William Penn Rallies for Senior Day Win
William Penn Statesmen Football claims victory in the last minute of the game on Saturday.
Oskaloosa–After a lackluster first quarter, the Statesmen football team battled back, including scoring a last-minute touchdown, to claim a 17-14 win over Midwest League foe Olivet Nazarene (Ill.) on Senior Day Saturday.
William Penn (4-5, 2-2 MWL) kept alive its hopes of a winning season by scoring 17 unanswered points after falling behind 13-0 midway through the second stanza.
The hosts were limited to just six yards in the opening quarter, but the defense was amazing in keeping the Statesmen in the game early.
William Penn lost two fumbles in the first 15 minutes of play, giving the Tigers (2-7, 0-4 MWL) the ball in its territory both times. Fortunately, ONU only managed a pair of field goals to be up 6-0 entering the second quarter.
The visitors gained the ball back near midfield early in the second session, and four plays later, extended their advantage to 13-0.
A big play finally went in favor of the navy and gold a bit later in the second when Nick DiMarco (Jr., St. Charles, Mo., Physical Education) forced a fumble on a sack of ONU’s quarterback. Jason Johnson (Sr., Geneseo, Ill., Industrial Technology) recovered the loose ball and six plays down the road Aaron Osborne (Sr., Houston, Texas, Physical Education) crossed the goal line from one yard out.
The score remained 13-7 until WPU’s second possession after halftime. With a stiff wind to his back, Marcus Kerrigan (Sr., Cary, Ill., Sociology) closed the gap to three points with a 47-yard field goal that sailed well over the goal posts.
Both sides failed to score on their next few drives. William Penn’s issue continued to be holding onto the ball with two more fumbles (eight total, four lost), but a big defensive stand inside three minutes gave the offense one final chance to send its seniors out with a big smile.
Tyler Hafner (So., Oskaloosa, Iowa, Undecided) guided WPU down the field with his arm, completing four passes, including a 17-yarder to Clint Allen (Sr., Burleson, Texas, Physical Education) that set up a three-yard go-ahead touchdown run by Shawn Davis (Sr., Hamersville, Ohio, Physical Education) with 47 seconds remaining.
Davis finished with a team-best 56 rushing yards, while the hosts outgained the Tigers 266-173.
Hafner finished 8-of-13 passing for 99 yards with Chris Crawford (Sr., Muskegon, Mich., Communications) being his top receiver with three grabs for 45 yards.
Evan Ressler (Jr., Cascade, Iowa, Biology) added 43 yards on the ground and Hafner accounted for another 40.
Olivet Nazarene had one final try, but WPU’s defense did not yield a first down to keep the Tigers winless in league play.
Micheal Welch (Sr., Houston, Texas, Physical Education), Jacob Batterson (Sr., Eddyville, Iowa, Industrial Technology), and Isaac Samek (So., Bolivar, Mo., Industrial Technology) paced the defense with eight stops each. Batterson had an interception, while Samek recovered one of two ONU fumbles.
Kevin Shrauger (So., Nixa, Mo., Physical Education) joined DiMarco and Johnson with quarterback sacks.
Next: William Penn travels to Des Moines next Saturday to face #3 Grand View in MWL action at 1 p.m. William Penn will not only be seeking to break up the Vikings’ perfect season, but also retain the Rock and Ladder Trophy.
