cazenave (Jr., Marietta, Ga., Communications) was his top receiver, hauling in three passes for 60 yards.

Linebacker Greg Beatty (So., Brooklyn, Iowa, Industrial Technology) started in place of Brock Peery (Jr., Payson, Utah, Secondary Education)and filled those shoes well with a team-best seven tackles. The Statesmen sacked Tiger quarterback Rico Prestia two times and were again in the black in turnovers, committing just one compared to two by the Tigers. Jacob Batterson (Jr., Eddyville, Iowa, Industrial Technology) recorded an interception and Kevin Shrauger (Fr., Nixa, Mo., Physical Education) recovered a fumble.

“I thought our team showed a lot of perseverance today,” Head Coach Todd Hafner said. “Our defense was outstanding all day long and our offense was unbelievable in the second half. We showed toughness and showed that if a team believes in each other anything can happen.”

Next: William Penn remains at home next Saturday to host #17 St. Francis (Ill.) in Midwest League action at 1 p.m.