William Penn Drops Season Finale
Canton, Mo.–The Statesmen football team could not hang on in its final battle of 2019, falling 17-10 to Culver-Stockton in a Heart of America Athletic Conference North Division game Saturday.
WPU (4-6-1, 2-3 North) scored the contest’s first 10 points, but allowed 17 unanswered in the second half to succumb to the Wildcats (6-5, 4-1 North).
Both sides had three-and-outs to start the afternoon, but then pinned deep at its own five-yard line, William Penn march 95 yards in 10 plays to get on the board first. On a drive consisting of all runs, the seventh, eighth, and ninth snaps all went for 20 or more yards, setting up Tommy Imbu (So., Edmond, Okla., Business Management) for a one-yard plunge.
C-SC attempted to answer, moving into the WPU redzone, but the home squad missed a field goal. The next play from scrimmage was one of the longest of the day as Ben Sherman (Jr., Troy, Pa., Wellness and Recreation) broke free for a 49-yard run. The navy and gold moved forward, but then back the same amount of yards, leaving Hunter Behm (Sr., West Haven, Utah, Industrial Technology) with a 47-yard field goal try of his own. The senior put a big leg behind it and wrapped up his Statesmen career with a huge conversion to give William Penn a 10-0 edge with 12:13 remaining in the first half.
Unfortunately, despite producing a few more successful possessions, WPU was unable to add to its tally. The team was outgained 363-339 at game’s end with 320 of those yards coming on the ground.
Their first time with the ball in the third quarter, the Statesmen, guided by a 64-yard run from Sherman on the very first play, were stopped inside C-SC’s redzone. The Wildcats finally broke through on their next drive to make it 10-7 midway through the third period.
The next William Penn drive also stalled in Wildcat territory, but the team’s ensuing possession caused the biggest heartbreak on Saturday as a fumble was recovered and returned the distance to put Culver-Stockton up 14-10 at the end of the quarter.
The hosts tacked on a late field goal, leaving the visitors one final chance. Paced by Sherman and Alex Crehan (Grad., Troy, Ill., Master’s of Sports Management), William Penn reached the C-SC 24-yard line, but on fourth-and-one, the offense could not push through the resistance and turned the ball over on downs. The Wildcats were able to run out the clock from there to collect the victory.
Sherman carried the pigskin 22 times for a career-high 220 yards. The rushing total is the highest for a William Penn player since Taylor Parsons managed 237 against Trinity International in 2011.
Crehan only threw the ball four times, completing two of those tosses for 19 yards. Both completions landed in the hands of Tyler Phillips (Sr., Altus, Okla., Physical Education).
Both squads recorded two turnovers with Colton Horak (Fr., Waco, Iowa, Sports Management) collecting yet another interception–his fifth of the season, while Armon Pledge (Fr., Cedar Rapids, Iowa, Biology) recovered a Culver-Stockton fumble. Jaidin Fletcher (Sr., Upland, Calif., Information Technology) topped the navy and gold with 11 tackles (two for loss) in addition to a forced fumble.
“This was a heartbreaking loss for a lot of reasons, but mostly because our seniors deserved a better outcome,” Head Coach Todd Hafner said. “A big thanks to all of them and their families for supporting them. This is a great group of young men who are going to be highly successful in whatever they choose to do.”
The loss ends the careers of seniors Behm, Fletcher, Phillips, Jeremiah Benson (Kansas City, Mo., Physical Education), Anthony Bodily (Fremont, Utah, Political Science and Sociology), Jason Castano (Miami, Fla., Industrial Technology), Resean Coleman (Detroit, Mich., Exercise Science, Justin Hagans (Birmingham, Iowa, Secondary Education), Sione Mafua (Salt Lake City, Utah, Kinesiology), Clive Manuao (Norwalk, Calif., Business Management), Charles Nelson (Jefferson City, Mo., Elementary Education), Jordan Nunnery (Oxnard, Calif., Sports Management), Kevin Rusler (Carson City, Nev., Sociology), Haydn Stender (Brigham City, Utah, Business Management and Accounting), Brandon Taumoefolau (Salt Lake City, Utah, Sports Management), Joe Thomas (St. Louis, Mo., Industrial Management), Jonathan Thomas (Americus, Ga., Sports Management), Zach Tracy (Ozark, Mo., Digital Communication), Donovan Tucker (College Park, Ga., Information Technology, Malik Williams (College Station, Texas, Industrial Technology), and Tyler Wood (Newton, Iowa, Sports Management).
