Central Methodist fell to Heart North Division foe William Penn University, 35-17, Sunday afternoon at Davis Field. The football game was rescheduled for Sunday after multiple rounds of lightning delays Saturday forced postponement. 

Central now stands at 1-3 overall, while the Statesmen improve to 2-2. 

The Eagles found themselves trailing early, as WPU scored a pair of touchdowns on its opening two possessions of the first quarter. William Penn then drove 80 yards in 17 plays to score their third touchdown of the first half midway through the second quarter. The drive chewed up more than eight minutes of game time and put the Statesmen up 21-0.

Central found a spark in the closing moments of the second quarter when the offense drove 63 yards in 14 plays to reach the Statesmen 25-yard line. Junior kicker Oscar Simon nailed a 42-yard field goal to give Central its first points of the day.

The Eagles entered the halftime break trailing 21-3.

William Penn padded its lead on its opening drive of the third on a 17-yard touchdown pass. The Eagles responded on their ensuing drive when senior quarterback Joe Cambridge threaded a pass to Drake Dudley for a 29-yard touchdown reception.

The next three drives would stall, as both defenses remained in a stalemate through the end of the third quarter. William Penn’s defense came up big with a quarterback sack that led to a fumble recovery for an 11-yard touchdown at the 10:40 mark of the fourth.

Despite the deficit, CMU’s offense continued to battle. The Eagles responded with an eight-play, 67-yard scoring drive, capped by a 13-yard touchdown pass from Cambridge to Arron Edwards.

The Eagles could not add any more points, as the Statesmen would go on to earn a 35-17 win.

Cambridge finished the afternoon completing 19 of 33 passes for 236 yards and two touchdowns. Dudley led the receiving core with three catches for 95 yards and a touchdown, while Fayette native Zane Rice snagged three catches for 52 yards, including a 24-yarder.

Another former Fayette Falcon, Garren Vroman, led the rushing game in carries with eight, picking up 12 yards. Charles Johnson tallied 28 yards on seven attempts.

Lontas Mcclinton was all over the field defensively, racking up a game-high 16 tackles. Keshawn Wilson tallied 15 tackles and two pass breakups, while Joseph Slattery recorded 10.

Dylan Holt and Devin Watson each finished the day with a sack. 

Central heads out on the road to face No. 2 nationally ranked Grand View University on Saturday. Kickoff is at noon in Des Moines, Iowa.