Benton Academy dropped their fourth straight game when Greenville Christian toppled them 25-14.
The Raiders fell to 1-4 on the season after the loss.
In the early portion of the contest, it was fiercely close. When one team struck, the other did their best to counter.
When they finally went to the break, GCS held a slight 12-6 lead.
The Saints began to pull away in the second half, and while Benton had opportunities to score and cut their lead, the Raiders were unable to capitalize on the opportunities.
GCS won the game 25-14.
Benton Academy head football coach Kenny Burton knew that GCS score and was making an effort to be more balanced this year, and they did just that.
“They were about 50/50 on offense as far as passing and running goes,” Burton said. “They still tried to line up and throw the ball.”
The opportunities were there both on offense and defense to change the momentum of the game, but self-inflected wounds halted Benton’s progress.
Burton believes games like this serve as learning tools.
“We played them pretty good,” Burton said. “We had them pinned back inside the 20 a couple of times, but we kept shooting ourselves in the foot with penalties. We had the ball inside the 20 twice and didn’t score. We had a penalty on one and missed a block on fourth down on another. We haven’t been a big penalty or turnover team this year, but they hurt us on Friday. It’s frustrating knowing that we have a chance to take a lead late in these games, but these are learning experiences.”
Bruner Chandler led the offensive attack for the Raiders with 13 rushes for 128 yards.
Cody Prescott had 18 rushes for 72 yards in the loss.
Shelton Appleton ran the ball 13 times for 44 yards. Appleton also had a team-high 11 total tackles.
Harris Dooley rounded out the ground attack with 11 rushes for 40 yards.
Joseph Mills had eight total tackles in the game.
Ty Blackstock had six total tackles, while Gage Jones had five.
On Friday night, the Raiders will try to stop their skid when they begin their conference slate against Ben’s Ford.
Ben’s Ford dropped to 1-4 on the season when they dropped a 48-19 game to Brookhaven Academy.
Burton has a lot of respect for Ben’s Ford, even if their record and film don’t demand it.
“The film doesn’t always tell the full story about a team,” Burton said. “They aren’t the biggest team around, but they’re going to play extremely hard and will want to win. They’re a scrappy bunch. They run multiple offensive sets, so we’re going to have to be prepared for a lot
The game at Ben’s Ford is set for 7 p.m.
