Pride fall in defensive battle 14-3 to William Penn
OSKALOOSA, Iowa - On a chilly and windy day in Oskaloosa, Iowa, the Clarke University football team was unable to hold a three-point second half lead as William Penn University scored 14 unanswered points in the fourth quarter to earn a 14-3 win over the Pride.
The first half saw light to moderate rain as well, which benefitted both defenses as the game was locked up at a 0-0 tie at half time, due in part to some strong goal line stands from CU's defense as they were able to force a 25-yard field goal attempt that was blocked and then on a third and goal from the one yard line, the Pride stripped WPU's running back of the ball and recovered for a touchback to keep it at 0-0.
Both plays, the block and the forced fumble, were caused by linebacker Logan Otting as the Cascade, Iowa native finished with six tackles, 1.5 tackles for a loss, the forced fumble, the blocked kick, and a fumble recovery on the day.
As the rain cleared in the second half and the Pride started the third quarter with the football, they moved the ball into Statesmen territory and into scoring range as back and forth penalties on both sides ended up resulting in a Pride 39-yard field goal attempt and this time it was William Penn that was able to come up with the block.
On the ensuing possession, a second down pass from WPU quarterback Sterling Ramsey was intercepted by Aaron Fernandez and returned to the William Penn 32 yard line, Clarke's best starting field position all game.
Clarke's drive would get into the red zone once again with the help of a facemask penalty and some hard running from Sean Ceasar but CU couldn't punch in for six, having to settle for another field goal attempt, as this time Victor Moreno would be good from 30 yards to make it 3-0.
That drive would knock CU starting quarterback Brandon Mueller out of the game as Kenyon Williams would also suffer an injury later in the third quarter forcing freshman Pernell Beasley in a quarterback for the remainder of the game.
With Beasley making his first appearance in a varsity contest and going against a strong wind partially in his face, the Clarke offense couldn't regain a similar rhythm that they had in the third quarter with only one drive lasting longer than four plays in the final 15 minutes.
With less than half of the fourth quarter remaining, the Statesmen were able to bust a big play on the Pride as Ramsey found Rafael Irizarry for a 48-yard touchdown pass as Irizarry broke free as an open receiver deep down the field to give WPU a 7-3 lead with 6:30 left to play.
William Penn would score their second touchdown on their next offensive possession as Destynd Loring scored a rushing touchdown from 14 yards out to make it the eventual final of 14-3.
Despite the conditions the Pride's passing game found success at times with Mueller in the game as he went 13-of-24 for 158 yards with all but one receiver averaging over 10 yards per reception led by six catches for 64 yards from Anthony King. Jaquan Graham also caught four balls for 42 yards, Gabe Deadwiler had two receptions for 29 yards, Caden Miller had two catches for 21 yards, and Xavier Tate added an 11 yard reception.
Defensively for CU, Andrew Adams and Courtney Mables finished tied for the team lead in tackles as the only two ahead of Otting's total number as the pair both finished with eight tackles as Mables had a tackle for a loss on the day as well.
Clarke football will finish out the weekend with a varsity reserve contest at Burrows Field on Sunday at 2:00 p.m. CT before preparaing for their season finale on the road at Grand View University next Saturday for a 12:00 p.m. CT kickoff in Des Moines, Iowa.