(Peru, Neb.) – It was beautiful day in the Oak Bowl for the Peru State College (PSC) Homecoming. However, the Benedictine (Kan.) College (BC) Ravens ruined the Bobcats' homecoming as they defeated Peru State 47-21 in a key Heart of America Athletic Conference (HAAC) contest. The #13 Ravens improved to 4-0 overall and 2-0 in the HAAC while the Bobcats fell to 1-2, 1-2 in the HAAC.

The Bobcats did participate in the Reagan Centennial National Football Coin Toss, which was in honor of former President Ronald Reagan's 100th birthday. Parade Grand Marshal and PSC Professor Emeritus, Dr. Bill Snyder, assisted the referee with the official coin toss.

First Quarter Action

The Ravens put the first score on the board on the first drive of the game. BC took the opening kickoff and took it back to the Bobcats' 47-yard line and was aided by a personal foul on PSC, so they started on the PSC 32-yard line. It did take the Ravens seven plays to cover the 32 yards, but they scored on an one-yard run at the 11:57 mark in the opening stanza. The PAT was good and BC was on top 7-0.

Neither team was able to mount any drives on the next six possessions. Near the end of the first quarter, the Ravens intercepted a Bobcat pass and started on the PSC 21-yard line. However, on the second play of that drive, the Raven ball carrier fumbled and Bobcat Trey Rigby (Oak Grove, Mo.) recovered the ball in the end zone with 4:07 left in first quarter.

The Bobcats then proceeded to march the ball down the field using some rushing attempts, but mainly moved the ball on the arm of PSC quarterback Tyler Francis (Lincoln) who was helped with some good catches by many different receivers. With just nine seconds left in the quarter, freshman Ryan Ludlow (Plattsmouth) took the ball in from the one-yard line to put the Bobcats on the board. Levi Cockle's (Lincoln) point after attempt was good and the Bobcats were tied with the Ravens at 7-7.

The Bobcat touchdown was the first offensive touchdown scored on the Ravens this year as they had previously shutout two opponents while last week just allowing a defensive score.

Second Quarter Action

The second quarter proved to be all Benedictine and proved to be the deciding part of the game. The Ravens scored four different times in the quarter to take a commanding 33-7 lead. Three passing touchdowns to the same receiver were the first on the board. The first BC score in the second came at the 10:15 mark on a six-yard pass. The next came at the 3:20 mark and was an 18-yard touchdown pass. The third score of the quarter was another pass, then one going 14 yards with 1:24 left in the quarter. A PSC interception allowed the Ravens to get on the board one more time in the quarter as the Raven quarterback tossed another touchdown pass to a different receiver with just 34 ticks left in the quarter. This provided BC with the 26-point lead at halftime.

Third Quarter Action

It was a defensive battle in the third quarter and both teams stopped each other on seven different possessions. Neither team was able to put any points on the board as the third quarter ended 33-7 in favor of the Ravens.

The Bobcats did have one drive that almost resulted in a score. However, a fumble at the Benedictine one-yard line halted that scoring attempt.

Fourth Quarter Action

There was a scoring explosion by both teams in the fourth quarter. Another interception by the Ravens set-up the first score for BC as they started their first drive of the final fifteen minutes on the PSC's 11-yard line. Two plays later, the Ravens scored and went up 40-7 with 14:56 to go in the game.

Bobcat kick-off returner, Garret Cambell (Santee, Calif.) took the Raven kick-off and returned it 69 yards down to the BC 11-yard line. Two plays later, the Bobcats were back on the board as Francis connected with Joel Woodhead (North Platte) on an eight-yard touchdown pass. Cockle's PAT was good and was then BC 40-14 with 14:04 left.

The Bobcats forced a three and out on BC on their next possession. Peru State went mainly to the pass in the next drive as time was running short. However, it proved to be beneficial. Francis hit Cole Gottula (Franklin) for a 35-yard gain on the first play of the drive. After an incomplete pass and a small gain on the ground, Francis found Gottula again for another 31 yards. On the next play, Francis found Lance Steffen (Murdock) for a nine-yard touchdown pass. Cockle's kick was good and it was now BC 40 and PSC 21 with 9:44 left in the game.

The Ravens did come back to tack on one more score with a rushing touchdown with 3:42 left in the fourth quarter to make the final score 47-21.

Statistics

Turnovers plagued the Bobcats as they had six of them. BC intercepted four passes and grabbed two of the three Bobcat fumbles. The Ravens did lose one fumble and Bobcat senior Wade Halvorsen (Ravenna) picked off one of the BC passes.

BC had 20 first downs compared to the Bobcats 12. The Ravens out-gained the Bobcats on the ground 187 to 53, but PSC did gain 222 yards through the air while the Ravens had 169 yards. The Bobcats' yardage through the air was more than what the Ravens had given up in total over the course of their first three games. Overall, BC had 356 total yards while PSC had 275, which was well above the 107 total yards the Ravens had been allowing.

Woodhead had 36 yards rushing to lead the 'Cats on just three attempts with a long run of 19 yards. Antonio Turner (Jasper, Fla.) added 16 yards while Ludlow had 13 yards and the lone rushing score for the Bobcats.

Francis was 22 of 39 throwing for 222 yards and two touchdowns, but was tagged with four interceptions. Gottula was Francis' favorite target as he nabbed seven catches for 106 yards with a long of 35 yards. Woodhead caught six passes out of the backfield for 26 yards and one score while Steffen had four passes for 70 yards and the other Bobcat touchdown.

Bobcat punter Kory Klover (Hebron) had nine punts averaging 35.3 yards. Campbell continued with his good efforts as a kick-off returner for the 'Cats as he returned three kicks for 135 yards with the 88-yard return being his longest on the day.

Defensively, Preston Bruss (Bennet) led the Bobcats with 15 total tackles, three of which were solo. Two of which went for losses totaling eight yards. Bruss also was credited with the lone Bobcat quarterback sack, which was for a seven-yard loss.

Also in double-figure tackles for the Bobcats were Zach Lempka (Sterling) and Adrian Lawson (Lincoln) with 13 and ten tackles respectively. Lempka had one tackle for a loss of two yards while Lawson was credited with two pass break-ups.

Jake Mertens (Hastings), Sydney Shepler (DeWitt), and Neil Bowman (Cedar Bluffs) each added seven tackles apiece. Mertens had one tackle for a loss of two yards. In addition to grabbing PSC's lone interception, Halvorsen added six tackles.

Post-game Comments

Lempka was selected as the KNCY Player of the Game against Benedictine. On the radio, Lempka commented, “We can get frustrated at times, but it is our job as a defense to keep our heads up. It is a team game. We have a little more depth and experience this year, so it helped to have that under our belt. The extra year of experience helps all of us younger guys.” Lempka added, “The HAAC is great competition which should bring the best out of us. We just have to do our job and get better. With a team like this who was a lot bigger than us, we had to use our speed and technique to do our job. Coach Mizerski works on this every day in practice with us, so we can compete.”

Bobcat head coach Terry Clark was disappointed in the loss, but knows the HAAC is one of the NAIA's best conferences. Clark said, “We know the HAAC is tough and the guys are working hard and we will continue to do so. Coach Schneider and I discussed opening it up some in the second quarter, but we knew we had to try to get some of the running game going. It also helped take a little time off the clock.” Discussing the large number of freshmen and sophomores on the two-deep listing, Clark said, “It is tough with 18 freshmen or sophomores on the two-deep, but a lot of them played last year. Plus, we have recruited more nation-wide this past year, so a large number just have to learn quickly.” Clark finished with, “Graceland will spread things out and not pound it at us as much. They run a lot of 4-3 defense and we should be able to handle that as that is what we run defensively, so the offense knows what to expect. Offensively, they do spread it out, so our defense will have to adapt.”

Game Box Score

Next Game

The Bobcats will travel to Lamoni, Iowa, next week to take on the YellowJackets of Graceland University in another HAAC contest. The game is scheduled to start at 2 p.m.

Bobcat fans are reminded to check their travel routes, as normally they would take US Hwy 2 east out of Nebraska City, but the floods will force some alternative routes. Fans will need to either go to Hwy 36 in Kansas and go through St. Joseph, Mo., over to I-35 and up or go north to Plattsmouth and over to catch I-35 or other roads to go south to Lamoni.