Raven Football completed a perfect conference season Saturday, defeating the (RV) MidAmerica Nazarene University Pioneers, 52-7.
With the win, the No. 3 Ravens (10-1, 6-0 Heart South) secure their first outright conference championship since 2022. The Ravens shared the conference championship with MNU and Baker University in 2023 and 2024.
The Ravens couldn't have scripted a better first half against the Pioneers. The defense stood strong on the opening drive to force a MNU punt. On the Ravens first offensive play, Jackson Dooley connected with Titan Osburn for a 45-yard gain and the drive was capped off by a Xavier Ugorji touchdown run.
The Pioneers answered with a long drive, but Isaiah Hasten intercepted a pass at the 3-yard line and returned it 59 yards into MNU territory. The offense cashed in on the turnover as Dooley found Tanner Zimmerman for a touchdown to give the Ravens a 14-0 lead.
In the second quarter, Ugorji scored again on a 23-yard rush to push the lead to 21-0. After a Pioneers punt, Tyler Watson made an acrobatic catch at the Pioneers 1-yard line, then plunged in for a rushing touchdown to give the Ravens a 28-0 lead.
Peyton Jobe was next in line for an interception – the Ravens third of the half after Se'Korrey Thomas also had a pick – which led to a 29-yard field goal by Christian Klobe. The Ravens took a 31-0 lead into halftime.
The Ravens strong performance carried into the second half. After the Pioneers scored their only touchdown of the game early in the third quarter, the Ravens closed out the game with 21-straight points.
The first of those three touchdowns came after the Ravens defense forced a turnover on downs at the MNU 43 yard line. On the Ravens first offensive play, Dooley found Osburn for a touchdown strike.
In the fourth quarter, Xiomar Hernandez and Robbie Sharp each scored a rushing touchdown to put the finishing touches on the 45-point win.
Dooley finished with 265 yards through the air and two touchdown passes. Osburn snagged 7 passes for 147 yards to lead Raven receivers. The rushing attack grinded to another 200-yard game as Ugorji had 83 yards and two scores. Ugorji eclipsed the 1,000-yard mark with Saturday's output, the first Ravens rusher to do so since Marquis Stewart in 2019.
The Ravens defense held the Pioneers to 209 total yards – MNU entered the contest averaging 378 yards per game and 36.4 points per game.
Isaac Lopez and Abram Phillips each had 6 tackles, with Phillips adding a pass break-up. In addition to the three first-half interceptions, Blake Dapkus added a fourth Ravens pick on the final play of the game. Dylan Bennett had the Ravens only sack of the game.
The win gives the Ravens an automatic entry into the NAIA Football Championship Series. The Ravens will find out their seed during the selection show at 6 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 16. Check www.ravenathletics.com for more information about the postseason following the selection show Sunday evening.