FULTON, Mo. - Picking up where it left off Friday night, William Woods University (4-3, 4-3 Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference) commanded North Campus Athletic Complex Saturday, routing Southwestern College (3-3, 3-3) 32-12 and Bethel College (0-4, 0-4) 61-0, which gave the Owls their first winning record of their inaugural season.

"We had a positive day with strong play again on the defensive side of the ball," William Woods flag football coach Joe Schlager said. "Everybody on the team contributed positively, and we continue to get better."

William Woods spread out its offense against the Moundbuilders in Game 1, with five players recording a receiving touchdown apiece: Olivia Perkins tied the program's single-game receptions record with eight for 69 yards and one touchdown, Evonne Bruestle had four for 60 yards and one touchdown, Kennedy Vannoy seven for 56 yards and one touchdown, Natalia Hernandez de Leon two for 13 yards and one touchdown and Addie Chilek one for four yards and one touchdown.

Making the tosses for those scores, Owls quarterback Makenzie Hicks completed 26-44 throws for 259 yards, five touchdowns and two interceptions. 

On the defensive side, WWU's Bruestle led the way with three sacks for a 15-yard loss and two pass breakups. Other standouts for the Owls were Jayden Jalbert with four tackles and one pass breakup, Chilek with three tackles and one interception, Madi Jones with two tackles and two pass breakups and Vannoy with one interception and one tackle.

While the result may not reflect it, the Owls and Moundbuilders battled it out in the first half. Southwestern led 6-0 with 1:32 left in the first quarter after it completed a 19-yard touchdown pass. Woods responded with 9:20 to go in the second quarter as Hicks found Chilek for a 4-yard touchdown pass.

That was the final scoring play of the first half, with it tied at 6-all. The Owls returned to the field with fiery energy, outscoring the Moundbuilders 20-0 in the third quarter. WWU took the game-deciding advantage when Hernandez de Leon snagged a 12-yard touchdown pass from Hicks with 10:26 remaining in the third. Hicks registered two more touchdown throws in the third, a 5-yard lob to Vannoy with 7:40 left and a 27-yard toss to Bruestle with 3:40 on the clock.

Holding a 26-6 lead, the Owls did their job on both sides in the fourth quarter. Perkins hauled in a 20-yard touchdown pass from Hicks for WWU's final scoring play, which made it 32-6 with 9:29 to go. The Moundbuilders scored in garbage time on a long 66-yard touchdown pass with 9:18 left, and those were the game's final points.

For the matchup, William Woods totaled 242 yards of offense (259 passing yards and -17 rushing yards), scored five passing touchdowns, intercepted two passes and had two penalties for five yards. Southwestern notched 153 yards of offense (165 passing yards and -12 rushing yards), scored two passing touchdowns, intercepted two throws for 11 total return yards and posted four penalties for five yards.

In Game 2 versus the Threshers, the Owls' 61-point winning margin was their widest ever, and Hicks reset her single-game passing yards and touchdown records for WWU, going 32-47 through the air for 370 yards, nine touchdowns and no interceptions while registering one rush for three yards.

Bruestle also broke an Owls single-game record, receiving touchdowns, with four touchdown catches. She totaled six receptions for 59 yards. Perkins had another great game at wide receiver, snagging six passes for 99 yards and two touchdowns.

The Menard twins shined defensively for The Woods, with Sam Menard making a co-team-high five tackles and two sacks for a 10-yard loss in total and Olivia Menard a co-team-high five tackles and two sacks for a 9-yard loss in total. Vannoy had the Owls' lone interception and returned it for 13 yards, and she added four tackles and a pass breakup. Jones had a game-high two pass breakups and tacked on two tackles.

Only 2:28 into the game, William Woods went on top the rest of the way when Hicks hurled a 31-yard touchdown pass to Vannoy, then the Owls' signal caller ran in the 1-point attempt to hand them a 7-0 advantage.

The Woods had another strong second quarter, scoring in that quarter for the fourth time in as many home games this season. This time, the Owls did it to their greatest extent, tallying their most-ever points in a quarter with 27. Hicks was involved in getting all those points, completing a 9-yard touchdown pass to Perkins with 10:18 left, an 8-yard touchdown pass to Bruestle and converting the 1-point pass attempt with 4:25 to go, a 36-yard touchdown pass to Perkins and made the 1-point pass attempt with 1:11 on the clock and a 21-yard touchdown pass to Bruestle and earned the 1-point pass attempt with 4 seconds remaining.

At halftime, the Owls led 34-0. Hicks added two more touchdown throws to her tally in the third quarter, making a 1-yard throw in the end zone to Bruestle with 9:48 left and a 19-yard completion to Chilek with 36 seconds remaining. Following Chilek's touchdown reception, Perkins converted the 1-point pass attempt to give WWU a 47-0 advantage through three quarters.

Hicks finished off her record-breaking nine-touchdown display, posting two touchdown passes in back-to-back quarters. Bruestle took Hicks' first touchdown throw of the fourth quarter to the house, an 18-yard completion with 7:35 left, and Hicks converted the 1-point pass attempt. Just over three minutes later, Hernandez de Leon caught a 27-yard touchdown pass from Hicks, and the Owls' quarterback made the 1-point pass attempt, finalizing the scoring in their second shutout victory in as many days.

Overall, William Woods totaled 373 yards of offense (370 passing yards and three rushing yards), scored nine passing touchdowns, intercepted one pass for 13 total return yards and had one penalty for five yards. Bethel tallied 44 yards of offense (45 passing yards and -1 rushing yard) and registered three penalties for 10 yards.

The Owls will wrap up their action-packed five-game weekend by hosting Campbellsville University (4-3) at noon and NJCAA Pratt Community College (1-5) at 1:30 p.m. on Sunday.

"We gave up very few big plays all day, and that allowed us to control the game and continue to build on the offensive side of the ball," Schlager said. "Each game is giving us a little more experience and confidence, and ultimately, we've done what's needed to come out on top. We'll look forward to keeping momentum going into Sunday."  Read Full Article