William Penn Falters Late in North Division Opener

Lamoni--The Statesmen football team could not hold off Graceland down the stretch as it fell 42-24 in Heart of America Athletic Conference North Division play Saturday.

WPU (1-3, 0-1 North) led 24-21 heading into the fourth quarter, but gave up 21 unanswered points in the loss.

The navy and gold were nearly gifted the victory as GU (3-2, 1-0 North) was flagged for 23 penalties worth a whopping 208 total yards.  Conversely, the visitors committed just seven infractions for 53 yards.

In a game that witnessed the Yellowjackets holding a 462-355 edge in yards, both sides came up empty in their first possessions.  GU then scored the game's first points midway through the first quarter.

The home team also recovered the ensuing kickoff and took advantage of the turnover, going up 14-0.    With WPU desperate for something positive, Nureini Mohamed (So., Everett, Mass., Sports Management) got things going with a nice kickoff return of 30 yards, followed by a solid run of 11 yards by Destynd Loring (Jr., Charleston, S.C., Sports Management).  Connor Neville (Jr., Beaverton, Ore., Business Management) then hooked up with Everett for a 42-yard touchdown pass.  Amir Everett (Jr., Minneapolis, Minn., Sports Management) hauled in six catches for 75 yards.

The Statesmen then got the ball back on a fumble recovery by Kameron Cummings (Fr., Houston, Texas, Sports Management), but despite marching deep, the visitors were denied in the Graceland redzone.

GU pushed the margin back to two touchdowns in the second and were in position to add again to its total, but Jahtavious Gaines (So., Savannah, Ga.) came up with an interception at the goal line.

Unfortunately, WPU was forced into a punt, but another Graceland turnover, this time a fumble recovery by Tommy LeGardye (Sr., Los Angeles, Calif., Sports Management) gave the navy and gold new life.  Six snaps later, Neville and Everett paired up again for a 12-yard touchdown as the Statesmen hit the locker room down just 21-14.

The second half began with punts by both teams before Neville, who finished 15-for-39 for 216 yards, found Alexander Price (Jr., McKinney, Texas, Sports Management) for a 12-yard score to knot the score at 21-21.

Graceland's next drive then stalled out in WPU territory.  With momentum fully on their side, the Statesmen pushed the pigskin 49 yards, eventually leaving Chris Paniagua (Fr., Houston, Texas, Mechanical Engineering) with a short 29-yard field goal to put William Penn on top for the first time all day at 24-21 with 2:05 left in the third period.

The hosts answered with a long drive to reclaim the lead, starting a run of everything going GU's way the rest of the way.  The navy and gold turned the ball over on each of their final four possessions, while the Yellowjackets tacked on two more touchdowns to put the game out of reach.

Overall, William Penn recorded 139 rushing yards with Loring leading the ground game with 78 yards on 17 carries.

Brian Weatherspoon (So., West Memphis, Ark., Business Management) headed the defense with 11 tackles, while Daequan Johnson (Sr., Marion, Iowa, Kinesiology) produced 10 stops, including a sack.  Cummings matched Johnson with a sack as well.

"We played a tough game and showed a lot of heart, but we did not execute when it mattered most in the fourth quarter," Head Coach Marc Benavidez said.  "We had opportunities, but we need to finish stronger.  We will learn from this and be better moving forward."

Next Up: William Penn returns to Oskaloosa next Saturday to host St. Ambrose in Heart North Division play at 3 p.m.