Benedictine football opened up Heart South play on Saturday with a shutout.

The No. 8-ranked Ravens improved to 30-2 in conference play against Central Methodist University with a 47-0 win over the Eagles on O'Malley Field at Larry Wilcox Stadium.

Coming off the bye week, the defense didn't skip a beat, limiting the Eagles to 7 first downs, marking the second time this season the defense held their opponents to under 10 first downs. They also tallied 3 interceptions, recovered 2 fumbles, registered 5 sacks, and 8 tackles for a loss. The 5 sacks set a new single-game high while the 8 tackles for a loss marked the fourth straight game with 8 or more.

The Ravens scored their first two touchdowns of the game on the ground. Garrett Kettle scored the first touchdown of the game on a 7-yard carry before Rayshon Mills added a second-quarter 3-yard rush. A pair of Harry Balke field goals late in the second quarter from 51 yards and 26 yards pushed the Ravens to a 20-09 lead at halftime.

The third quarter saw the Ravens match their game total scoring effort as they added 20 more points to their margin. Kettle connected on a 15-yard pass to Damon Wigand to start off the scoring. Mills added his second 3-yard rushing touchdown before Kettle connected with Austin Buteaux for an 11-yard touchdown pass. Luke Laskowski added the final score of the game for the Ravens, connecting with Harry O'Neill on a 14-yard pass in the fourth quarter.

Mills rushed for 102 yards on 10 carries while Dalton Witherspoon added 43 yards on 8 carries. Kettle finished with 175 yards passing on 17 of 34 passes while Buteaux finished with 97 yards on 5 receptions. 

Zach Gill led the Raven defense with 5 tackles, followed by Fabian Njika, Adam Wilbers, Spencer Whitt, Victor Terry III, Eric Chavez, and Dwayne Lacey with 3 tackles each. Wilbers, Kyle Roland, and Lamont Shamburger tallied the Ravens 3 interceptions. Chavez, Lacey, Heath Baker, and Jared Heron recorded a sack each while Tyler Wilson and Garrett Feiden assisted on a sack to give the Ravens their new single-game total. Lacey finished with 2 tackles for a loss of 7 yards.

Benedictine hits the road next week, traveling to Marshall, Mo., for their second game of Heart South play as they take on Missouri Valley College.