Benton Academy suffered their toughest lost of the season in the form of a 55-6 shellacking at the hands of Canton Academy, the top AA football team in the state.
The loss dropped Benton’s overall record down to 1-6 and their conference record to 1-2 on the season.
Canton gashed Benton on the ground for 307 yards and six touchdowns on 22 carries, which is good for 14 yards per carry.
According to Benton Academy head coach Kenny Burton, Canton is the class of AA ball in the MAIS.
“I was telling the guys in our film session that they were by far the best team we’ve played,” Burton said. “They had size, speed, intensity and they executed. That’s the kind of D we want to have, and their offensive was explosive. They’re probably the team to beat in AA.”
Things unravelled rather quickly for Benton.
The inability to sustain drives helped contribute to the 35-0 first quarter they faced.
The Panthers slowed things up a bit in the second quarter, where they scored just one touchdown, making it 42-0 at the half.
In the third quarter, Canton tacked on seven more points to extend their lead to 49-0.
Benton finally got on the board in the fourth with six points, but Canton matched that, making the final 55-6.
Benton had a total of 109 yards in the loss.
Ethan Ingram led the team with seven tackles.
Joseph Mills had five tackles, while Bruner Chandler had four.
The Raiders will try and win their second game of the season on Friday night when they face rival Tri-County Academy for their Homecoming game.
Tri-County is on a warpath after falling in the state title game by a point a year ago. They’re 7-0 after dismantling Clinton Christian 41-0.
Burton does not believe TCA will be much of a step down from Canton.
“Tri-County probably isn’t as big as Canton, but they’re still a very good football team,” Burton said. “They’re fast, and they love to swarm to the football.
Kickoff at Benton is set for 7 p.m.
