FULTON, Mo – William Woods University (1-6, 1-2 Heart) hosted Missouri Valley College (3-3, 0-2 Heart) in a contest that was filled with rain, weather delays, late game heroics, and a historic finish for the Owls.
The first quarter started with the Owls' defense standing up the Vikings and forcing a kick that went far left, giving Woods great field position for the offense. With
Gabe Serri starting under center, he led Woods down the field and found WR
Bryson Nealy for a 59-yard touchdown to give the Owls an early lead. The Vikings would respond quickly, though, with a 52-yard touchdown to even the score at 7 apiece early in the first quarter.
The offense would once again provide for the Owls as a big-time catch from
Desmond Wilkins gave the Owls excellent field position for
Jalen Proctor to get in the end zone with a receiving touchdown out of the backfield. After a missed extra point from Woods, the Viking marched down the field with a 60-yard rushing touchdown to take the lead 14-13 heading into the second quarter.
To start the second quarter, each defense would step up for each school as both held each offense to a three-and-out. Missouri Valley was the first one to break the streak as they tallied another touchdown on the ground, extending their lead to 21-13. With Missouri Valley's defense forced a quick three-and-out to set up their offense for a one play touchdown that saw their lead expand to 28-12 edging late in the second quarter.
In the late minutes of the second quarter, Woods' defense would show up as they forced a punt from the Vikings that was blocked and returned for a touchdown by
Rahsaan Woodland. The Vikings, unfazed, put together a solid two-minute drill to score a touchdown in the final minutes of the half to extend their lead and go into halftime with a 35-19 advantage over the Owls.
With storms moving into the area, halftime was shortened to 10 minutes. Shortly after play resumed, lightning forced the game into a weather delay. After nearly 4 hours of a delay, both teams returned to a soaked field, where neither offense could gain traction through a scoreless third quarter. The Vikings carried a 35-19 lead into the last fifteen minutes of play.
With the Owls looking at a 16-point deficit, the defense forced a crucial stop to set up William Woods' offense. Riding the defense's momentum,
Jalen Proctor and
Dontae Rhodes would lead the Owls down the field with
Jalen Proctor finding the endzone to bring the score to 35-27. Woods was able to convert their two-point attempt thanks to a spectacular catch from standout receiever Jalen Beccerra.
The Owls' defense played a crucial role once again, forcing an errant snap on a punt attempt, allowing the Owls to get the ball back at the Vikings' 21-yard line. On the very next play, Rhodes connected with wideout
Jalen Becerra for a 21-yard touchdown. Though the two-point attempt failed, the Owls had trimmed the lead to two points, 35-33.
With the Owls' defense not allowing a second-half score, they once again delivered in crunch time and gifted the offense with a chance for the Owls to complete the comeback. After some hard-nose runs,
Jalen Proctor ripped off a 59-yard rush to put the Owls inside the 10-yard line. The Owls elected to burn the clock and settle for a field goal. Head coach
Sam Camp gave the signal to call a timeout with 3 seconds left, relying on the right leg of
Justin Sharkey.
With his first getting blocked, an offside call on the defense would inch the Owls just a bit closer for Sharkey and give The Woods a second chance for the win. Perfect snap, perfect hold, Sharkey drilled the kick through the uprights to complete the 17-point comeback to give the Owls their first win of the year over the Vikings, 36-25
The win marks several program milestones:
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First victory in the Heart of America Conference
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First win over an NAIA Opponent
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First Home Win in program history
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First career win for Head Coach Sam Camp
William Woods looks to ride its momentum as the team travels to Atchison, Kansas, to face Benedictine College on Saturday at 1 p.m.
QB
Gabe Serri - 190 PYDs | 2 TD
QB
Dontae Rhodes -109 Rush YDs
RB
Jalen Proctor - 89 Rush Yds | 2 TD
WR
Desmond Wilkins - 62 REC YDs
WR
Bryson Nealy - 59 REC Yds | 1 TD
WR
Jalen Becerra - 1 TD
LB
Keeno Theadford Jr. - 6 Tkls | 1 FF
S
Carter Holloway - 9 Tkls
LB
Derek Robbins – 4 Tkls | 1 FF
