Raven Football earned a comeback win in a Top-25 battle at home Saturday afternoon.
The (4) Ravens defeated the (23) Baker University Wildcats, 34-32, after trailing by 15 points in the second half.
The Ravens held a 17-16 advantage at halftime, but the Wildcats scored 16-straight points to take a 32-17 lead in the third quarter.
The Ravens offense had the initial answer. They drove 59 yards on 12 plays, converting on fourth down deep in Baker territory to set up a Xiomar Hernandez touchdown run to cut the Wildcats lead to 32-24 early in the fourth quarter.
After the Ravens defense forced a three-and-out, the Ravens offense took over at their own 15. This time Benedictine marched 85 yards on 11 plays as Patrick Heitert rushed in for the touchdown. Heitert then connected with Hernandez for the 2-point conversion to tie the game, 32-32, with 6:30 left to play.
Anthony Lonergan picked off a Baker pass on the ensuing possession, but the Ravens were forced to punt. Scotty Robertson made a perfect punt, pinning the Wildcats at the 2-yard line.
On the Wildcats first play backed up near their own goal line, Joseph Abrams shed his blocker and took down the Baker running back in the end zone for a safety, giving the Ravens a 34-32 lead.
The Ravens offense killed some clock on their ensuing drive but punted to the Baker 23-yard line with 23 seconds to play. Isaiah Hasten iced the game with his second interception of the contest, locking in the Ravens 2-point win.
Hernandez led the Ravens with 61 yards rushing and added 14 yards receiving to go with two touchdowns. Titan Osburn had 80 receiving yards on 4 catches.
Kolbe Sexton and Lonergan led the team with 6 tackles, while Hasten and Dylan Witherspoon each had 5 tackles.
The Wildcats had possession for the first 10 minutes of the opening quarter. Baker put together a long first drive to start the game, but the Hasten snatched a tipped pass and returned it 91 yards for a touchdown to put BC up 7-0.
Baker answered with another long drive, this time scoring a touchdown. The Ravens kept their lead, though, as the extra point doinked off the upright.
The Ravens first offensive drive of the game resulted in a 37-yard Kylar Haarhuis field goal to extend the lead to 10-6. That was short-lived, though, as Baker scored a quick touchdown to move in front 13-10.
After Baker intercepted the Ravens, the BC defense came up with a big stop when Jonathan Crowe picked up a fourth-down sack to give the Ravens the ball back.
The Ravens put together a 4-minute drive that culminated in a Heitert-to-Hernandez touchdown pass and the Ravens regained the lead, 17-13.
It was a 1-point, 17-16 Ravens lead at halftime as the Wildcats knocked through a field goal as the second quarter buzzer sounded.
Baker then dominated the third quarter to move in front, 32-17, setting up the Ravens thrilling comeback in the fourth quarter.
The Ravens (5-1, 1-0 Heart South) will hit the road for a 6 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 10 game at Central Methodist University.
