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Fighting Bees Blow By William Penn

For a short time Saturday, William Penn looked like they might hang with the tenth ranked St. Ambrose Fighting Bees, leading 7-6 after one period. That's when SAU turned on the afterburners, running away with a 43-10 victory at Brady Street Stadium.

SAU got on the board first halfway through the first quarter on a 65-yard touchdown reception by Brandin Smith, who finished the day with five catches for 158 yards. The extra point was blocked, and SAU led 6-0.

William Penn, who was noted for running the ball with their star running back James Jackson, came out of the gates throwing as well, taking their first and only lead of the ball game on a 76-yard touchdown pass from Kentrell Jones to L. Straughter.

SAU took the lead for good in the second quarter, as Kietzman hooked up with Chris Burhans for an 8-yard score. Burhans more than made up for a fumble on the opening drive of the game by recording seven receptions for 104 yards and two scores.

"We try to stay as balanced as we can, but we had to throw it a little bit more today than we wanted to, but it worked out well for us," head football coach Todd Sturdy said.

Once the game started, it wasn't clear if SAU would get the job done throwing the ball, as their offense once again started slow to open the game.

"The offense was a little inconsistent coming out of the gates, with a fumble and an interception in the first quarter, but I thought we responded well and the players made plays when they had to," Sturdy said.

After a Nate Turnbull field goal cut SAU's lead in half, to three points, the Fighting Bees really started to pour it on, scoring 16 points in the final two minutes of the first half. First, Shane Jones caught a 35 yard TD from Kietzman. The kickoff was then promptly fumbled by William Penn, who recovered on their own two yard line. Two plays later, SAU was on the board again, as Ryne Foster got into the backfield for a safety.

"Coach (Mike) Magistrelli had a great defensive call on that play and it was very well executed by the defense. We just did a great job defensively all day. They played lights out once again," Sturdy said.

SAU then got the free kick after the safety, and marched down the field once again, using just 55 seconds and capped off by Burhans' second TD of the game, a 20 yard strike from Kietzman. That suddenly gave SAU a 29-10 halftime lead in a game that had a difference of three just two minutes earlier.

"We just took advantage of some big plays," said Sturdy, "We got a big interception before the half and got that safety, which was a huge momentum builder for us."

The Fighting Bees weren't quite done yet, scoring twice more in the second half on two more touchdown passes, the first to Brett Van Hove and the second to Jacob Fouts. That final TD gave Kietzman six touchdown passes on the day, which marks a career high in TD passes for the senior. Kietzman also threw for a career high 431 yards on 23 of 36 passing. With those numbers, the Eldridge, Iowa native moves into second place on SAU's all-time TD pass list, with 46 for his career. He also moved into second in school history in total yardage.

"That's a great honor for Jeff. He's a great kid and deserves all the recognition that he's getting, and he's been a great player for us over the years," Sturdy said.

The amazing thing is that Kietzman is having the best season of his career, with very slim pickings to throw to due to injury. Shane Jones and Adam Norland were each banged up today, along with Smith, who re-injured the shoulder he has been nursing all season, to go along with the injuries to starting receivers Tim Turkowski and Nic Gieselman. Even with all the injuries, the SAU offense continues to click on all cylinders.

"Our players handle adversely very well. It's part of the game and we just have to stay positive and move forward," said Sturdy, "We'll regroup on Monday, and figure out what we're going to do to beat McKendree next Saturday."

Next week's game will be a critical showdown between the Fighting Bees and the Bearcats, whom are both tied atop the MSFA standings with St. Xavier, at 4-1. They'll do battle in Lebanon, Illinois at 1:00.

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