Statesmen Rally Falls Short Against Pioneers

Olathe, Kan.--The Statesmen football team put another late-game scare into its foe, but could not overcome struggles in the middle of the contest as it fell 29-20 to MidAmerica Nazarene in a Heart of America Athletic Conference crossover game Saturday.

Following a nearly-two hour weather delay, the Pioneers opened the evening with the ball and marched methodically down the gridiron for a 6-0 lead (extra point was missed).

Both teams were forced into quick three-and-outs, but on the second play of their second drive, the Statesmen struck big as Sterling Ramsey II (So., Broken Arrow, Okla., Business Management) found Trey Mosley (Jr., Fort Dodge, Iowa, Kinesiology) 30 yards down the field.  As Mosley hauled in the pass, his defender fell and the junior sprinted the rest of the way unthreatened for the touchdown.  The extra point was converted and the visitors led 7-6 with 6:02 left in the first quarter.

Mosley caught four passes for 111 yards Saturday.

MNU coughed up the ball on the ensuing kickoff and Jerry King (Jr., Milwaukee, Wis., Business Management) recovered it at the home squad's 27-yard line.  After a penalty on the first snap, Ramsey went to work again, lofting a ball up for Amir Everett (So., Minneapolis, Minn., Sports Management) who reached back and brought it in for the touchdown, extending the advantage to 14-6 just 16 seconds after the initial score.

Everett recorded 54 yards on three receptions.

Unfortunately, the offensive well went dry for WPU, which was outgained 409-350.  The navy and gold could do very little for the rest of the first half, punting twice and turning the ball over twice (once on downs, once on an interception).

Meanwhile, the defense had a mixed bag, including denying MidAmerica Nazarene on a goal-line stand in the opening quarter.  The Pioneers, however, were strong in the second stanza and tallied two touchdowns and a field goal as the Statesmen entered intermission down 22-14.

WPU opened the third period with a promising drive, going 58 yards on 15 plays, but the possession, which took 7:12 off the clock, did not produce any points as the visiting crew turned the ball over on downs deep in MNU territory.

The hosts gave the ball right back on a three-and-out, but the Statesmen punt return was fumbled and the Pioneers again took over.  Fortunately, just as it had earlier, the William Penn defense stood tall and stopped the MNU offense on downs, headlined by Turner Ellis (Grad., Urbandale, Iowa, Master's of Sports Management) with a touchdown-saving tackle on third-and-goal and Mason Ford (Jr., Oskaloosa, Iowa, Business Management) forcing a fumble on fourth-and-goal.

The Statesmen failed to capitalize and MNU put more distance between the two sides with another touchdown to push its edge to 29-14 early in the fourth quarter.

Ramsey II willed his team to make it a game late as he completed six passes in the next drive, including a three-yard touchdown to Destynd Loring (So., Charleston, S.C., Sports Management).  The sophomore caught the ball on the perimeter and lunged to the pylon, cutting the deficit to nine at 29-20 with 4:26 to go in regulation.

Ramsey II finished the night 19-for-34 for 239 yards and three scores.  In addition to his receiving touchdown, Loring was again productive as a ball carrier.  The sophomore, who eclipsed the century mark in rushing last week, nearly did so again Saturday with 21 rushes for 92 yards.

The necessary two-point conversion was unsuccessful and the Statesmen were still behind by two scores.

The defense returned the pigskin to WPU, but the offense's final drive unfortunately stalled out near midfield and the rally fell short.

Lukas Hamilton (Jr., Columbus, Ohio, Secondary Education) also factored into the air attack with four receptions for 32 yards.

Defensively, Harlan Plumber (Sr., Bryan, Texas, Exercise Science) and Howard Huerta (Jr., Panorama City, Calif., Business Management) paced the navy and gold with eight tackles each, while Joey Mars (Jr., Piedmont, Okla., Business Management) had seven and Ellis and Aldo Delgado (So., Kansas City, Mo., Sports Management) both managed six stops.

"This was a tough one to lose," Head Coach Marc Benavidez said.  "We played them tough, but we are not here for moral victories.  It is the ultimate team sport for a reason, and we have to come together in all three phases."

Next Up: William Penn travels to Fayette, Mo. next Saturday to face Central Methodist in a Heart crossover game at 2 p.m.