Benton Academy made some big plays at Winona Christian Friday night, but the Raiders were plagued by turnovers in a 41-0 loss.
The Raiders started out strong with Clayton Saxton completing a pass to Cullen McCain for a first down on the opening drive, but Benton couldn’t get anything else going and had to punt.
Peyton McGlawn broke up a pass near the endzone on the following drive, but after a first down run Stars quarterback Brandon Hill kept it up the middle for a touchdown. Winona led 7-0 after the extra point kick with 6:04 to go in the first quarter.
Bryce Ables had a 15-yard kickoff return to the 30 yard line to begin BA’s next drive.
Saxton completed a short pass to Waylen Dewitt for a five-yard gain, and then kept the ball for a two-yard gain. A false start penalty pushed it back to third and nine for BA, and Saxton completed another pass to Dewitt that came up just short of the first down.
Winona scored again on the next drive, and the Raiders offense returned to the field with Saxton completing a first down pass to Ables. Winona recovered a fumble to end the drive and set up another scoring drive, however.
McGlawn stepped up again for the Raiders defense in the second quarter with back-to-back pass breakups, including a stop on fourth down.
Winona scored in the final seconds of the second quarter for a 41-0 halftime lead.
The Raiders defense did not allow any points in the second half, but the offense continued to struggle with turnovers.
Aiden Arnold recovered a fumble late in the fourth quarter for a turnover to give BA’s offense one last drive.
Tanner Vandevere completed a pass to Ethan Shanks for a first down with just over a minute left. Vandevere completed another first down pass to Ables as time expired.
Parker Nelson led the night's defense with seven solo tackles.
This week is homecoming for the Raiders as Benton hosts rival Manchester Academy. Both teams enter the non-district game hungry for a win.
