Benedictine football turned two turnovers by William Penn University into touchdowns on Saturday as Ravens earned a season-opening win over the Statesmen 34-14.

The Raven defense set the tone for the after early, taking an interception by William Penn quarterback Emilio Monsivais 78 yards to the house. Joel Mewis put the Ravens on the board with the first interception of the season for the Raven defense and Harry Balke followed with the PAT to put the Ravens in front 7-0 inside the first 5 minutes of play.

After quarterback Garrett Kettle found Jacob Gathright for a 46-yard touchdown pass, the Ravens found themselves leading 14-0. Joshua Morris picked up the Ravens second interception of the game late in the first quarter that led to a touchdown for the Ravens early in the second quarter  – a Kettle 3-yard touchdown pass to Reed Levi.

Benedictine held a 24-0 lead over William Penn after a 39-yard field goal from Balke before William Penn was able to score late in the second half. Balke ended the half with a 38-yard field goal to give the Ravens a 27-7 lead at the break.

The two teams traded touchdowns in the second half with Gathright adding a 48-yard reception from Kettle in the third quarter and the Statesmen scoring on a rush by Sterling Ramsey III in the fourth.

The Ravens finished the game with 157 yards on the ground, led by 50 yards off 8 carries from Derrick Overstreet while Kettle finished with 261 yards passing on 23 completions. Gathright led the receivers with 103 yards off 3 receptions to go along with his 2 touchdowns.

Defensively, Gavin Spangler led the Ravens with 9 tackles, registering 1 of the Ravens 5 tackles for a loss. Victor Terry III and Morris were close behind with 6 and 5 tackles respectively while Terry III had a tackle for a loss. Dwayne Lacey recorded the defense's first sack of the season while also recording one of the Ravens two fumble recoveries. 

Benedictine hits the road for their second game of the season next week. The Ravens will travel to Des Moines, Iowa, to take on No. 2 Grand View University. The Vikings opened their season on Saturday with a 51-0 win over No. 18 Central Methodist University in Fayette, Mo. Kick-off between Benedictine and Grand View is set for Noon.