#4 Benedictine College football completes wild fourth quarter comeback win over #23 Baker

ATCHISON, Kan. (KQTV) - The #4 Benedictine College football team completed one of the greatest games in program history on Saturday in a 34-32 comeback victory over #23 Baker University.

Benedictine College went into the halftime break with a 17-16 lead. But in the third quarter, the Ravens ran into problems, interceptions thrown by both junior Kaden Austin and junior Patrick Heitert put the Baker Wildcats in good position. 

Baker turned those 2 interceptions into a short touchdown and a field goal. That along with another Wildcat score gave Baker a 32-17 lead heading into the fourth quarter. 

But then Benedictine mounted the comeback trail, sophomore and Atchison High School alum Xiomar Hernandez had a touchdown receiving and rushing Saturday. His short 1 yard plunge at the top of the fourth quarter pulled within 32-24.

"Really, I give all credit to my O-line. I have one of the best O-lines in the country, so it's really easy when you're running behind them," said Hernandez.

Then later in the fourth, the Ravens marched 85 yards in 11 plays with a good mix of running from the team’s backs and passing from Patrick Heitert. Heitert later called his own number on an 8 yard rushing touchdown to pull within 30-32. The Ravens then went for 2 as Heitert found Hernandez out of the backfield and he took it in to tie the game 32-32 with 6:30 left to play.

Then with 2 minutes left, after a great punt from Benedictine junior Scotty Robertson put the ball on the 1 yard line. Baker tried to run a stretch run play out of its own endzone but Benedictine senior captain Joey Abrams tackled the Baker runner in the endzone to give the Ravens a safety and a 34-32 lead.

"I heard the tackle and tight end, they gave a deuce call. The running back was looking straight at me. So just played outside and read the stretch and made the play," said Abrams.

Baker later had one final chance with 21 seconds left but junior Isaiah Hasten who had a 91 yard pick 6 in the first half, sealed the deal with his second interception of the day as the Ravens survived to win 34-32.

"It was awesome, seeing everybody on our team really step up. The sideline was hyped. Our guys on the field were hyped, so just knowing that my brothers can come out here and make plays like that, it's awesome," said Hasten.

"We have been put in situations strategically by who we schedule and who we play, so these situations do not faze our kids," said head coach Joel Osborn. "We're battle tested and we're able to overcome a lot of adversity and that's the group that we have right now. We're not perfect by any means, but we're tough and we're resilient."

Benedictine College improves to 5-1 on the season and next hits the road to play at Central Methodist in Fayette, Missouri on Saturday October 6th at 6 pm.