After a rough start, the Pioneers overcame a 14-point second half deficit to beat William Penn 22-21 on Saturday. MNU's first two drives ended with interceptions, and WPU responded with quick touchdowns to take a 14-0 lead. The Pioneers got on the board early in the second quarter when, on 4th and 2 from midfield,
Javon Taylor burst through the line and beat the secondary for a 50-yard touchdown run.
William Penn answered with a 15-play 77-yard drive, but a short field goal was blocked by
Roy Dennis and the 7-point lead remained into halftime. The second half started with 2 punts from each team, but the Statesmen found a big play with a 71-yard touchdown run to go up by two scores.
Cristian Casillas ended a 10-play drive with a 36-yard field goal to get MNU within 11, and the defense was able to keep Penn to 3 short drives in a row in the fourth quarter.
The comeback began with 4 minutes remaining.
Trey Cooper found
Gio Gonzalez for a 48-yard touchdown pass, but the 2-point try failed and the Pioneers trailed by 5 with 3:30 left. The Statesmen fumbled on second down, and
Ryan Huerta scooped up the loose ball and got all the way to the 9 yard line. Two plays later
Javon Taylor scored from 8 yards out and MNU took the lead. William Penn took 7 plays to get into field goal range, but the 42-yard attempt was again blocked by
Roy Dennis, and the Pioneers held on for the win.
"William Penn is a good team that did a number of things well and we failed to execute consistently throughout the first 3 quarters," said head coach
Brian Willmer. "We dug ourselves into a hole early in that first quarter but this team showed grit and determination to stay the course and found a way to win the game. I felt Javon played well both running the ball and catching it out of the backfield, the receivers came up with some big catches when needed, and
Gio Gonzalez did a great job finding his way into the end zone. Defensively we must become more consistent and not give up two big plays that resulted in scores. I was pleased with our ability to create turnovers and also encouraged with the interior defensive line play of
Jaron Reed and
Devonte Lewis along with LB
Ryan Huerta.
Cristian Casillas did an excellent job kicking and punting."
Javon Taylor carried 26 times for 126 yards and 2 touchdowns.
Gio Gonzalez caught 2 passes for 61 yards and a touchdown.
Ryan Huerta recorded 13 tackles, including 1.5 tackles for loss, and 2 fumble recoveries.
Wesley Williams had 10 tackles. And
Roy Dennis had 6 tackles, 1 fumble recovery, and 2 blocked field goals.
MNU is 2-0. The next game is Saturday at home (ODAC) vs. Graceland (1-1) at 1:00.
Â
