William Woods heads into its first-ever home game after a 54-6 defeat at then-No. 5 Grand View last Saturday. The Owls scored their first touchdown in program history while forcing an impressive four turnovers in their Week 1 defeat to the Vikings.
   
Gabe Serri is WWU's passing leader. He is 24-for-58 for 195 yards. Serri is completing 41.4 percent of his passes and is averaging 97½ passing yards per game. He has thrown one touchdown and two interceptions.
 
Troy Oliver is Woods' leader in receptions with eight, averaging four per game - he caught a 21-yard pass from Serri to score the program's first and only touchdown thus far. Jalen Becerra leads the Owls in receiving yards with 130 and is averaging 65 receiving yards per game. Becerra is second on WWU in receptions with seven.
 
Carter Holloway tops the Owls in tackles with 18. He is averaging nine tackles per game and has one sack, a forced fumble and a pass breakup. Colton Jones and Sovereign Morton are second on WWU with 12 tackles apiece. Morton has one fumble recovery.
 
WWU is ranked second in the NAIA fumbles recovered (three), fifth in punts (No.- yards) (19-635), eighth in tackles (152), 32^nd in penalty yards (87), 35^th in penalty first downs (three), 36^th in sacks (three), 44^th in defensive interceptions (one), 41^st in completion-attempt-interception clip (25-59-2), 45^th in passing first downs (11) and 49^th in red zone touchdown percentage (50 percent).
 
Saturday is the first meeting between William Woods and St. Ambrose. While the Owls' season is full of firsts, they share one with the Fighting Bees: Both teams are playing their first season of football in the Heart of America Athletic Conference.
 
The Owls, predicted to finish seventh out of seven teams in the Heart South Division Preseason Coaches' Poll, have a record of 0-2 against teams from the Heart, dropping two contests to North Division opponents, the division St. Ambrose, predicted seventh out of seven teams in the North, is in as well. Before losing to Grand View (predicted to finish first in the North, with six of seven first-place votes), WWU dropped a 59-0 decision at William Penn (picked to place third in the North) in a Thursday night Week 0 matchup - the Owls' only game that wasn't on a Saturday this year.
 
St. Ambrose has started the season 1-1 with an overtime win over Briar Cliff (28-21) on Aug. 31 in Davenport, Iowa, and a 52-0 defeat at then-No. 17 Baker last Saturday in Baldwin City, Kan.
 
Vince Fillipp is the head coach of the St. Ambrose Fighting Bees. It's his third year as SAU head coach and 15th season as part of the program. He played for four years before serving as Defensive Coordinator and Recruiting Coordinator since 2017 and added the title of associate head coach in 2021.
 
St. Ambrose is scoring 14 points per game in its first two games of the season. The Fighting Bees are averaging 355 yards of offense, 236 passing and 119 rushing. SAU's defence is allowing 391 yards per game, 314½ passing and 76½ rushing. Opponents are scoring 36½ points per game.
 
Tomele Staples leads the Fighting Bees in passing. He is 37-for-60 for 472 yards. Staples is completing 61.7 percent of his passes and is averaging 236 passing yards per game. He has thrown three touchdowns and three interceptions this season.
 
Kaden King guides SAU in rushing. He has 36 carries for 138 yards, averaging 69 yards rushing per game. King has no touchdowns or fumbles. He is averaging 3.8 yards per carry.
 
Mikey Hellwig paces St. Ambrose in receptions with 11, averaging 5½ receptions per game. He also leads the Fighting Bees in receiving yards with 138 and is averaging 69 receiving yards per game. Jalen Coleman is second on SAU in receptions (10) and receiving yards (129).
 
Colin Gudella tops the Fighting Bees in tackles with 20 and has its only forced fumble. He is averaging 10 tackles per game and has no sacks. Jake Strater follows Gudella with 13 tackles. George Litgen III is third on St. Ambrose with 10 tackles. Brock Mason has SAU's lone interception.
 
St. Ambrose is ranked first in the NAIA in point-after-attempt percentage (100 percent), seventh in kick returns (No.- yards) (12-254), eighth in rushing attempts (87), ninth in passing first downs (24), 16^th in completion-attempt-interception rate (37-63-3), 17^th in passing yards (472), 17^th in third-down conversions (13-30), 18^th in sacks (five), 19^th in first downs (43) and 23^rd in total offense (710).