MARSHALL, Mo. – After playing to a 10-10 tie after the first quarter, No. 8 Benedictine outscored Missouri Valley College 35-14 en route to their sixth straight win over the Vikings.
Missouri Valley broke through against the Benedictine defense in the first half as they totaled 228 yards on 28 plays. They would only get 113 more yards in the second half as Benedictine shored up their efforts on defense and allowed their offense to find a rhythm. Benedictine finished the game with a total of 504 yards – their third 500-plus-yard effort in their last four games – as they earned the 45-24 win.
The two teams sandwiched their first-quarter touchdowns between a pair of field goals. Missouri Valley held a 17-10 lead early in the second quarter before the Ravens scored 14 unanswered to lead 24-17 at the break. After rushing for a 4-yard touchdown for Benedictine's first-quarter touchdown, quarterback Garrett Kettle connected on a pair of passing touchdowns in the second quarter. He connected on a 32-yard pass to Collin Payne to tie the game at 17-17 before hitting Reed Levi on a 2-yard pass to give the Ravens a 24-17 lead.
Benedictine returned to their rushing attack for their next two scores, getting the second-half scoring started with a 40-yard rushing touchdown from Derrick Overstreet before JaShawn Todd scored on a 1-yard rush to end the quarter and increase Benedictine's lead to 38-24.
The lone score of the fourth quarter came through the air as Kettle connected on a 6-yard pass to Todd to put the Ravens in front 45-24.
Kettle finished the game with 288 yards on 19 of 33 passing. Overstreet led the Ravens rushing attack with 60 yards on 6 carries while Rayshon Mills added 59 yards on 10 carries. The Ravens spread around their receptions in the win over the Vikings as 11 players recorded a catch. Jacob Gathright finished the game with 109 yards on 3 receptions.
The Raven defense finished the game with a pair of sacks and 7 tackles for a loss of 33 yards. Isaac Anderson and Dwayne Lacey recorded the two sacks while Anderson also added a forced fumble and fumble recovery. Jackson Hoskins led the Ravens in tackles with 5 while Adam Wilbers and Jack Young joined Anderson with 4. Lamont Shamburger finished with an interception to push the Ravens season total to 15.
Benedictine returns to O'Malley Field at Larry Wilcox Stadium on Oct. 29 for Homecoming Weekend. The Ravens host rival Baker University at 1 p.m.
#UnleashGreatness
