William Penn Falls in Rock and Ladder Battle 42-6
Des Moines–A pair of field goals by Chris Paniagua (Fr., Houston, Texas, Mechanical Engineering) was all the Statesmen football team could muster in its rivalry contest as it fell 42-6 to #2 Grand View in a Heart of America Athletic Conference North Division contest Saturday.
WPU (3-5, 2-3 Heart North), which was outgained 445-205, was unable to take the Rock and Ladder Trophy back to Oskaloosa.
The visitors fell behind early as the Vikings (8-0, 4-0 Heart North) scored on their opening drive. The navy and gold were unable to respond in their first try, and GVU tacked on another long drive to make it 14-0 early in the second quarter.
Although it did not score in the opening half, William Penn did have a positive as it forced its host into a punt on its third possession. Unfortunately, the Vikings tacked on two more touchdowns before intermission for a 28-0 edge.
The home squad put two more scores on the board before the Statesmen finally broke through with 10:18 left in regulation on a 39-yard field goal by Paniagua. The kick capped a 13-play, 53-yard drive that was headlined by a 13-yard run by Destynd Loring (Jr., Charleston, S.C., Sports Management). The junior finished with 47 rushing yards Saturday.
Following a Grand View punt, the Statesmen drove down the gridiron one more time. Five completions by Connor Neville (Jr., Beaverton, Ore., Business Management), including a 28-yarder to Amir Everett (Jr., Minneapolis, Minn., Sports Management), allowed the Statesmen to wrap up the day’s scoring with a Paniagua 34-yard field goal.
Sterling Ramsey II (Jr., Broken Arrow, Okla., Business Management) started the game behind center and completed 11 of his 25 passes for 108 yards, while Neville was 5-for-8 for 68 yards. Alexander Price (Jr., McKinney, Texas, Sports Management) was the leader of the receiving corps, hauling in four catches for 45 yards.
Defensively, Brian Weatherspoon (So., West Memphis, Ark., Business Management) reached double figures in tackles with 10, while Shawn White (Jr., Texarkana, Texas, Civil Engineering) was next with seven stops.
“We lost a tough one against a great team today,” Head Coach Marc Benavidez said. “Hats off to what their coaches have been able to build. We did not make enough plays with the opportunities we were given. We will get back to work this week and try to send the seniors off on a good note.”
Next Up: William Penn returns to Oskaloosa next Saturday to host Culver-Stockton in Heart North Division play at 12 p.m. The game will also serve as Senior Day.
