Fresh off its first-ever win in only its fourth game, a 50-35 triumph at Westminster College last Saturday in Fulton, William Woods University (1-3) takes on a familiar foe in its Heart of America South Division opener, Missouri Baptist University (2-1) at 1 p.m. Saturday at Spartan Field in St. Louis.

In their historic shootout win that saw 85 points scored, the Owls totaled 321 yards of offense (219 passing and 102 rushing yards) to the Blue Jays' 372 (213 rushing and 159 passing yards). 

Through four games, William Woods is averaging 241 yards of offense per game (208.8 passing and 32.3 rushing yards per game) while scoring 17.3 points per game. Owls opponents are averaging 480.8 yards of offense per game (278 rushing and 202.8 passing yards per game) and tallying 50 points per game.

Gabe Serri leads the Owls in passing, averaging 192 passing yards per game. He is 63-of-139 through the air for 768 yards and eight touchdowns - Serri had a career-high five passing touchdowns last Saturday. Serri has thrown three interceptions.

Troy Oliver has been Woods' top receiving threat this season, averaging 104.3 receiving yards per game. He's caught 25 passes for 417 yards and six touchdowns. Oliver broke his single-game receiving touchdowns record for WWU for the third time this season, with three TD receptions in Week 3, one of those scoring plays being a 62-yard catch, his and the team's longest ever.

Jalen Proctor, who scored WWU's first-ever rushing touchdown and broke its single-game rushing yards record with 67 yards on three carries at Westminster, is the Owls' rushing leader, averaging 18 rushing yards per game. He is averaging 5½ rushing yards per attempt. Proctor leads WWU with one rushing touchdown.

Carter Holloway is WWU's leader in tackles with 42. He averages 10½ tackles per game and has one sack, forced fumble and pass breakup. Clarence Jackson is second on the team in tackles with 27. Linebacker Darrias Butler, who joined Holloway in breaking the single-game tackles record with a co-game-high 12 last Saturday, is third on the team with 26 tackles.

William Woods is first in the NAIA in tackles (321), fourth in interception returns (No.- yards) (5-164), seventh in interception return average (32.8), eighth in punts (No.- yards) (31-953), 11th in penalty first downs (10), 17th in defensive interceptions (five), 19th in pass completion-attempt-interception rate (66-146-3) and defensive touchdowns (one), 20th in passing touchdowns (eight), 22nd in fumbles recovered (three) and 23rd in passing first downs (35).


Saturday's game between William Woods and Missouri Baptist is a traditional matchup of American Midwest Conference rivals that will become full members of the Heart next school year. The Owls and Spartans have a lot of history in the AMC, with WWU being a member since 1993 and MBU a charter member since 1986.

Missouri Baptist's game at Peru State College was ruled a no contest due to the weather last Saturday evening. Since that happened, the Spartans will play 10 regular season games this year instead of the standard 11.

The Spartans average 337.7 yards of offense per game, 198.67 passing yards and 139 rushing yards. They score 38 points per game. Opponents score 26.33 points per game, averaging 358 yards of offense per game, 187.3 rushing yards and 170.67 passing yards.

Missouri Baptist enters the game coming off a 44-37 overtime win over Culver-Stockton College two weeks ago in St. Louis. The Spartans trailed 27-8 at halftime before outscoring the Wildcats 29-10 in the second half. MBU's Jordan Simpson completed a 23-yard touchdown pass to Kaden Solverud on the Spartan's two-play opening OT possession, and they led 44-37 after the extra-point attempt was converted. C-SC failed to score on its ensuing drive, handing the Spartans the overtime victory.

In that Week 2 victory over Culver-Stockton, Missouri Baptist totaled 364 yards of offense, 89 yards on the ground and 275 through the air. The Spartans averaged 14½ yards per pass completion against the Wildcats.

Simpson leads Missouri Baptist in passing, averaging 198.3 passing yards per game. He is 41-87 through the air for 595 yards, six touchdowns and one interception. Simpson is completing 47.1 percent of his passes.

Lionel Banks is MBU's leader in rushing with 258 yards. He is averaging 86 yards per game and 5.3 yards per carry. Banks has scored six rushing touchdowns. Julian Williams leads the team in receptions with 10 for 120 yards. He has one receiving touchdown and averages 40 receiving yards per game.

Dabrein Moss leads Missouri Baptist in tackles with 44. He averages 14.7 tackles per game. Moss has one fumble recovery, pass breakup and block. Giovanoi Sanes and Nick Stepney are tied for second on the team with 25 tackles. Sanes has one sack and pass breakup. Stepney has one forced fumble and ½ a sack.

Missouri Baptist is ranked first in the NAIA in punt return average (45.3 percent) and point-after-attempt percentage (100 percent), fourth in red zone percentage (100 percent), 13th in red zone touchdown percentage (82 percent), 21st in scoring (114), 22nd in points per game (38), rushing touchdowns (seven) and interception return average (20.7), 23rd in penalty first downs (eight) and 25th in passing touchdowns (seven).