FULTON, Mo. - On a Wednesday night full of history, William Woods University (1-3, 1-3 Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference) achieved its biggest feat when the game clock reached zero in the fourth quarter: The first win in program history. Lighting up the scoreboard, the Owls won 44-13 over third-year team Graceland University (3-2, 2-2) in their home opener at North Campus Athletic Complex.

Not only did The Woods record its first victory, but it also reached the end zone for the first time right in front of its student section. Achieving that for the Owls, Makenzie Hicks lobbed the ball over a Yellowjackets defender and into the hands of Kennedy Vannoy, who took it to the house for a 9-yard touchdown catch with 8:33 to go in the second quarter.

Not only did William Woods make some exciting plays on offense, but it also had a stout defensive display. Heading into the contest, the Owls only had one sack, which occurred in Saturday's matchup at Ottawa University. Evonne Bruestle, who made that sack, had a monster game in the trenches, posting a program-record four sacks for a loss of 22 yards total. The four sacks accounted for the majority of Bruestle's tri-game-high seven tackles. Olivia Menard also got to the quarterback, notching two sacks for a 12-yard loss in total.

Signal caller Hicks played her best game, completing 27-43 passes for a program-record 283 yards, a program-record seven touchdowns and three interceptions while carrying it five times for a team-high 20 rushing yards.

Hicks' top two targets, Addie Chilek and Vannoy, exemplified the two-way play of women's flag football. Chilek registered a WWU record eight receptions for a WWU record 142 yards - had a WWU record 41-yard reception - and two touchdown catches; as a defensive back, she had a tri-game-high seven tackles, one interception for a 14-yard return and one pass breakup. Vannoy set the Owls' single-game touchdown reception record with three, and those were half of her six snags for 52 receiving yards; at defensive back, she tallied a school-best three pass breakups and added four tackles and an interception with a 3-yard return.

Focusing on the game itself, the Owls' 44 points were impressive, as they trailed 7-0 after one quarter. WWU followed that up with an offensive onslaught in the second and third quarters, outscoring GU 19-0 in both quarters.

"We settled in after a very slow start offensively - some momentum rolled our way in the second quarter, and then we didn't look back," William Woods flag football coach Joe Schlager said.

After Hicks' first touchdown pass narrowed the Owls' deficit to one point, WWU took the lead for good 3:25 later when WWU's quarterback found Vannoy again for a 21-yard touchdown pass this time. After Hicks completed the 1-point pass attempt, the Owls led 13-7. With 56 seconds left until halftime, Hicks gave WWU a 19-7 advantage thanks to her 16-yard touchdown completion to Natalia Hernandez de Leon.

Opening the second half scoring, Hicks connected with Vannoy for a pay-dirt pass for the third and final time, a 9-yard completion like the history-making first. Following Hicks' 1-point conversion, the Owls held a 26-7 lead with 9:54 remaining in the third quarter. Not stopping there, Hicks made a short 4-yard touchdown toss to Emma Anderlik, elevating WWU's advantage to 32-7 with 4:14 to go in the third. Capping the third-quarter scoring, Hicks had another 4-yard touchdown pass to Chilek this time, making it four Owls with touchdown catches.

Through three quarters, William Woods held a 38-7 lead. Graceland scored for the final time with 9:39 left in the fourth quarter, then the Owls finished the game's scoring on Hicks' seventh and final touchdown pass, hurling it to Chilek, who reached the end zone with ease on her school-record 41-yard reception.

William Woods totaled a program-best 301 yards of offense (283 passing yards and 18 rushing yards), scored seven passing touchdowns, intercepted a school record two passes with 17 return yards total and had its first game with no penalties. Graceland recorded 219 yards of offense (147 passing yards and 72 rushing yards), scored one rushing and one passing touchdown, intercepted three passes for four return yards and had two penalties for an 11-yard loss in total.

The Owls open their five-game weekend at home, facing Midland University (2-2, 1-0 KCAC) at 4 p.m. Friday. 

"Good team effort overall in getting our first win; hopefully, we can use this game as a learning opportunity to carry into this weekend, starting Friday against a talented, experienced Midland squad that can compete with the best of the best," Schlager said. "We'll be challenged all weekend and have a short turnaround, but it will be good to see what we can do in such a short period of time with a full slate. Three straight conference opponents in Midland, Southwestern and Bethel - followed by Campbellsville and Pratt on Sunday. Excited to see what we can do moving forward and happy we were able to get a win in the first flag football game on campus here in Fulton. We're very appreciative of the support tonight from the campus body and families of the girls traveling in to experience the first home game."  Read Full Article