The Benedictine University football team held the ball for over 37 minutes and limited visiting Lakeland University to just 147 yards of offense in tallying a 31-6 win while
Brian Pritt posted a record-setting afternoon.
Benedictine did not trail in the contest, building a 21-0 halftime lead. A turnover on the opening kickoff allowed Benedictine to grab the lead immediately when
Nathan Rillo connected with Sami Ayosh for a 25-yard touchdown. Both teams traded turnovers in the opening 15 minutes before Benedictine used good field position to extend the lead to 14-0.
Blake Shoddie plunged in from a yard out to finish a drive that covered 54 yards with just 26 seconds left in the quarter.
Shoddie added another one-yard touchdown early in the second quarter following a series of big plays to push the lead to 21-0 with 10:25 remaining in the half. Liam McCarty booted a 27-yard field goal on the first chance of the third quarter to extend the lead to 24-0. Lakeland scored their lone points on a touchdown to open the fourth quarter but
Gregory Hoard tallied the third rushing touchdown of the game as an instant answer to account for the 31-6 final with 8:43 remaining in the fourth.
Shoddie finished with 71 yards and two touchdowns on 14 carried while Hoard added 54 yards with a score on 12 touches. Benedictine managed 187 yards on the ground on 50 attempts and finished the game with 351 total yards. Five different players caught passes in the win.
Pritt was a beast on the defensive line, constantly harassing the Lakeland quarterbacks. Pritt finished with a school and conference record 5.5 sacks among his eight tackles with
Jack Hayden adding a pair of sacks. The previous record of five had been held since 1986.
Tyler Walker, the leading tackler in the conference, again added double-digit stops with 10.
Benedictine (3-3, 3-2 NACC) visits Wisconsin Lutheran next Saturday.
