Olivas’ Field Goals, Huerta’s Interceptions Lead WPU to Win in Benavidez’s Coaching Debut

St. Louis, Mo.--The Statesmen football team made just enough plays to come away victorious in its season opener, dropping Heart of America Athletic Conference newcomer Missouri Baptist in a league crossover game 6-2 Saturday.

WPU (1-0) outgained the Spartans 262-192, but needed a stop in the final minute to preserve the victory in Head Coach Marc Benavidez's first game at the helm.

The Statesmen came out of the proverbial gate well, driving 63 yards in 14 plays.  The drive, which lasted 8:55, unfortunately stalled out in the MBU redzone where the visitors had to settle for a 29-yard field goal by Ethan Olivas (Jr., Eddyville, Iowa, Mechanical Engineering).

Both teams did not accomplish much in their next drives and then William Penn's defense was tested as the Spartans (0-1) pushed deep in Statesmen territory.  After the home squad pushed a game-best 64 yards down the gridiron, Howard Huerta (Jr., Panorama City, Calif., Business Management) stopped Missouri Baptist in its tracks as he intercepted a pass in front of the endzone.

The defenses entrenched themselves after that, forcing seven consecutive punts before Patrick Darelus (Fr., Sample Road, Fla., Business Management) picked off another MBU pass late in the second quarter.  The Statesmen unfortunately coughed up the ball on the ensuing drive as WPU headed to the locker room with its 3-0 advantage.

After taking the pigskin back following a punt, the navy and gold marched deep onto the Spartans' side of the field, but they failed to capitalize and turned the ball over on downs at the MBU three-yard line.

A quick three-and-out returned the ball to the Statesmen and this time they converted, albeit with just three points as Olivas knocked home a 23-yarder with 3:01 to go in the third period.

Punts (the teams combined for 16 total) and interceptions were exchanged during the final minutes of the quarter.  Sterling Ramsey II (So., Broken Arrow, Okla., Business Management), who was 14-for-29 passing for 157 yards, had his ball picked off near midfield.

Six plays later, however, Huerta again stepped in front of an intended target to prevent the Spartans from getting on the board.

Missouri Baptist finally did break through, but only because of a WPU mistake.  With 7:12 left in regulation and the Statesmen looking to punt from deep in their own territory, the ball was hiked over the head of Cael Crawford (Jr., Mount Vernon, Iowa, Business Management) and through the end zone for a safety.

The Spartans returned the ensuing William Penn kickoff to midfield, but yet again, the navy and gold defense, which permitted just 11 first downs, was stout and kept the hosts at bay.

William Penn then collected three first downs and nearly milked the clock away, but had to punt the ball.  With 92 yards to go and just 1:10 remaining, MBU had work to do and the Statesmen defense was up to the task one final time.  WPU did not permit another yard to be gained as four consecutive passes were not completed and the last threat was crushed.

Harlan Plumber (Sr., Bryan, Texas, Exercise Science) paced the defensive effort with 10 tackles (nine solos) and one sack.  Joey Mars (Jr., Piedmont, Okla., Business Management) had eight stops (three for loss), while Kyriee Lewis (Jr., Eight Mile, Ala., Sports Management) matched Plumber with a quarterback sack.

Offensively, the Statesmen rushed for 105 yards with Destynd Loring (So., Charleston, S.C., Sports Management) topping the chart with 69 yards on 17 carries.  Chauncey Andrews (Jr., Tulsa, Okla., Psychology) was next with 38 yards.

Ramsey hooked up with six different receivers, including doing so five times with Trey Mosley (Jr., Fort Dodge, Iowa, Kinesiology) for 76 yards and Amir Everett (So., Minneapolis, Minn., Sports Management) twice for 30 yards.

Of note, Saturday marks just the second time in school history that William Penn has limited an opponent to exactly two points; the other occurrence was against Ellsworth in 1915 (7-2 victory).

"It is great getting the first win under our belt," Head Coach Marc Benavidez said.  "We had a tremendous crowd on hand.  It was far from a tremendous performance, but our players stepped up when they were needed.  I am proud of how they responded to adversity.  We are looking forward to getting back to work and fixing some issues."

Next Up: William Penn returns to Oskaloosa next Saturday to host Missouri Valley in a Heart crossover game at 6 p.m.