FULTON, Mo. - With over 800 fans in attendance, William Woods University (0-1) scored its most-ever points (23) at home in its first-ever Thursday night game at North Campus Athletic Complex. Unfortunately, the Owls opened the season with a 52-23 defeat to William Penn University (1-0) in the Second Annual Billy Bowl, one of 11 games in the inaugural NAIA-UEN Featured Games lineup.
"I thought we had some great flashes in the game," William Woods football coach
Sam Camp said. "Some mistakes were made that are characteristic of a first game of the season; we need to get those cleaned up, but we aren't sitting here with questions of how we move forward. We continue to move forward together, control what we can, and the success on the field will increase."
Responding to the Statesmen's long, 5:33 opening drive that resulted in a touchdown, the Owls reached the end zone on their first possession, a four-play, 53-yard drive.
William Woods' new starting signal caller,
Clayton Byer, a transfer from NAIA Mount Marty University, dropped his longest lob of the matchup, a 37-yard bomb to former Owls backup quarterback, now tight end,
Liam Hughes, to cut the host's deficit to a point (7-6) with 8:11 to go in the first quarter.
After William Penn extended its advantage to 14-6 late in the first quarter, William Woods kicker
Justin Sharkey nailed a 27-yard field goal with 12:32 remaining in the second quarter to bring it to a 14-9 Statesmen lead.
Despite the tremendous start for the Owls, they weren't able to maintain it as they trailed 49-9 heading into the fourth quarter. Byer reached pay dirt two more times in his WWU debut; his second touchdown occurred through the ground on a 10-yard scramble, and his third and final through the air on a 7-yard throw to
Bryson Nealy that concluded the contest's scoring with 1:25 left.
Byer tallied a game-high 298 passing yards, completing 23-of-37 passes, and he added 37 yards rushing in 11 attempts - his longest carry was for 13 yards. Nealy snagged a game-high seven receptions for a game-high 83 receiving yards and one touchdown.
Defensively, William Woods freshman linebacker
Vernell Foster had a fantastic first collegiate game, notching a game-high 11 tackles (one for loss).
Carter Holloway, an honorable mention All-HAAC South honoree a season ago, also stood out for the Owls, posting three tackles, one being a sack for a 10-yard loss.
The Owls take on another Heart of America Athletic Conference North Division team, traveling up to Lamoni, Iowa, to face Graceland University (0-0) at 3 p.m. on Sep. 6 at Huntsman Field. It'll be William Woods' first-ever game against the Yellowjackets.
