Mid States
[Football] Offense comes alive in win over Trinity International
After scoring a total of three offensive touchdowns over the first three games, St. Ambrose got back on track with a 49-32 win over Trinity International Saturday night.John Benckendorf returned to the lineup after missing a game due to injury and threw for four touchdowns and ran for another as the Bees rolled up 467 yards of total offense.Things really started clicking the second half.With the game tied at 14-14 midway through the third, the Bees would score touchdowns on their next five possessions.Benckendorf gave SAU the lead for good with a 6-yard touchdown run and after the Bee defense forced a 3-and-out, Brandon Baalman capped a drive with a 5-yard touchdown run for a 28-14 lead.Trinity International (0-4, 0-3 MSFA) got one of those touchdowns back early in the fourth quarter. But Benckendorf would throw touchdown passes to Yemi Ward (29 yards) and Blake Wittman (41 yards) on the Bees' next two possessions. Backup quarterback Aaron Kussmann ran for a 17-yard touchdown to extend the lead to 49-20 before the Trojans tacked on two touchdowns in the game's last four minutes to account for the final score.St. Ambrose finished with 280 yards on the ground. T'Nahleg Hall rushed for 74 yards on 17 attempts and Garret Tiarks added 71 yards on 10 carries. Baalman (46 yards), Benckendorf (33), Trent Nunn (32), Kussmann (17) and Cade Gorzny (15) also contributed.Benckendorf completed 10 passes for 187 yards. Ward had five catches for 91 yards and two scores. His first touchdown was an 8-yarder that gave the Bees a 7-0 lead midway through the first quarter. Wittman finished with three catches for 55 yards and two scores, the first of which was an 8-yard reception that gave St. Ambrose a 14-6 lead right before halftime. Sam Kerr added one catch for 24 yards and J.D. Villafuerte had a 17-yard catch..Bernard Buhake led the defense with three sacks among his nine total tackles. D.J. Oshin and Gabe Johnson also had sacks. Jaxson Nelson and Griffin Zajac were each in on eight tackles. SAU (2-2, 1-1 MSFA) will host Missouri Baptist next Saturday at 3 p.m.