Posted: Sep 18, 2010
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After CMU tied the game at 14-14 near the end of the second quarter, the Eagle offense turned the ball over for the first time in the game, and Benedictine took advantage with a 29-yard field goal to end the half and take a 17-14 lead into the break. The Ravens opened the second half with a touchdown drive to extend their lead to 24-14.
CMU was forced to punt on its first offensive possession of the third quarter, but the Eagle defense came up with its first takeaway of the game, an interception by senior defensive back Antonio Brown (St. Louis, Mo.) that he returned 36 yards to give CMU possession of the ball at the Benedictine 38-yard line. The CMU offense again struggled to find a rhythm, and was gave it back to the Ravens on downs.
The Eagle defense came up big again on Benedictine's ensuing possession, as junior linebacker Tyler Belt (Macon, Mo.) forced a fumble, which was recovered by sophomore defensive back Jeremy Boyce (St. Louis, Mo.) at the Benedictine 42-yard line. CMU picked up a first down to the 26-yard line of the Ravens, but Benedictine intercepted a CMU pass and returned it 76 yards for a touchdown to take a 31-14 lead. The Ravens forced a fumble on CMU's next possession, and scored two plays later to make it 38-14, before forcing another fumble to end the third quarter.
The CMU defense held on four downs inside the Eagles' 5-yard line to open the fourth quarter and keep the score at 38-14. Neither team was able to move the ball inside of the other's 35-yard line as both were held scoreless in the fourth quarter.
Benedictine got on the board first in the game with a 65-yard touchdown drive on its first possession to take a 7-0 lead in the first quarter. CMU answered with a 17-play, 93-yard drive capped by a 15-yard touchdown pass from sophomore quarterback Bryant Jackson (Lee's Summit, Mo.) to junior wide receiver Eric Carrillo (Chula Vista, Calif.). Junior wide receiver Bradley Carter (El Cajon, Calif.) had four receptions on that drive, accounting for 42 yards and three first downs for the Eagles.
On Benedictine's next drive, the Ravens marched 60 yards in 11 plays to regain the lead at 14-7. CMU again answered with a 10-play, 76-yard touchdown drive, as sophomore running back Stephone Allen (Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.) picked up his first rushing touchdown of the season. Jackson and Allen combined for 55 yards rushing on the scoring drive, and also connected on a 14-yard pass play in the drive.
CMU out-gained Benedictine with 358 yards of total offense in the game, compared with 320 for the Ravens. The Eagles also picked up 25 first downs, while Benedictine finished with 15.
Jackson finished 25-of-47 passing for the Eagles for 211 yards and one touchdown, while also rushing for 30 yards in the game. Allen finished with 130 yards of offense, leading CMU with 81 yards rushing, while also catching four passes for 49 yards. Carter had his second game of the season of 10-plus receptions, finishing with 11 catches for 98 yards. Carrillo caught eight passes for 74 yards and his second touchdown of the season.
Belt led the Eagles defensively with 10 tackles and a forced fumble. Junior linebacker Tony Hall (Shelbina, Mo.) finished with nine tackles, while Brown had eight tackles to go with his interception. Freshman linebacker Conner White (Jefferson City, Mo.) tallied six tackles for CMU.
The Eagles dropped to 1-2 on the season, with both losses coming to teams ranked in the top 20 of the NAIA. Benedictine improved to 3-0 on the season with the win. CMU will return home to take on Graceland University Sept. 25. Kickoff for the Family Day game is scheduled for 6 p.m. at Davis Field.
