WPU Falls to #18 Baker 43-21

Oskaloosa--After a promising start, the Statesmen football team ran out of gas in a 43-21 loss to #18 Baker in a Heart of America Athletic Conference North-South crossover game Saturday.

William Penn (1-2) was outgained 503-295, doing almost all of its damage through the air with 284 passing yards.

After Matt Mehrhoff (Jr., Fenton, Mo., Business Management) forced a BU fumble and Howard Huerta (Sr., Panorama City, Calif., Business Management) recovered it on the day's opening drive, the Statesmen scored just 2:16 later when Connor Neville (Jr., Beaverton, Ore., Business Management) found Amir Everett (Jr., Minneapolis, Minn., Sports Management) for a 38-yard touchdown pass.  Neville finished 16-for-26 for 268 yards and three touchdowns, while Everett caught five balls for 79 yards.

The Wildcats (2-0) answered with a field goal the next time they had the ball and then pulled ahead with a touchdown early in the second period.

Neville, however, went to work and this time hooked up with Branden Powell (Fr., Waco, Texas, Wellness and Recreation) on a four-yard TD pass play to swing the lead back in William Penn's favor at 14-10 with 8:51 to go until halftime.

Unfortunately, Baker drove down the field and captured the edge for good with a touchdown.  The visitors then caused fumbles on back-to-back plays, the latter of which they recovered.  BU capped the first 30 minutes with another field goal and hit the locker room up 20-14.

The hosts were denied out of the break, while the Wildcats scored on a quick three-play drive for a 27-14 advantage.

The Neville-Powell duo struck again, though, this time from 18 yards out to draw the Statesmen within single digits one final time at 27-21 with just 2:45 left in the third stanza.  Powell headed the home crew with six receptions for 109 yards and two scores.  A total of seven different players hauled in a pass Saturday.

Baker was just too much down the stretch, however, pulling away with 16 unanswered points to wrap up the victory.

Defensively, Malcolm Bryant (Sr., Cincinnati, Ohio, Sports Management) posted 12 tackles, while Mehrhoff was next with nine.  Huerta and  Brandon Young (So., Houston, Texas, Computer Science) both had a pass breakup as well on Saturday.

"This was another tough battle against a top-20 team," Head Coach Marc Benavidez said.  "We made some plays in all three phrases, but it was not enough at pivotal times.  The trenches and third downs were crucial in the outcome"

Next Up: After a bye week, the Statesmen travel to Lamoni on Saturday, September 28 to face Graceland in its Heart North Division opener at 1 p.m.