By TOMMY REZAC
St. Joseph Post
SAVANNAH - The Savannah football team recovered a fumble on Benton's first play from scrimmage in the opening seconds of Friday's contest, and that pretty much set the tone for the night.
The Savages (4-1) went up 14-0 at the end of the first quarter, and hung 36 more points in the second. That's all they'd need, as Savannah rolled to a 50-0 win over Benton on Friday night during homecoming for Savannah High School.
The Savages, who have now shut out three straight opponents, scored touchdowns on six consecutive drives to put things away early.
Senior running back Cade Chappell ripped off touchdown runs of 44, 53 and 60 yards in the first half. He finished with 187 yards on 12 carries and three scores.
Quarterback Aiden Knechtenhofer completed all seven of his pass attempts for 164 yards and two touchdowns. Knechtenhofer also rushed for 34 yards and a touchdown on four carries.
Zayden Snapp hauled in three passes for 83 yards and a score.
Benton (1-4) meanwhile dropped their fourth straight game. The Cardinals finished with two turnovers and were 0-of-10 on third down.
The Cardinals struggled to get anything going in the first half, as they had four consecutive three-and-outs through the first two quarters.
Benton also had an errant snap that went out of the back of the end zone for a Savannah safety early in the second.
Benton only crossed the 50-yard-line twice Friday. One of those drives ended with a Parker Brayley interception. The other ended with a turnover on downs.
Sawyer Sprague had the fumble recovery for the Savages on the first play from scrimmage.
Savannah, who has outscored their last three opponents by a combined score of 142-0, will go on the road to face Cameron next week. Benton is back home to face Maryville (4-1).
The Spoofhounds beat the Dragons Friday 21-0 in Maryville.
Full broadcast of the first half
Interviews
You can follow Tommy on Twitter @TommyKFEQ and St. Joseph Post @StJosephPost.