College football: Statesmen secure record-matching 10th win

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DAVENPORT — William Penn has been playing football since 1892.

For just the fourth time in program history, the Statesmen have won 10 games in a single season. Sterling Ramsey II accounted for five total touchdowns, including four touchdown passes to four different receivers, in 16th-ranked William Penn's 42-7 win over St. Ambrose on Saturday closing out a 10-1 season matching the same record the program reached in 1972, 1975 and in 2010.

“We had a few games circled on the schedule this year that we knew were going to be big. We also knew we had a lot of senior leadership and guys that have progressed,” William Penn head football coach Marc Benavidez said. “We had some games that we knew could be difficult. We’ve been able to take care of most of those games. We’re in a fortunate spot to finish the season as well as we have and be pretty healthy going into the postseason."

Destynd Loring rushed for 86 yards on 28 carries, breaking the school record for rushing yards in a single season. Entering the game just 12 yards behind James Jackson, who rushed for 1,200 yards in 2005, Loring finished Saturday with 1,578 total rushing yards including a six-yard touchdown run to close out William Penn's opening drive giving the Statesmen a 7-0 lead.

“We knew we wanted to do whatever we could to handle things in the trenches,” Benavidez said. “They gave us certain looks from a defensive standpoint where we had to rely on our quarterback to throw the football and Sterling was able to have success early doing that."

That early success included four straight completions by Ramsey II including a key 18-yard connection to Rafael Irizarry that ignited the drive. St. Ambrose attempted to counter the Statesmen with a ground attack that carried the Bees into William Penn territory before Sherman Johnson came up with the first big defensive play of the game, picking off a deflected pass for the Statesmen and returning the interception 30 yards before being brought down at the SAU 26.

“That’s every moment a big guy dreams of,” Johnson said. “You want that interception and you want to see all that green grass in front of you. I just went after the quarterback, batted the ball and it came right to me. I would have loved to score a touchdown, but it was a great play."

Four plays later, Ramsey II found Amir Everett on a fourth-down pass over the middle. Everett broke free, scoring on a 23-yard touchdown catch allowing Ramsey II to tie Jeff Parsons for the most single-season touchdown passes by a William Penn quarterback throwing his 16th touchdown pass on the play while breaking Ryan Van Dalen's program record of 43 career touchdown passes.

“My guys just come up big whenever I need them to make a big play,” Ramsey II said. “I give credit to all my teammates. I didn’t do much but check the ball down. It just goes back to the fundamentals and going through my reads. I just tried not to press anything. I trust my guys to be in the spots I need them to be in."

By the end of the game, Ramsey II has broken both William Penn touchdown passing records. Three more touchdown passes, including a 72-yard touchdown strike in the second quarter to Everett, gave Ramsey II 19 touchdown passes in a single season and 47 touchdown passes in his career for the Statesmen.

“I had amazing blocks. I just came down to making one guy miss and using my speed. I feel like anybody could have done that,” Everett said. “Whenever I get a chance to showcase my speed, I love to do it. I don’t want anybody to catch me. Otherwise, I’ll have to hear about it when I get back to the sidelines."

St. Ambrose (4-7) got as close as 14-7 after a 17-yard touchdown run with 2:16 left in the first quarter by Zaire Wilcox briefly got the Bees back into the contest. William Penn responded with a seven-play, 75-yard drive that stretched into the second quarter culminating with a 20-yard touchdown run by Ramsey II that put the Statesmen up 21-7.

“I get laughed at a lot because I don’t run all that much. When I do run, I feel like I’m very confident in my legs,” Ramsey II said. “Getting those completions down the field drops everybody back. It allows me to have that open field if I ever do take off."

William Penn will be back home on Saturday to open the NAIA Football Championship Series, hosting a playoff game for the first time in program history. The 13th-seeded Statesmen will host 20th-seeded Texas Wesleyan (7-4) at Community Stadium in Oskaloosa. Kickoff is set for noon.

“The next game has always been the biggest game of the season for us,” Benavidez said. “We’ve just got to worry about the task at hand and be ready to compete."

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