STORM LAKE, Iowa (Sept. 7, 2024) - Senior Eman Alaniz gave BVU an early 7-0 lead with a two-yard rushing touchdown on the game's opening drive, but visiting Benedictine scored 34 unanswered points to pull away for a 34-7 victory in what was the season opener for both teams.

Alaniz accounted for 52 of the 75 yards on the initial drive that used eight-and-a-half minutes off the clock. He finished the game with 79 all-purpose yards and the lone score.

Benedictine responded with a scoring drive of its own, capped by a 13-yard touchdown catch in the back corner of the endzone on 3rd-and-goal from the BVU 13-yard line. The PAT, however, was missed right, leaving the Beavers with a 7-6 lead and under 10 seconds left in the opening quarter.

The Eagles went in front 13-7 at halftime after going 69 yards in eight plays and getting a 25-yard touchdown pass with 50 seconds to play.

The Eagles then received the opening kickoff to begin the second half and used up over eight minutes on a 15-play drive that was capped by a five-yard touchdown pass that extended their lead to 20-7.

BVU struggled in the second half to sustain a lengthy drive and totaled only 13 yards of offense in the half. The Beavers had to punt on three of their four second-half drives with the other resulting in an interception.

Benedictine began to put the game out of reach in the final minute of the third quarter with its fourth touchdown pass of the afternoon to take a 27-7 lead. The Eagles, who chalked up over 460 yards of total offense, capped the scoring in the game's final seconds on a short touchdown run from three yards out and five seconds to play.

Alaniz was BVU's leading rusher with 51 yards and leading receiver with five catches and 30 yards. Cashtin Craycraft also hauled in five passes for 27 yards. Quarterback Zach Herrera completed 15-of-28 passes for 85 yards and was intercepted once.

Defensively, senior Austin Smith turned in a team-high seven total stops while junior Matthew Beisswenger and Bobby Gross each had six. Beisswenger also had three pass breakups while Alex Abens and Troy Reynolds each intercepted one pass.

Evan Wydajewski passed for 257 yards and four touchdowns to lead the Eagles (1-0). He completed 20-of-28 attempts and was also intercepted twice. Three different receivers had at least 50 yards receiving, including Hunter Stallings who caught three passes for 58 yards and recorded three touchdowns. Blake Shoddie rushed for 85 yards on 15 carries.

Buena Vista (0-1) is on the road next week for a non-conference road game at Wisconsin Lutheran which will kickoff at 1 p.m.