By MATT PIKE
St. Joseph Post
#9 Benedictine breaks records in win over William Woods
The #9 Benedictine Ravens closed out the regular season with a record breaking win over William Woods at NCAC Stadium in Fulton, winning 86-0 and securing a share of the Heart South conference title.
The Ravens set records for single game points as well as rushing yards allowed in the win. The previous record for points was 84 and was set during the 2018 season in a home win over Graceland. The Ravens held the Owls to minus-61 yards rushing, breaking a 24-year-old record previously set at minus-58 yards against Graceland during the 2000 season.
The Ravens jumped out to a 17-0 lead after the first quarter. Harry Balke connected on a pair of field goals – 35 yards and 28 yards – while the Ravens scored 4 points off 2 safeties before Joseph Lagafuiana returned the second free kick for a 98-yard return to make it 17-0.
Benedictine exploded for 41 points in the second quarter and Jackson Dooley went to the air, connecting on 5 touchdown passes to break the Ravens single-season passing record. He connected on a 10-yard pass to Matthew Sanford, a 35-yard pass to Jacob Gathright, and an 8-yard pass to Lagafuiana to tie the record at 33 passing touchdowns. He broke the record on a 46-yard pass to Lagafuiana and then added to his record with a 5-yard pass to Kameron Dover.
Special Teams capped off the first-half scoring after Dylan Witherspoon blocked a punt at the William Woods 30-yard line that found its way to the end zone where it was recovered by Trey Williams for a touchdown to send the Ravens into halftime leading 58-0.
Three more touchdowns put the Ravens on the cusp of the scoring record in the third quarter on a touchdown pass from Kaden Austin to Sanford for 8-yards. That was followed up by a 7-yard rushing touchdown from Jonah Roberts and a 7-yard rushing touchdown from Robbie Sharp to make it 79-0 headed into the fourth quarter.
Austin hit Callahan Huston on a pass that Huston broke loose for 60 yards to give the Ravens the new scoring record and end the scoring for the game.
Dooley finished with 136 yards on 10 of 18 passing with 5 touchdowns while Austin went 3 of 5 with 2 touchdowns. JJ Jackson led the Ravens with 68 yards on 12 carries, followed by Sharp with 56 yards, Xavier Ugorji with 45, Roberts with 32, and Dalton Witherspoon with 34. Lagafuiana finished with 54 yards receiving on 2 catches while Jacob Gathright added 36 yards on 2 catches.
Defensively, Benedictine finished with 5 sacks for a loss of 56 yards, 8 tackles for a loss of 72 yards, four forced fumbles with two fumble recoveries, and 3 interceptions.
The Ravens finished the season 9-2 (5-1 Heart South). The 2024 NAIA Football Championship Selection Show is scheduled for 6 p.m. Sunday where the Ravens will learn their postseason seeding for the FCS.
Big second half helps Missouri Western close out season with victory
The Missouri Western Griffons overcame six turnovers and 10 penalties and scored a 30-16 win over Quincy in the regular season finale at Spratt Memorial Stadium on Saturday.
The scoring got started for Missouri Western on the defensive side of the ball when senior Jaden Brown forced a fumble, allowing junior Kienen Gaskin to scoop and score giving the Griffons an early lead.
The Griffons offense struggled to find rhythm early, their first two drives resulting in interceptions, allowing Quincy to take a lead behind a 22 yard field goal from Michael Owens and a four yard rushing score from Teon Dollard, but Missouri Western managed to take the lead back just before the end of the quarter, Branden Berwald connecting with senior Tyler Carey for a 64-yard touchdown - Carey's third touchdown catch of over 60 yards this season.
In the second quarter, a missed field goal, a lost fumble and an interception plagued the offensive attack from Missouri Western, allowing the Hawks to regain the lead with a 24-yard touchdown pass from Drake Davis to Dollard, the lone score of the frame, giving Quincy a 16-14 lead at the halftime break.
Senior Cody Watson added to his historic career by successfully making his program-leading 42nd field goal from 27 yards away to put the Griffons ahead in the opening drive of the second half. Additionally, Watson tied Dustin Strickler for the most extra points (PATs) made in a Griffon uniform, reaching a total of 122, which was also his final try in college.
The Griffons clinched the season finale with a strong performance in the fourth quarter. Junior running back Jayden Williams scoring touchdowns from one yard out on both scoring drives for his first multi-touchdown game of his career.
Missouri Western finished the game with over 504 yards of total offense. Marrell Fountain (92) and Rickie Dunn (91) combined for 183 yards on the ground. Carey added his third 100-yard receiving performance of the season, while senior's Jonas Bennett and Jake Berrey hauled in two catches.
Missouri Western football says goodbye to 18 seniors, who were honored prior to the opening kickoff, as the 2024 season officially came to a close on Saturday afternoon. Griffons finish the season 4-7 (2-7 MIAA).
#23 Tigers suffers defensive collapse late, fall to #21 Gamecocks
COLUMBIA, S.C. -- — South Carolina coach Shane Beamer got a text recently from an SEC rival coach impressed with freshman quarterback LaNorris Sellers.
“You've got ‘Superman’ back there,” the message read, Beamer said.
Sellers may not be the “Man of Steel,” but he's certainly making a major impact for No. 23 South Carolina. And he showed that again on Saturday night with his career-best showing in a 34-30 victory over No. 24 Missouri.
Sellers, a redshirt freshman who took over the starting job from NFL rookie Spencer Rattler, threw for 353 yards and five touchdown passes, the last an inside throw that Raheim Sanders took 15 yards to the end zone with 15 seconds to go as they twice rallied from behind in the fourth quarter.
One play in particular floored Gamecocks defensive tackle Alex Huntley where Sellers twisted out of a sack on the next-to-last scoring drive before hitting tight end Brady Hunt for 11 yards on thrid-and-10. “Did he get sacked?” Huntley recalled saying.
“The second he got out of it, I knew something good was going to happen,” he said.
Sellers has done that more and more the past month after the Gamecocks stood 3-3 after a loss at Alabama on Oct. 12. He's led the way as South Carolina collected wins against Oklahoma (35-9) and ranked teams in Texas A&M (44-20) and Vanderbilt (28-7).
“It's about staying calm, not budging, not flinching,” said Sellers. “Taking one play at a not and not worrying about the outcome.”
That steady approach pulled out a game South Carolina would typically lose.
Twice Missouri took a lead in the final period and twice the Sellers and the Gamecocks answered back with success.
The Gamecocks (7-3, 5-3) have won four straight Southeastern Conference games for the first time since Steve Spurrier was coach in 2012. But it’s now one of Spurrier’s hires with the Gamecocks in Beamer who has South Carolina as the hottest team in the powerhouse conference.
The Tigers (7-3, 3-3) final lead came after Brady Cook’s 37-yard TD pass to Luther Burden III with 1:10 to go for a 30-27 lead.
Sellers, though, was far from done. He hit on passes of 10 and 39 yards to bring the Gamecocks to the Missouri 21. After Sellers’ 7 yard run, he flipped the ball to Sanders who bulled his way across the goal line to send the crowd at Williams-Brice Stadium into a frenzy.
“We were scoring,” said Sanders, nicknamed “Rocket," an Arkansas transfer who's had six of his 11 rushing TDs in the four-game win streak.
Missouri’s last chance ended with Cook was picked off by Jalon Kilgore with 5 seconds left as the Gamecocks beat three consecutive ranked teams for the first time in program history.
Missouri’s Nate Noel ran for 150 yards and a go-ahead touchdown in the fourth quarter, but it didn’t hold up.
The Tigers had defeated Oklahoma 30-23 last week on an scoop-and-score fumble with 22 seconds left. They nearly pulled out their second straight dramatic victory.
“I just think there's a relentlessness that our team plays with, believes in,” Missouri coach Eli Drinkwitz said. “Just didn't have enough tonight.”
Takeaways
Missouri: The Tigers had won five straight in the series and coach Eli Drinkwitz had won all three previous times he came to South Carolina’s stadium, including a 20-15 as Appalachian State coach in 2019. That run is over along with the team’s chances of a CFP berth.
South Carolina: The Gamecocks will need plenty of chaos, along with a victory in two weeks at No. 17 Clemson, to make their case as a playoff team. There’s no doubt there are few teams in the SEC who’d want to face South Carolina now.
Streaking Gamecocks
South Carolina has won four straight SEC games for the first time in 12 years. It had never won three in a row over AP Top 25 teams in program history.
“Say that again,” when asked about that run. “I like the sound of that.”
The streak ends next game when it takes on Wofford, an Football Championship Series team. But the Gamecocks can make it four out of five when they play rival Clemson, ranked 17th, in two weeks.
Cook's start
Missouri's Cook played strongly in his latest start, throwing for 239 yards with a touchdown and an interception after coach Eli Drinkwitz thought it unlikely he'd be recovered enough to play this week. Cook's 35-game starting streak ended last week when he hurt his wrist at Alabama.
Up next
Missouri is at Mississippi State next Saturday. Kickoff is at 3:15 pm, pregame will be at 1:15 on KFEQ. The game will be televised on SEC Network.
#13 Pittsburg State spoils Senior Day for Northwest in finale
The 2024 Northwest Missouri State University football season came to a conclusion Saturday when the No. 13-ranked Pittsburg State University Gorillas collected a 23-7 victory over the Bearcats on Senior Day.
Northwest out-gained Pittsburg State in total yards, 282-171. However, the Gorillas took advantage of a blocked punt for a touchdown, a safety and a pair of scoring drives that began on the short side of the field.
The contest featured a 45-minute lightning delay between the end of the third quarter and start of the fourth quarter.
The game was scoreless until the Gorilla's Jaydon Knight blocked a Cole Lammel punt and it was scooped up by Luke Niggemann at the 7-yard line. Niggemann then took it into the end zone for a touchdown for a 7-0 lead with 4:56 left in the first quarter.
The Bearcats gained the first turnover of the game when Austin McKinney batted a pass away at the goalline and Holden Zigmant corralled the pass for an interception at the one-yard line to thwart a PSU drive.
Unfortunately, Northwest could not gain a first down and was forced to punt. Lammel unleashed a 49-yard punt that was returned by Ryan Medeiros to the Bearcat 32-yard line. The Gorillas then drove 32 yards in four plays and cashed in with a two-yard touchdown run by Niggemann. Niggemann took a direct snap and plunged in from two yards out.
The Gorillas took advantage of the short field late in the first half and marched 41 yards in 10 plays. Niggemann stepped in at quarterback again near the goal line and rolled left for a four-yard keeper that reached the end zone to give PSU a 21-0 lead, which they took into the halftime break.
At the half, Pittsburg State had amassed 144 yards of total offense. Northwest would hold the Gorillas to 27 total yards in the second half.
The Bearcats avoided their first shutout since a 20-0 blanking by South Dakota State in 2003, when quarterback Henry Martin scrambled 38 yards for a touchdown with 3:31 left in the game. For Martin, it was his fourth rushing touchdown of the season.
The Bearcat defense forced another punt with 2:29 to play in the game. Bearcat punt returner Dominic Myers caught the PSU punt at the 5-yard line and was tackled for a two-yard loss putting the Bearcats's backs against the wall to start its drive.
Martin was sacked by Elijah Mort on on the first play of the drive to cap the scoring in the game.
Chris Ruhnke was 16 of 26 passing for 161 yards, before being replaced by Martin who was 9 of 14 for 89 yards, with one rushing touchdown. Tank Young rushed 11 times for 17 yards, while Luke Mathews (three catches, 65 yards) and John Giagiari (six catches, 55 yards) led the receivers.
Northwest completes its season with a mark of 6-5 overall and 5-4 in the MIAA. Pittsburg State is 8-2 overall and 7-2 in the MIAA. The Gorillas will await the NCAA playoff announcement on Sunday to find out their next assignment in Super Region III.
Late night stunner as Jayhawks take down undefeated #6 BYU
PROVO, Utah -- — Jalon Daniels threw for 169 yards, Dylan Neal ran for two touchdowns and Kansas upset No. 7 BYU 17-13 on Saturday night to hand the Cougars their first loss of the season.
The Jayhawks (4-6, 3-4 Big 12) beat ranked opponents in back-to-back weeks for the first time in school history. Neal surpassed 4,000 yards rushing in his career, finishing with 52 yards on the ground.
Jake Retzlaff threw for 192 yards for BYU (9-1, 6-1 Big 12, No. 6 College Football Playoffs). LJ Martin ran for 76 yards for the Cougars , who were held to a field goal in the second half.
Trailing 13-10 entering the fourth quarter, Kansas went ahead on Neal's 3-yard run.
Daniels quick-kicked on fourth-and-14 at the BYU 36 but, when Jakob Robinson dove to secure the ball, it squirted out of his arms. Quentin Skinner pounced on the loose ball at the 3 to set up the go-ahead score.
BYU drove to the Kansas 15 with two minutes left. The Cougars turned it over on downs when Chase Roberts was tackled 3 yards short of a first down with 46 seconds left.
Takeaways
Kansas: The Jayhawks took care of the ball and made smart decisions against an opportunistic BYU defense that ultimately forced only one turnover.
BYU: A turnover prevented a potential go-ahead score before halftime. A second one led to a late Kansas lead.
Poll implications
BYU will likely drop out of the Top 10.
Up next
Kansas hosts Colorado on Saturday at Arrowhead Stadium. Kickoff will be at 2:30 pm and the game will be televised on Fox.
#16 Wildcats claw back, but rough first half too much to overcome
MANHATTAN, Kan. -- — Sam Leavitt threw for 275 yards and three touchdowns, Jordyn Tyson had 12 catches for 176 yards and two of the scores, and Arizona State held off No. 20 Kansas State 24-14 on Saturday night in the Sun Devils' first trip to their new Big 12 rival.
Cam Skattebo returned from an injury to run for 73 yards, and the Sun Devils (8-2, 5-2) built a 21-0 halftime lead, before Kenny Dillingham's team held on for a third straight win to remain in contention for the Big 12 championship game.
“Everybody keeps saying, 'Oh, there's a reason they're winning and it's not because they're good,'” Dillingham said. “That has to bother you. This is the first week I really dove into that. I was pulling things out to show the guys for motivation this week. We really dove into people not believing in the football team, and not believing in the guys, and I think they responded."
Avery Johnson threw for 258 yards with two interceptions and a touchdown run for Kansas State (7-3, 4-3, No. 16 CFP), which had been 4-0 at home this season and 15-3 over the past three. D.J. Giddens ran for 133 yards and Joe Jackson had a TD run.
“I told the guys, “I'm going to take ownership of this on my own,'” Kansas State coach Chris Klieman said. ”The whole program is on me. I didn't do a good enough job with the game plan. I didn't do a good enough job with the players."
The bumbling Wildcats, who turned the ball over three times and failed to get the snap down on two field-goal tries, sure didn't look like a conference title contender that had last week off to prepare for the Sun Devils.
Johnson was picked off on the second play of the game, and Arizona State marched 49 yards with Leavitt hitting Tyson for the touchdown. On the next series, Dylan Edwards and Giddens were stuffed on consecutive carries, giving the Sun Devils the ball back on downs. And on the Wildcats' third series, Jayce Brown fumbled the ball away after a catch.
“Props to our defense for creating takeaways and putting us in a situation where we didn't have to go the length of the field,” Leavitt said. “We just executed on offense.”
Indeed, Arizona State capitalized on all the mistakes. Leavitt found Tyson for the second time from 30 yards out for a 14-0 lead, then hit wide open Chamon Metayer from 16 yards out to make it 21-0 early in the second quarter.
“Momentum is a real thing,” Sun Devils defensive back Xavier Alford said. “We wanted to come in here and make it our place.”
The cacophony of errors continued for the Wildcats: They had a 67-yard TD reception negated when offensive lineman Andrew Leingang blocked too far downfield. Johnson overthrew wide open Ty Bowman on a would-be 69-yard connection. And with first-and-goal at the Arizona State 5, they not only failed to get into the end zone but fumbled away the field-goal snap.
Arizona State headed to halftime serenaded by the sound of Kansas State fans booing their own team.
The Wildcats tried to rally late, beginning with Johnson's touchdown with 2:51 left in the third quarter. They got the ball back and needed just 1:19 to score again and get the 2-point conversion. But the Sun Devils picked up a couple of first downs on their next possession, running enough clock to make Kansas State's comeback bid nearly impossible.
The Wildcats muffed one last field-goal try with just over 2 minutes left that would have made it a one-possession game.
“We're big on clock management. We're big on winning the details of the game,” Dillingham said over the thumping music of the visiting locker room. “When you talk about winning against good football teams, you have to talk about winning the margins.”
The Takeaway
Arizona State was picked to finish last in the Big 12 but is very much alive in the title chase. The Sun Devils face seventh-ranked BYU, which along with No. 18 Colorado is ahead of them in the standings, at home next week.
Kansas State's Big 12 title chances essentially ended thanks to two straight dismal halves. The Wildcats allowed Houston to rally from a 19-10 second-half deficit in a 24-19 loss, then dug a first-half hole Saturday night that was far too deep.
Up Next
Kansas State plays its home finale Saturday against Cincinnati. Kickoff time has yet to be announced by the conference.
Nebraska fights hard but falls short in debut of USC's Maiava
LOS ANGELES -- — Jayden Maiava passed for 259 yards and three touchdowns and ran for another score in his first start for Southern California, leading the Trojans to a 28-20 victory over slumping Nebraska on Saturday.
Woody Marks rushed for 146 yards for USC (5-5, 3-5 Big Ten), and Maiava capped his eventful debut start by making a 2-yard TD run with 2:45 to play. The UNLV transfer replaced Miller Moss this week as the Trojans fight for bowl eligibility in another disappointing season under coach Lincoln Riley.
“It was a lot of fun, for sure," said Maiava, who went 25 of 35 and overcame two turnovers. "It’s definitely a big difference from sitting on the sideline to playing between the white lines.”
Zachariah Branch, Kyron Hudson and Duce Robinson caught TD passes from Maiava in just the Trojans' second win in six games. USC has never lost to Nebraska in these historic programs' infrequent meetings, going 5-0-1.
Nebraska drove to the USC 14 with 5 seconds to play, but after a false start, Greedy Vance easily intercepted Raiola’s final pass into double coverage in the end zone.
“We made some mistakes where we had some opportunities to separate, but I was just super-proud right at the very end,” Riley said. “The last drive offensively, and then closing the door defensively there at the end was just tremendous.”
Dylan Raiola passed for 191 yards and hit Emmett Johnson for a 29-yard TD in the first half, but Nebraska (5-5, 2-5) lost its fourth straight. The Huskers have lost eight straight games with a chance to become bowl-eligible under second-year coach Matt Rhule, including seven one-score defeats.
“A lot of things we did well,” Rhule said. “You take away maybe one play here, one play there, but that's football. That's the new Big Ten, as I told our guys. This isn't like the old Big Ten West, 17-13 (final scores). You come out to USC, they've got great players. You're going to have to make a lot of plays.”
Nebraska's Ceyair Wright returned an early interception 45 yards for a touchdown against his former USC teammates, and he blocked a field goal attempt in the fourth quarter.
But the Huskers' offense reached the end zone just once under new offensive coordinator Dana Holgorsen and managed just 254 yards before its desperate final drive. Raiola has thrown seven interceptions in his last four games, including two to USC.
Maiava struggled early on, going 2 of 7 on USC's first two series. He badly missed his target while gifting a pick-6 to Wright, the Los Angeles native who played the past three seasons at USC before transferring.
“That’s just me being me,” Maiava said of his aggressive mistake. “Obviously it’s rough, but I’m glad that it happened to me, just so it happened for the future.”
Maiava improved sharply from there, completing his next nine throws. He hit Branch for a 6-yard TD on the Trojans' third drive, and Hudson corralled a deflected 12-yard pass for another score seven minutes later.
Maiava hit Robinson in stride for an untouched 48-yard TD early in the third, but the quarterback later lost a fumble at the USC 16 while scrambling, leading to Nebraska's second field goal of the quarter.
Wright blocked the Trojans' 27-yard field goal attempt with 12:58 to play, keeping the Huskers' deficit at one point. But Nebraska couldn't score, and Marks took a fourth-down pitch from Maiava 43 yards before Maiava finished the drive with his TD run.
Holgorsen's debut
Nebraska managed 310 yards in the first game with Holgorsen calling the plays. The former head coach at West Virginia and Houston was abruptly put in charge during the bye week, hoping to spark an offense that began the weekend 97th in the FBS in total yards. Holgorsen and Riley coached together on Mike Leach’s staff at Texas Tech.
Takeaways
Nebraska: Even with Holgorsen's input, the Huskers failed to top 325 yards of offense for the fifth consecutive game. Raiola wasn't terribly impressive, either. Nebraska doesn't have the offensive talent to be a contender, but it can still beat Wisconsin or Iowa to secure bowl eligibility for the first time since 2016.
USC: Maiava overcame his nightmare start to inject elements of elusiveness and unpredictability into Riley's spread offense. That's exactly what the Trojans had during Caleb Williams' career, and what they lacked with Moss. Yet USC still needs a win over UCLA or Notre Dame to avoid a losing season.
Up next
Nebraska hosts Wisconsin next Saturday. Kickoff time has yet to be determined by the conferenc