Fulton, MO – William Woods University (0-3, 0-3 HAAC) faced off in a thriller against Culver-Stockton College (2-1, 0-0 HAAC). In the third game of the season, the Owls continued to grow and showed great promise during this contest.
They got it going early as they received the ball off the kickoff and marched down the field. As it looked like the owls were rolling, the Wildcats' Elijah Wilson forced a fumble to give possession to the Wildcats. The Wildcats would go on to score on this drive and the next to take a 13-0 lead over the Owls.
The Owls would not let the lead get too far as QB
Clayton Byer would find WR Bryson Neely for 26 26-yard touchdown to cut the lead to 13-7 after kicker
Justin Sharkey made the PAT. The Wildcats took no time to respond as QB Liam Thornton found WR Jermonte Alexan for a 15-yard touchdown to extend the lead to 20-7 after a successful point after.
The Wildcats would continue to extend the lead as Jaqorian Wiggle would find the endzone to extend the Wildcats' lead to 27-7 and be the lead that was taken into halftime.
Out of the half, the Wildcats would get stood up by the Owls' defense as they would force a quick punt. The Owls would respond quickly as 31 rushing yards from RB
Jalen Proctor and a touchdown from WR Ethan Loller would cut the Wildcats' lead to 13 and make the score 27-14.
The Owls' defense would continue its dominance, causing another quick 3 and out to get the ball back with 4 minutes left in the third quarter. The Wildcats' defense would also show its teeth as defensemen, Mason Leu, would intercept a pass attempt from
Clayton Byer to give the ball back to the Wildcats.
In a quick response to the mistake,
Clayton Byer would find WR,
Desmond Wilkins, for a 38-yard touchdown in the final second of the 3
rd quarter to bring the score to 27-21. The Owls would stay hot on offense in the 4
th quarter as RB
Jalen Proctor would rip a 50-yard rush for a William Woods touchdown, giving the Owls their first lead of the game, 28-27.
The Wildcats would respond instantly as Jermonte Alexan would get into the endzone on a 51-yard pass attempt to take the lead right back to a score of 35-28. But the owls would not lie down as
Clayton Byer would find WR
Jorden Matlock twice for 25 yards and a rushing touchdown from
Clayton Byer to give the Owls the lead 36-35 after a successful 2-point conversion from
Desmond Wilkins.
This was it, the Wildcats got the ball back with all 3 timeouts and the two-minute warning in their favor. The Wildcats would march down the field with the help of a pass interference and a holding call that would put them in field goal distance. With that, kicker Matt Morton's field goal attempt would be good as the clock hit zero to give the Wildcats a 38-36 win over the Owls in the final minutes.
The Owls are back in action next Saturday as they travel to Davenport, Iowa, to take on Saint Ambrose University at 6 p.m..
QB
Clayton Byer – 28/50 | 336 yds | 3 tds
RB Jalen Procter – 132 rush yds | 1 td | 4 rec 37 yds
WR Bryson Neely – 9 rec 91 yds | 1 td
WR
Desmond Wilkins – 4 rec 81 yds | 1 td
LB
Vernell Foster – 8 tkls
DE
Jacob Medina – 5 tkls 1 sack
DE Juwann Tayler – 2 sacks
