OSKALOOSA, Iowa – The 2021 season officially kicked off on Saturday as the No. 21-ranked Raven Football team earned a 35-13 win over Heart North opponent William Penn University at Statesmen Community Stadium.
Benedictine scored three times in the first half before capping off the game with two more second-half touchdowns while holding William Penn to just one touchdown and two field goals. The Ravens scored twice on the ground and three times through the air.
After falling behind on an early 23-yard field goal by the Statesmen, the Ravens responded with a 1-yard touchdown run by Rayshon Mills. It would be the first of two rushing touchdowns on the day for Mills that gave the Ravens their first lead. Benedictine never gave back the lead scoring on a 21-yard reception by Harry O'Neil from Garrett Kettle early in the second quarter and then again on Mills second rushing touchdown that gave the Ravens a 21-10 lead at halftime.
Kettle connected on his second touchdown of the game during the third quarter on a 15-yard reception by Tre Adger to push the Ravens ahead by 18. Adger picked up his second touchdown in the fourth quarter when Austin Buteaux connected on a 58-yard pass to Adger to cap off the Ravens scoring.
The Ravens finished the game with 346 yards of total offense. Kettle finished with 146 yards off 12 of 22 passing with 76 yards rushing. Mills added 67 yards off 14 carries while Adger added 120 yards receiving off 6 catches. O'Neil finished with 62 yards receiving off 3 catches.
Defensively, the Ravens matched up with the run-heavy offensive attack of the Statesmen. William Penn finished with 273 yards rushing but only added 89 yards through the air. Isaac Anderson led the Ravens with 9 tackles while Jalen James added 8. Dwayne Lacy and Tyler Tierney added 7 tackles each with Lacy recording two of the Ravens seven tackles for a loss. Jared Herron and Matt Kobbs combined for two sacks while Kobbs finished with a team-high 2.5 tackles for a loss. Daveon Drayton recorded the Ravens first interception of the season while Bryan Barrera added a forced fumble.
The Ravens open their five-game home schedule on Sept. 4 at 1 p.m. against No. 5 Grand View University. Tickets will go on sale Monday morning at www.ravenathletics.com/tickets. Season Tickets are also on sale through the ticket portal. The match-up with the Vikings will see the Benedictine host the Raven Football Kickoff while inducting Chris Tabor ('93) into the Raven Hall of Fame at halftime.
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