Statesmen Fail to Close Door on Bobcats

Peru, Neb.--The William Penn football team had chances to come away with a road victory Saturday, but could not come up with enough plays as it fell 28-21 to Peru State in Heart of America Athletic Conference North Division action.

WPU (2-4, 1-2 Heart North) was outgained just 357-336, but committed all three of the game's turnovers (all interceptions), including the game-winning giveaway late in the contest.  The visitors were still in position to tie the game in the waning minutes, but failed to convert on four goal-to-go plays in the loss.

Fresh from their bye week, the navy and gold looked primed to get to .500 on the season.  They took the opening kickoff and drove 75 yards on just seven plays, scoring only 3:03 into the afternoon on a 17-yard pass from Sterling Ramsey II (Jr., Broken Arrow, Okla., Business Management) to Amir Everett (Jr., Minneapolis, Minn., Sports Management).

The duo accounted for much of William Penn's offense as Ramsey II was 15-for-29 for 276 yards, while Everett hauled in six of those completions for 143 yards.

WPU and PSC (4-2, 2-1 Heart North) came up empty in their next five possessions.  The Statesmen finally broke the scoring drought late in the second period with an 11-play, 84-yard drive that was capped by a one-yard plunge by Destynd Loring (Jr., Charleston, S.C., Sports Management) on fourth down to make it 14-0 with 4:21 to go until halftime.

Unfortunately, Peru State, which was denied on two previous trips to the William Penn red zone, came up with an answer, recording a touchdown with 46 ticks remaining.

After stopping the home crew on its first drive of the second half, the Statesmen once again pushed their advantage to a pair of touchdowns.  Ramsey II quickly moved the offense down the gridiron with completions of 37 and 41 yards, but it was again Loring who found paydirt, crossing the goal line from one yard away for a 21-7 edge with 9:50 to go in the third quarter.

Although he scored twice, Loring was limited on the ground, recording only 22 rushing yards on 12 carries.  Keegan Simmons (Sr., Cedar Rapids, Iowa, Elementary Education) was WPU's best ball runner with 26 yards.

The Statesmen would unfortunately be stymied the remainder of the way, but PSC was just getting started.  The Bobcats scored on their next two possessions to draw even at 21-21 with 6:55 to go in regulation.

The hosts then ripped the proverbial heart from William Penn's collective chest as Ramsey II was intercepted on the next Statesmen offense play.  The ball was returned for a touchdown, giving Peru State its first lead of the contest at 28-21.

Starting their final drive on their own 28-yard line, the Statesmen converted two third downs and marched methodically down the field.  The visitors eventually reached the two-yard line at the two-minute timeout, but would get no closer, being denied on a quartet of goal-to-go plays and the Bobcats ran out the clock for the victory.

The Statesmen loss came in a very disciplined outing where they were flagged only two times for 10 total yards (PSC had eight penalties for 64 yards).

Malcolm Bryant (Sr., Cincinnati, Ohio, Sports Management) headed the defense with 12 tackles, while Brian Weatherspoon (So., West Memphis, Ark., Business Management) was next with eight stops.  Brandon Young (So., Houston, Texas, Computer Science) and Matt Mehrhoff (Jr., Fenton, Mo., Business Management), who also had William Penn's lone sack, finished Saturday with seven tackles.  Mason Ford (Sr., Oskaloosa, Iowa, Business Management) tallied two pass breakups as well.

"Our team fought hard and put ourselves in a position to win, but we made too many mistakes late in the game that we could not overcome," Head Coach Marc Benavidez said.  "We are going to learn from this, refocus, and be ready for Homecoming next week."

Next Up: William Penn returns to Oskaloosa next Saturday to host Heart North Division foe Clarke for Homecoming at 2:30 p.m.