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Rangers run win streak to three straight

The train that has been the Benton football team continued its steamrolling in the spring football season as the Rangers earned their third straight shutout, beating Massac County 42-0 Friday night.

Benton (3-0) has now outscored the opposition 137-0 and picked up its fifth straight win over the Patriots and are now 16-9 against Massac County, dating back to 1996.

Benton head coach Justin Groves noted that the three straight shutouts hasn't been lost on him this season.

"I just told the boys, I don't know how many teams allow three shutouts in this start to the season but I guess we're one of them," he said. "I don't know how many there are, but I do know that I am real proud of their effort on both sides of the ball (Friday).

The Ranger defense held Massac County to 73 yards of total offense, giving up 59 on the ground an 14 in the air.

Benton racked up some 456 yards of offense Friday, rushing for 297 and passing for 159, taking a 35-0 halftime lead.

Benton junior quarterback Keaton Glover, who finished 12-of-18 with three TD's through the air, tossed a first quarter touchdown pass to Wyatt McClintock and added another bomb to Peyton Bayless, each coming from 20 and 15 yards out. Glovers quarterback keeper from 18 yards out with 1:18 left to play in the first half was the last scoring drive.

Landon Bolen had a pair of rushing touchdowns, scoring from two and 18 yards out.

The only other scoring play came compliments of Glover, this time, hooking up with Ayden Newcomb from nine yards out with 9:30 left in the third and started the continuous clock.

"Sometimes in this thing, we have a lot of talent in a lot of different spots so you just kind of have to take what their giving us," Groves said. "Our coaches did an unbelievable job and When you have a wide receiver coach saying 'hey, let's run that trap again' … things were just really clicking.

"I'm really proud of (Peyton) Swigonski, he's such a tough little kid. He's small in stature but his heart is huge. He made a bunch of big hits on defense. For him to go over 100 yards, I'm extremely proud of that and real happy for him."

The 5-foot-10 senior running back finished with nine carries for 117 yards, averaging 13 yards a carry.

Benton now turns its attention to Murphysboro as the Rangers will finish out the rest of the season at Tabor Field.

Benton 14 21 07 00 - 42

Massac County 00 00 00 00 - 00

Scoring Plays

First Quarter

BEN - Glover 20 yard pass to McClintock (Hanson kick), 8:00

BEN - Bolen 2 yard run (Hanson kick), 2:00

Second Quarter

BEN - Bolen 17 yard run (Hanson kick), 7:39

BEN - Glover 15 yard pass to Bayless (Hanson kick), 5:12

BEN - Glover 18 yard run (Hanson kick), 1:18

Third Quarter

BEN - Glover 9 yard pass to Newcomb (Andrews kick), 9:30

Team Statistics

BEN MAS

First Downs 27 8

Total Offense 456 73

Rushing: Attempts-Yards 34-297 31-59

Passing: Comp-Attempts 12-18 1-7

Passing Yards 159 14

Fumbles-Lost 1-0 2-0

Penalties-Yards 7-85 2-10

Individual Statistics

OFFENSE

RUSHING: BEN-Swigonski 9-117, Glover 5-49 (TD), Bolen 6-43 (2 TD), Kinsman 3-33, Minor 4-26, Upton 4-19, Thomas 3-10. MAS- Jackson 11-37, Helland 5-14, Dumpprope 4-13, Willis 7-0, Bremer 1-(-2), Winnans 1-(-6). Team 2-3.

PASSING: BEN-Glover 12-18-0 159 (3 TD). MAS- Willis 1-7-0 14.

RECEIVING: BEN-Baumgarte 4-56, Newcomb 3-33, Bayless 2-26, McClintock 1-20, Peach 1-16, Thomas 1-8. MAS- Scott 1-14.

DEFENSE (Benton)

TACKLES: Swignoski 7, Ford 6.5 Craig 6.5, Thomas 4, Stanley 4, Minor 3.5, Williams 3, Baumgarte 2.5, Romeo 2.5, McClintock 2.5, Land 2.5, Newcomb 2, Ward 1, Vaughn 1, Howell 1, Roberts 1, Frost 1, Longfellow 1, Pearce .5, Furlow .5, Wilson .5, Kimble .5.