ROCKFORD, Ill. - Benedictine University's football team utilized a smothering defense and its strong ground game to post a 32-6 Northern Athletics Conference (NAC) win at Rockford College on Saturday. The Eagles improved to 4-4 overall and 3-2 in the NAC.
Benedictine took advantage of eight turnovers by the winless Regents, as the Eagles came up with seven fumble recoveries and an interception. Senior linebacker Devin Montgomery made three of those recoveries, returning one for a 30-yard touchdown, and also had five tackles. In all, four RC fumbles led to scores.
Steven Donovan led the BU defense with nine tackles, a fumble recovery and a sack. Steve Gion and Eddie Hill Jr. each added seven tackles. Dan Kleppin had a 29-yard interception return.
Offensive yards were at a premium for both teams on the quagmire-like field conditions following the overnight rains. The Eagles had 189 yards in total offense, while Rockford was held to 107 yards (just 40 of which came via the rush).
Conversely, BU picked up 147 yards on the ground led by fullback Eric Ritter's best game of the season. Ritter carried 11 times for 62 yards - an average of 5.6 yards per carry – and scored three touchdowns on runs of 1, 2 and 14 yards. Freshman tailback John Alessi came off the bench to pick up 51 yards on 15 attempts, while starter Derek Hitt had 29 yards on 18 carries.
BU quarterback Dave Klinger opened scoring for the Eagles at the 8:05 mark of the first quarter with a five yard TD run after his team had gained possession after a Regents' fumble deep in their own end. That was followed by two Ritter scoring runs as the Eagles pulled out to an 18-0 halftime cushion.
Neither team tallied in the third period, but Montgomery's fumble recovery return – along with Robert Miller's extra point kick – made it 25-0 with 14:45 left in the game. Montgomery picked up the bounding ball after RC quarterback Willie Williams had a centered ball snapped over his head in shotgun formation.
Less than three minutes later, Ritter's 14 yard jaunt capped a three play, 32 yard drive. The PAT made the score 32-0.
Rockford posted its lone score of the day with 9:06 left to play. After a kickoff return by Williams brought the ball all the way back to the BU 25, the Regents needed seven plays before Jason Hosey plowed in from the one to make it the 32-6 final score.
