Know Your Football Opponent – Iowa Wesleyan

Our weekly look at the know your opponent segment as the Statesmen prep to host Iowa Wesleyan on Saturday at the New Community Stadium located at Lacey Recreation Complex. It will be a kickoff to start the new season and opening of the new stadium.


Let’s take a quick look at some highlights from the football preview:
2010 record: 10-1 (6-1 MWL, T-1st)
Starters returning/lost: 18/6 (including special teams)
Letterwinners returning/lost: 45/25

Notable returners:
Taylor Parsons, So., The Woodlands, Texas
(Second-team all-MWL, 1,010 rushing yards, 20 TDs, 901 passing yards, 7 TDs)
Shawn Davis, So., Hamersville, Ohio
(Second-team all-MWL, 1,042 rushing yards, 12 TDs)
Damon Harrison, Sr., Lake Charles, La.
(Second-team all-MWL, 47 tackles, 11 TFL, 2 sacks)
Sean Colemon, Sr., Burlington
(Honorable-mention all-MWL, 44 tackles)

Notable losses:
Steven Dawley(Two-time AFCA All-American)
Dale Woods(Two-time VSN All-American)
Javaras Thomas(Two-time all-MWL)
Bernard Luster(Second-team all-MWL)

Review:
With a bull's-eye on their back, the Statesmen are seeking to take care of some unfinished business as they enter the 2011 gridiron campaign.

Although it was expected to be just another solid year (preseason fourth in the Midwest League), 2010 was one of the most successful in school history. William Penn went 10-1, tying the program mark for most wins in a season, and shared the MWL crown at 6-1 (its fifth title in history).

The squad dominated the trenches, breaking NAIA marks for single-season rushing yards (4,476) and yards per attempt (6.9). Numerous school records fell to the ground as well, highlighted by total yards in a season (5,377), total yards in a game (672), points in a season (486), and points in a game (70).

2011 Conference:Favorites for the first time since joining the league in 2002, Hafner is aware the road to a championship and a playoff berth will not come without some blood, sweat, and tears. Grand View, St. Francis, and St. Ambrose are figured to all pose considerable challenges, while the rest of the MWL will not be pushovers either.

"It will be a great fight for the title between the four of us," Hafner said. "I think Iowa Wesleyan is a darkhorse as well and could be in there if things work out for them."

"There is a lot of positive anticipation for this fall," Hafner said. "I know it is cliche, but we have to stay from the injury bug and prepare ourselves one week at a time. We feel like we have a chance to win a lot of games and accomplish our goals by year's end."

Now for a couple of quick facts about this week's opponent.

1.) From 1989-1991, Hal Mumme was head football coach, with Mike Leach as his offensive coordinator, and it is at Iowa Wesleyan that they developed the "Air Raid" offense.

2.) Iowa Wesleyan College has been picked to finish sixth in the Mid-States Football Association Midwest League this season, according to the 2011 preseason coaches.

MSFA Midwest League Voting
1. William Penn (6 first-place votes) 55 points
2. Grand View (1) 49
3. St. Francis (Ill.) 41
4. St. Ambrose 36
5. Trinity International 23
6. Iowa Wesleyan 22
7. Waldorf 17
8. Olivet Nazarene (Ill.) 9

3.) Founded in 1842, it ranks as the oldest coeducational college located west of the Mississippi River.

4.) Belle Babb "Arabella" Mansfield, the first woman lawyer in the United States graduate from William Penn in 1866.

5.) Proudly, Mount Pleasant is the home of the annual Midwest Old Settlers and Threshers Association Reunion. This event attracts over 100,000 visitors every Labor Day Weekend. The celebration displays an ever expanding collection of antiques as well as hundreds of pieces of steam-powered farm equipment.

New Community Stadium Update for August

Check out the New Stadium update!!! Brought to you by CRI

Senior Day Tribute-- Saturday, February 19th

Over the weekend, William Penn honored a total of 20 seniors at the men's and women's basketball games. These seniors have all contributed to their athletic teams over the past four years and will forever be Statesmen.

The Lady Statesmen seniors honored were Rachel Butler, Roni Connelly, Sam Darley, Carleigh Hobson, Patricia O'Neill, Ashton Perez, Jacelynn Smith, Christa Subbert, Ashley Tindrell, and April Wilbur.

The Lady Statesmen ended their regular season Saturday on a high note defeating Ashford 77-45. Leading scorer for William Penn was Kim Thompson with 24 points followed by Christa Subbert with 23 points. Subbert currently sits in second place for the school,s all-time scorer with 1,085 and needs 54 points to tie the first place record. Orielle Thomas led the team in rebounding with 15 and contributed six points.

Penn's women's basketball tied for second place in Midwest Collegiate Conference with a record of 21-9 overall and 12-4 in conference.

The Statesmen seniors honored Saturday were Deon Bergeron, Boris Bobic, Nick Coffey, Jordan Letzring, Jonathan Pope, and Ryan Wilson.

In a last minute shot, the Statesmen lose a heartbreaker to Ashford, 61-60. Brandon Beasley led the men with 12 points followed by Blake Walker with 10 points. William Penn's mens basketball team finished sixth in the MCC with a record of 14-15 overall and 6-10 in conference.

The William Penn senior cheerleaders recognized were Danielette Harmon, Jennifer Miller, Stephanie Morris, and Rachel Throgmartin.

The Statesmen cheerleaders also recently competed in the 2011 Midwest NAIA Regional Competitive Cheer and Dance Invitational. Finishing in first place, clinched the cheerleaders a spot at the NCA/NDA Collegiate Nationals in Florida.

A Special Thanks goes out to all the seniors for their hardwork and dedication to William Penn!

WPU Toilet Paper Tradition

The long-standing tradition of throwing toilet paper continued during the men’s basketball game between rivals William Penn and Grand View on Wednesday, February 9th. The gym was packed on both sides with over 500 people ready to launch toilet paper at any second.


Within seven second of the game, toilet paper flew as the first basket was scored by William Penn’s number three, Blake Walker. The Statesmen went on to win the game 50-48 over the Vikings.

The leading scorer and rebounder for William Penn was Alan Douglas with 13 points and nine rebounds, followed up by teammates Wiebe Goodyk with 10 points and Blake Walker with nine points.



The toilet paper tradition has been going on since the early 1980’s, and was originally a war between Central and William Penn. It started back when William Penn was part of the NCAA Division III. Once the Statesmen moved to the NAIA and the Midwest Collegiate Conference, they quickly choose a new rival--the Vikings.

“This is a fun tradition that unites the students and campus,” said Athletic Director Greg Hafner.

Since the 1980’s the Grand View Rivalry has been a close match up as the Statesmen are one game up on the Vikings (18-17 playing record). Coach John Henry was a part of the Penn’s basketball tradition as a player until graduation in 1997, and then joined back to the tradition as a Coach in the 2001-2002 seasons. Coach Henry currently holds a 15-8 record over Grand View.

William Penn men’s basketball is currently 13-14 (5-9 MCC), and will travel to Dubuque, Iowa Saturday, February 12th for a 3 p.m. start against Clarke University.

For more information on the Men’s Basketball team, go to http://www.statesmenathletics.com/sport/12/4.php

Lady Statesmen Remain in Top 25

The newest NAIA National Polls have come out and William Penn University is making their presence known. William Penn is ranked 16th in the nation. Here are the polls:

NAIA Division II Women's Basketball Rating #8 - February 7, 2011
(Number in parentheses is first-place votes)
(Iowa Institutions bolded)
1. Davenport (Mich.) (15)
2. Northwestern
3. Morningside
4. Sioux Falls (S.D.)
5. Kansas Wesleyan
6. Indiana Wesleyan
7. St. Francis (Ind.)
8. Daemen (N.Y.)
9. Black Hills State (S.D.)
10. Walsh (Ohio)
11. Sterling (Kan.)
12. Ozarks (Mo.)
13. Iowa Wesleyan
14. Cedarville (Ohio)
15. St. Ambrose
16. Northwest (Wash.)
17. Cornerstone (Mich.)
18. Tennessee Wesleyan
19. Briar Cliff
19. Marian (Ind.)
21. Indiana-Southeast
22. Jamestown (N.D.)
23. Mount Marty (S.D.)
24. Cardinal Stritch (Wis.)
25. William Penn

Others receiving votes: Southwestern (Kan.) 58; Valley City State (N.D.) 45; Montreat (N.C.) 44; Notre Dame (Ohio) 23; Concordia (Ore.) 23; Peru State (Neb.) 15; Saint Thomas (Fla.) 15; Huntington (Ind.) 15; Mount Mercy 14; Concordia (Mich.) 10; Dordt 7; Bethel (Ind.) 7; Milligan (Tenn.) 5; Minot State (N.D.) 4; Union (Ky.) 3; Brescia (Ky.) 3; Holy Names (Calif.) 3; Florida Memorial 1; Indiana Tech 1; Bethel (Kan.) 1; Corban (Ore.) 1.