St Joseph Post
Dec 07, 2024

Benedictine advances to NAIA semifinals with another upset victory

Posted Dec 07, 2024 9:11 PM
The Benedictine Ravens played strong defense on way to a 20-9 victory over Indiana Wesleyan in the NAIA Quarterfinals on Saturday morning/ Photo courtesy of Cooper Pound
The Benedictine Ravens played strong defense on way to a 20-9 victory over Indiana Wesleyan in the NAIA Quarterfinals on Saturday morning/ Photo courtesy of Cooper Pound

By MATT PIKE

St. Joseph Post

The Benedictine Ravens football team has made a habit of spoiling undefeated seasons in the NAIA playoffs. 

After beating #8 seed Texas Wesleyan last week, handing the Rams their first loss of the season, the Ravens faced #3 Indiana Wesleyan in the NAIA quarterfinals, and handed the Wildcats their first loss with a 20-9 win on the road in Marion, Indiana.

It was a strong first half for Benedictine as the Ravens built a 17-0 lead at halftime.  After rushing touchdowns by running back Dalton Witherspoon, a three yard score, and quarterback Jackson Dooley, a one yard touchdown, in the first quarter Benedictine capped the first half scoring in the second with a 20 yard field goal by Harry Balke midway through the quarter. 

Following a scoreless third quarter, the Wildcats cut into the lead with their only touchdown of the game on the first play of the fourth quarter, a one yard rushing touchdown from Ryan Whitwell.  The two point conversion attempt failed, and after the Ravens were forced to punt on the ensuing drive, a massive sack by  Blake Casteel forced Indiana Wesleyan to send  Josh Clifton out to knock through a 40 yard field goal. 

With 6:37 remaining in the game, the Ravens put together what amounted to a game winning drive, milking almost four minutes of clock with a key third down conversion pass from Dooley to Jacob Gathright, setting Balke up for a 44 yard field goal to put the Ravens up by 11 with 2:40 left in the game. 

Jackson Hoskins put the finishing touches on the win as he intercepted a Wildcats pass with 1:43 left in the game, allowing the Ravens to kneel out the rest of the game and move on to the semifinals.

With the win, the Ravens snapped Indiana Wesleyan's 25-game home winning streak and avenged a 2022 loss to the Wildcats also in the NAIA FCS Quarterfinal.

The Ravens defense held the Wildcats to 36 fewer points than they averaged entering Saturday's game.  Indiana Wesleyan was just 5-of-15 on third down attempts and the Ravens stuffed two of the Wildcats five fourth-down tries.

Javhi Blomquist led the Ravens with 11 tackles and Zachary LaCombe added 10 tackles to go along with a fumble recovery. Isaiah Hasten had 7 tackles and an interception and Cole Johnson added another interception for the Ravens defense.

On the offensive side, Dooley was 18 of 33 for 193 yards with one interception.  Xavier Ugorji rushed 11 times for 47 yards, while Witherspoon rushed 16 times for 45 yards with a touchdown.  Joseph Lagafuaina was the leading receiver with seven catches for 78 yards.

Next up for the Ravens is a trip to the NAIA Semifinals.  Benedictine will travel to West Palm Beach, Florida for a matchup with #1 seed Keiser.  Kickoff will be at noon on December 14th.

You can follow Matt on X @KfeqMatt and St. Joseph Post @StJosephPost.