William Penn Football Game Notes: Week Six: Olivet Nazarene
William Penn University Athletics
Oskaloosa–The Statesmen football team puts its eight-game winning streak on the line as it hits the road for just the second time this fall.
#5 William Penn (5-0, 2-0 MWL) travels to Bourbonnais, Ill. to meet Olivet Nazarene (1-4, 0-2 MWL) on Ward Field at 1:30 p.m.
STATESMEN BROADCASTING: Every William Penn football game can be followed through several different mediums.
Radio (all games): Heard live on KBOE 740 AM or 104.9 FM
Internet (home games): Viewed and heard live at http://origin.peg.tv/pegtv_player?s=wpenn
TV (home games): Viewed and heard live on Mahaska Communication Group’s local channel
Internet (away games): Heard live at http://client.stretchinternet.com/client/kboe.portal
SERIES HISTORY: William Penn is 3-4 all-time in its series with Olivet Nazarene.
The last time the two programs met was in 2008 with the Statesmen claiming a 42-24 triumph.
William Penn trailed 21-7 at halftime, but scored five touchdowns in the final 17 minutes to rally for the win and clinch its second winning campaign in three years.
Ryan Van Dalen rushed for 146 yards and three touchdowns and also passed for a score.
The navy and gold survived despite giving up 540 yards. The Statesmen had 441 yards themselves.
2002–Olivet Nazarene, 18-13
2003–Olivet Nazarene, 10-7
2004–Olivet Nazarene, 14-3
2005–William Penn, 31-24
2006–William Penn, 21-13
2007–Olivet Nazarene, 37-24
2008–William Penn, 42-24
WILLIAM PENN PROFILE: Todd Hafner is in his eighth year as head football coach at William Penn, entering the campaign with a 43-35 career record.
Hafner guided William Penn to its fifth league crown in 2010 and its first since 1976. The team finished 10-1, tying the school record for wins, and also broke NAIA single-season marks for total rushing yards and yards per attempt. Numerous other school marks were set in 2010.
The 2008 and 2010 Midwest League Coach of the Year, Hafner was also the recipient of the VSN NAIA Coach of the Year and the NFCA Region 2 Coach of the Year honors. As skipper, he has produced 98 all-conference players and 12 All-Americans.
Prior to his career at William Penn, Hafner had coaching stops at Carl Junction HS, Southwest Baptist University, Emporia State University, and Pittsburg State University (student coach).
Hafner graduated from Pittsburg State in 1994 with a degree in mathematics.
Last week, William Penn avenged last year’s only loss with a 21-0 shutout of McKendree.
The defensive battle witnessed the two programs combining for just 358 yards (210 by the Statesmen).
DeMarco Sanders (Sr., Horn Lake, Miss., Horn Lake HS) rushed for two scores and Shawn Davis (So., Hamersville, Ohio, Western Brown HS) paced the offense with 70 yards.
The top headline, though, came on the defensive side as the Bearcats were limited to just 17 yards in the final 30 minutes.
For the year, William Penn averages 42.2 points and 427.2 yards per game, including 368.4 rushing and 58.8 passing.
Davis leads the Statesmen offense with 466 rushing yards and two touchdowns, while Taylor Parsons (So., The Woodlands, Texas, College Park HS) has an additional 352 yards and seven scores.
Five other individuals have also eclipsed the century mark in rushing.
Due to the powerful running attack, Parsons has not been asked to throw the pigskin much. The sophomore is 16-of-42 for 272 yards and four TDs.
Parsons has spread the ball around to six different receivers with Chris Crawford (Jr., Muskegon, Mich., Grand Valley State) having team highs in receptions (6) and yards (81).
Defensively, the Statesmen are giving up an average of 6.0 points and 177.2 yards, including 108.4 passing and 68.8 rushing.
Damon Harrison (Sr., Lake Charles, La., Lake Charles Boston HS) is the top tackler for the navy and gold with 36 stops (seven for loss). Three different players have recorded three sacks and Andrew Reed (So., Oskaloosa, Oskaloosa HS) and Joseph Frye (Fr., Detroit, Mich., Highland Park HS) have two interceptions apiece.
Marcus Kerrigan (So., Cary, Ill., Cary-Grove HS) is nearly perfect at 28-for-29 in extra points and 3-for-6 in field goals. The team utilizes two punters, Kerrigan and Jason Johnson (So., Geneseo, Ill., Geneseo HS). Johnson has punted eight times for a 43.6 yard average, while Kerrigan has kicked ten times for a clip of 35.4 yards.
Sanders is topping the kick return game with four returns for a 20.5 average, while Crawford has taken ten punts back for a clip of 11.0 yards, including a 49-yard touchdown.
William Penn is picked to win the Midwest League, the first time it has been chosen as the favorite since joining the MSFA in 2002.
OLIVET NAZARENE PROFILE: Brian Fish is in his first season as head football coach at Olivet Nazarene.
Fish returns to his alma mater (1997 graduate) after spending five years at Sterling (Kan.) as offensive coordinator.
He also coached the quarterbacks and was the recruiting coordinator at Malone (Ohio) in the early 2000s.
As a player at Olivet Nazarene, Fish helped the team to the NAIA Championship game in 1998. He was an NAIA Honorable-Mention All-American, a first-team all-conference pick, and an NAIA Scholar-Athlete. He was also selected as the school’s first recipient of the Dr. Selden Kelly Award for leadership in academics and athletics.
He received his master’s of teaching degree in 1999 from Olivet Nazarene as well.
The Tigers could not make up for a poor first quarter in falling 31-14 to Grand View last Saturday.
Olivet Nazarene was held to just 166 yards, but forced two turnovers (none for the Tigers).
Rico Prestia completed nine passes for 91 yards and a score.
For the year, the Olivet Nazarene offense is tallying 8.6 points and 175.4 yards per game, including 106.2 passing and 69.2 rushing.
Prestia’s arm has guided the Tiger offense, completing 37-of-79 passes for 407 yards and three TDs.
Joshua Howells has been his go-to guy with 22 grabs for 241 yards and two scores.
Michael Ho-Lewis has rushed for a team-high 123 yards, while Prestia has added 119 yards.
Defensively, Olivet Nazarene gives up 42.4 points and 499.2 yards per contest, including 268.4 rushing and 230.8 passing.
Brandon Ruemler has tallied 47 tackles, while three players have one sack each. Keith Nunez has intercepted three passes.
Andrew Muzljatovich has not missed an extra point (4-for-4), but is struggling in field goals (3-for-10). Howell is also the team’s punter, already kicking 38 times for an average of 41.3 yards.
David Payne is the team’s primary returner, taking 21 kickoffs back for an average of 15.9 yards, while Andrew Butler has returned three punts for a clip of 6.0 yards.
Olivet Nazarene is picked to finish eighth in the Midwest League.
COACH HAFNER SAYS: On McKendree Game: “This was a great team win. Although we did not have very many yards on offense, we took advantage of our opportunities and scored touchdowns. Our defense was outstanding and our special teams play was as good as I have ever seen it.”
On Olivet Nazarene: “Olivet Nazarene is a team that is going to play extremely hard on every snap. They have a great scheme on both sides of the ball and their special teams are solid. This is only our second road game of the season and we are looking forward to going there and playing hard to try to get another win.”
WILLIAM PENN RATED IN NAIA & VSN POLLS: The Statesmen continue to be one of the nation’s hottest teams. William Penn is #5 in the NAIA’s first ranking and #8 in VSN’s preseason poll.
STATESMEN HIGH IN NAIA STAT RANKINGS: William Penn ranks very high in numerous NAIA statistical categories.
The navy and gold are the best in the nation in total rushing yards (1,842) and rushing yards per game (368.4). With five games under its belt, the squad is second in total points (211), third in total offensive yards (2,136), and eighth in scoring per game (42.2).
Defensively, the Statesmen are ranked second in points allowed per game (6.0) and third in total yards allowed per game (177.2) and sacks (15). William Penn is also sixth in passing yards per game (108.4) and eighth in rushing yards per game (68.8).
Individually, Kerrigan is fourth in scoring (kicking) with 37 points, while Davis is fifth in rushing (466) and Parsons is seventh in scoring (42).
