Statesmen Come Up Short Against Peru State

Peru, Neb.--Three safeties highlighted a wild game and ended up being the difference as the Statesmen football team missed on a chance to get its first North Division win as it fell 27-25 to Peru State Saturday in Heart of America Athletic Conference action.

William Penn (2-5, 0-2 North) held a 309-231 advantage in total yards that included a fairly-balanced attack of 197 yards through the air and 112 on the ground. The visiting crew had the ball late in the fourth quarter with a chance to get on top, but could not finish off the game-winning drive.

The Statesmen's first possession of the game had some early success, but fizzled out. On the other side, Peru State (4-4, 2-0 North) quickly found the endzone, taking an early 7-0 lead. The Statesmen got on the board in their following possession, driving 57 yards as Keegan Simmons (Jr., Cedar Rapids, Iowa, Elementary Education) capped it off with a one-yard touchdown. Simmons finished the day with 99 yards on 22 attempts and two touchdowns.

The game was going back and forth until Cael Crawford (So., Mount Vernon, Iowa, Business Management) pinned the Bobcat offense deep in its territory. A couple plays later, Jaden Curtis (Sr., Glendale, Ariz., Digital Communications) added points on the defensive end with a safety giving the Statesmen an 8-7 lead.

The navy and gold then got the ball back after the safety, and on the next play Sterling Ramsey II (Fr., Tulsa, Okla., Business Management) hooked up with Trey Mosley (So., Fort Dodge, Iowa, Kinesiology) for a 69-yard touchdown pass. Ramsey II finished the day with 17 completions on 44 attempts with one touchdown and an interception, while Mosley finished with 83 yards on three catches and a touchdown.

The Statesmen had a chance to go up more before the half as they recovered a fumble on the ensuing kickoff, but a bad snap on a field-goal attempt left the visitors empty-handed, but still up 15-7 at halftime.

After the break, the Statesmen defense got a three-and-out, but the Bobcats recovered a muffed punt and returned it for a touchdown. The game then turned into a defensive battle as the navy and gold were backed up on their own one-yard line and the home team capitalized on the field position by recording a safety of its own to tie the game 15-15. After the safety, Peru State got the ball back and put up a field goal to take the lead back with 5:30 to play in the third.

While WPU struggled, the next possession for the Bobcats ended with another score, extending their advantage to 25-15.

The William Penn offense was denied on its next drive, but got the ball right back as Marquis Knighten (Grad., Buena Park, Calif., Organizational Leadership) forced a strip sack and Curtis fell on the pigskin.

The Statesmen were able to trim the deficit to 25-18 with a 37-yard field goal by Ethan Olivas (So., Eddyville, Iowa, Mechanical Engineering). Simmons then continued William Penn's push, finding the endzone on a 24-yard rushing touchdown to tie the game at 25-25 with 7:57 left in regulation.

The Statesmen defense yet again stepped up as it held the Bobcats to a short drive. William Penn's offense unfortunately was pinned deep at its one-yard line, and just like earlier in the afternoon, the Peru State defense caused a safety, taking the lead back for good at 27-25 with 3:56 on the clock.

After receiving the punt from WPU, PSC's offense attempted to drain the final seconds off the clock and nearly did by driving all the way to the Statesmen nine-yard line, but the Bobcats fumbled and Sectric Cleveland (Fr., Carver, Ga., Sports Management) recovered the loose ball.

With plenty of time still on the clock (3:29), the Statesmen marched into Bobcat territory, but the rally was abruptly ended with an interception.

Defensively, multiple Statesmen finished with double-figure tackles as Harlan Plumber (Jr., Bryan, Texas., Exercise Science) had a team-high 15 tackles, while Eric Hughes (Jr., Las Vegas, Nev., Sociology) added 13 of his own.

"There were so many times throughout the game that we played so well on offense, defense, and special teams." Head coach Todd Hafner said. "Then there were times we did not play so well in all of those areas. Our young players are learning many valuable lessons that they will take with them as we move forward. The two things that have remained constant in every game is how hard our kids play and how much they care for each other. We will build on the positives and learn from the negatives and prepare to go give it our all to win a game next week!"

Next Up: William Penn will return back to Oskaloosa next Saturday to take on Culver-Stockton in Heart North action at 1 p.m.