Three Picks by Huerta as William Penn Falls Short in Low-Scoring Affair with BC

Oskaloosa--The Statesmen football team bent but very seldom broke Saturday against #22 Benedictine, but unfortunately it was not enough as it fell 10-7 in its final Heart of America Athletic Conference crossover game.

WPU (2-3) intercepted the Ravens four times, including three by Howard Huerta (Jr., Panorama City, Calif., Business Management), and had a chance in the waning moments to tie or go ahead.  Unfortunately, BC (4-2) denied the navy and gold any heroics and the rally fell short.

Outgained 383-223, the Statesmen posted a nice stop near midfield on the evening's opening drive.  Unfortunately, the ball was given right back as the offense came up empty.

The Ravens were pinned deep to start their next drive, but pushed the pigskin down the gridiron.  On a long fourth down, Huerta made his first of numerous big plays, leaping to his left and coming down with the ball.

William Penn matched BC by picking up a couple first downs, but the drive stalled just outside of field goal range as the Statesmen also concluded their possession with an interception.

Another long Benedictine drive ensued.  The Statesmen, however, proved to be inhospitable hosts as Brandon Young (Fr., Houston, Texas, Computer Science) broke up a pass near WPU's goal line and Huerta was right there to collect the deflection for his second pick of the day.

The navy and gold unfortunately did little with the ball and then gave the Ravens a short field to work with after a short punt into the wind.

This time around, Young collected the takeaway, hauling in a desperation fourth-down throw at the WPU three-yard line.

Following yet another William Penn punt, the Ravens finally got on the scoreboard with a touchdown.  They then added a field goal as time expired in the first half to lead 10-0 at intermission.

The Statesmen were most certainly still in the game at the midway point, but truly put Benedictine on high alert with their opening drive of the second half.  Paced by five completions by Sterling Ramsey II (So., Broken Arrow, Okla., Business Management), including a 25-yarder to Destynd Loring (So., Charleston, S.C., Sports Management), William Penn moved the squad into the BC red zone for the first time in the contest.

Immediately after his long catch, Loring took the direct snap and plunged over the goal line as the home squad pulled within three at the 9:46 mark of the third quarter.

Both sides came up empty on their next possessions.  The Statesmen then had their backs again pressed up to their goal line, but Huerta, who tied a school single-game record (since 2001) stepped in front of a pass across the middle and notched his third interception of the day.

Sitting in prime position to take down a top-25 team, WPU was unable to finish off drives down the stretch.  The hosts pushed onto the BC side of the field on each of their next two possessions, but both stalled out.

After the Ravens failed to extend their lead with a missed field goal, the Statesmen had the ball one final time with 1:57 to go in regulation, but the upset challenge fell short (drive ended with an interception).

Ramsey II had a rough time as signal-caller, completing 12 of his 33 passes for 135 yards.  The sophomore was, however, WPU's best rusher with 38 yards on seven attempts.  Keegan Simmons (Sr., Cedar Rapids, Iowa, Elementary Education) also gobbled up 27 yards on eight carries.

Seven different players caught a pass Saturday with Loring leading the crew with three receptions for 32 yards.

Huerta not only had the three interceptions, but also headlined the defensive push with 11 tackles.  Joey Mars (Jr., Piedmont, Okla., Business Management) was next with eight stops, while the trio of Anthony Massie (Fr., Miami, Fla., Business Management), Harlan Plumber (Sr., Bryan, Texas, Exercise Science), and Donavin Brewer (So., Marion, Ark., Business Management) all tallied six tackles.

"This was a tough one to lose," Head Coach Marc Benavidez said.  "We are close.  It will be a challenging week ahead, but we are looking forward to conference play in two weeks."

Next Up: William Penn takes a week off before traveling to Dubuque on Saturday, October 14 to face Clarke in its Heart North opener at 1 p.m.