The St. Ambrose University football team tried to bury all of its bad juju from an 0-3 start in one game.
In its final evening contest of the season on Saturday, the Fighting Bees pulled out all the stops and broke loose for an 82-5 Heart of America Conference crossover victory over William Woods.
The game was contested at Jack and Pat Bush Stadium on the Davenport Assumption High School turf — or what might be left of it after this weekend.
A day after the Knights rolled up 325 offensive yards in a running clock 42-0 victory over Davenport West, the Fighting Bees churned out 625 yards of offense in 68 plays against the 0-4 Owls.
“The guys did a really good job,” said SAU coach Vince Fillipp. “It was kind of the challenge all week … to compete for all four quarters and do it together as a group.
“Played really, really well offensively, defensively, and made impact plays on special teams. It was good to see.”
Williams Woods came into the game being outscored 161-87 in its first three games, not scoring fewer than 23 points in a game this season. The Bees allowed only 202 yards of offense in 72 Owls snaps.
As gaudy as the offensive numbers were, there were no SAU football records set as the Fighting Bees won their first game of the season with the help of a Nolan Obert blocked punt that was returned for a score by freshman Mikey Brow.
The 85 points were the second-most in program history, behind 95 scored in 1912 against the Tri-Cities Indees. The 77-point margin of victory was the third largest behind that 95-0 victory and a 79-0 victory over Mount Senario in 1984.
The 625 yards did not crack the program’s Top 10, which ranges from 749 yards to 632 yards — in games against Waldorf in 2013 and 2004.
In just over two quarters of work, quarterback Alec Ponder completed 13 of 18 passes for 226 yards and 5 touchdowns before giving way to Caleb Swanson, who finished 4-5 for 63 yards and two more TDs.
While efficient, the five TD tosses tied for seventh in program history, which has been accomplished 12 times by 10 signal-callers. Tom Casey (2022) and Eric Williamson (2012) share the record with seven touchdown passes in a single game.
Five players caught TD passes, including Kameron Bohnsack (3 catches, 95 yards) and Brennan Wilson (3-55), who found the end zone twice.
Eight of SAU’s 12 touchdowns came on plays of 18 yards or longer. The longest two were Quad-City connections as Ponder found Moline’s Colin Shults on a 41-yard toss and former Rockridge standout Bohnsack for a 31-yarder.
Zaire Wilcox rushed for three scores — with his longest scoring run a 26-yarder — as part of his 95-yard effort on 15 carries. Tre Jenkins led the rushing attack with 155 yards on 17 totes and found the end zone once from three yards out.
SAU went on top 47-0 on an 18-yard Ponder to Bohnsack connection before William Woods got on the board on a blocked point-after kick return. Jorden Price took the blocked kick 97 yards for two points with 1:06 left in the first half.
The hosts then rattled off 35 more points in the second half before the Owls kicked a 37-yard field goal on the final play of the game.
Posting that first win made for a happy locker room after the contest.
“It’s always good to get the reward of winning on a Saturday when you work so hard during the week,” said Fillipp. “The guys were fired up.”
The Fighting Bees will need to keep that focus and intensity this coming Saturday when they open Heart North play at defending NAIA champ Grand View in Des Moines. The 3-0 Vikings are a unanimous No. 1 in the latest NAIA Top 25 poll.
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TJ Johnston
sports writer/golf editor
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