Statesmen on Short End Against Wildcats
Oskaloosa–The William Penn football team failed to keep up with Culver-Stockton, falling 49-21 in Heart of America Conference North Division action Saturday.
WPU (2-6, 0-3 North) posted 258 yards of offense with 17 first downs, but yielded 518 yards and 28 first downs to the Wildcats (5-4, 3-0 Heart).
After the offense was forced into a quick three-and-out possession, WPU got the ball right back as Marquis Knighten (Grad., Buena Park, Calif., Organizational Leadership) forced a fumble. It was recovered by Harlan Plumber (Jr., Bryan, Texas, Exercise Science), giving the Statesmen the pigskin at the C-SC 40-yard line.
A few plays later, Keegan Simmons (Jr., Cedar Rapids, Iowa, Elementary Education) found a hole and ran it in for a seven-yard touchdown. Simmons would finish the day with 64 yards on 14 carries and two touchdowns.
Culver-Stockton responded on its next drive, evening the game back up 7-7. Following three consecutive punts, the visitors went on top for good at 14-7 just two minutes into the second quarter.
Five minutes later, the Wildcats added another touchdown, extending the lead to 21-7. William Penn answered back on the next drive, however, as Simmons hit paydirt from five yards out for the second time to cut the deficit in half.
Unfortunately, the Statesmen defense had no answer for Culver-Stockton as it scored on its next drive to make it 28-14 at halftime.
After stopping C-SC on its first possession, the Statesmen endured an even tougher start to the third quarter with a fumble. To make matters worse, the Wildcats recovered the loose ball and returned it for a touchdown.
Sterling Ramsey II (Fr., Tulsa, Okla., Business Management) got the hosts back on track on WPU’s next drive, finding RJ Saar (So., Rochester, Minn., Biology) for a 34-yard touchdown pass. Ramsey ended up with 198 passing yards for one touchdown and an interception, while Saar’s catch was his lone one on the afternoon.
Culver-Stockton continued to motor along, hitting the endzone on its ensuing drive and then capping the day’s scoring with a touchdown in the fourth quarter. The Statesmen, on the other hand, failed to make a dent against the Wildcats in the latter portions of the contest. WPU did move inside the C-SC redzone late, but came away empty.
Trey Mosley (So., Fort Dodge, Iowa, Kinesiology) headlined the receiving corps on Saturday with five catches for 60 yards, while Simmons added 45 more receiving yards.
Jagger Blubaugh (Jr., Wichita, Kan., Exercise Science) topped the defense with 13 tackles, while Turner Ellis (Sr., Urbandale, Iowa, Secondary Education) tallied 10 stops of his own (one for loss). Knighten was one of three players who finished with seven tackles.
Kyriee Lewis (So., Eight Mile, Ala., Sports Management) and Tyler Terrance (So., Lee’s Summit, Mo., Sports Management) shared a sack as well.
“There were times today we did not play our best football,” Head Coach Todd Hafner said. “Then there were times we played as good as we have all year. We just need to be more consistent with our play. Our special teams were much improved this week. We will get back to work on Monday to get prepared to win a game next Saturday.”
Next Up: William Penn will remain in Oskaloosa next Saturday to host Clarke in North Division play at 1 p.m. The game will also serve as Senior Day.
