How Benedictine topped Friends in NAIA football quarterfinal thriller at Wichita
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- Benedictine beat No. 4 Friends 24-18 to reach NAIA semifinals again in 2025.
- Ravens used varied scoring drives and long plays to build and protect lead.
- Friends rallied late with field goal, but failed to complete comeback.
Call it a Mini-Sunflower Showdown, All-Kansas Clash or by its given name: the NAIA Football Championship Series quarterfinal football game at Adair-Austin Stadium in Wichita ...
Just know this: The Benedictine Ravens are national semifinalists again.
The team from Atchison, Kansas ensured that status by beating No. 4 Friends University 24-18 on Saturday, advancing to a final-four matchup for the second straight postseason and fifth time in program history.
The Ravens will hope this year’s semifinal experience goes better than last year’s, a heartbreaking 38-35 loss to Keiser.
No. 5 Benedictine led previously unbeaten Friends, which was making its first quarterfinal appearance, 17-7 midway through Friday’s contest.
The versatile Ravens (12-1) scored in a variety of ways during the first half, sustaining drives but also striking quickly.
Senior running back Xavier Ugorji raced to a 39-yard touchdown, senior quarterback Jackson Dooley hit sophomore wide receiver Titan Osburn for a 49-yard TD through the air (capping a two-play drive) and sophomore Olathe South product Christian Klobe booted a 22-yard field goal.
Running its Flexbone offense, Friends (12-1) got on the board before halftime thanks to senior quarterback K’Vonte Baker’s 35-yard scoring pass to senior receiver Austin Pratt.
The Ravens kept it going after intermission, with Dooley finding sophomore Isaiah Hasten for a 13-yard touchdown pass. But Baker scored on a keeper from 5 yards, then ran in the 2-point conversion.
The Falcons had made it an 9-point game at 24-15 early in the final quarter. And Friends would creep even closer, 24-28, via Truitt Bosher’s 37-yard field goal with 3:23 left.
The Falcons actually gave themselves a final shot late, advancing the football to Benedictine’s 8-yard line. But on fourth and 5 with a few seconds to play, they coughed it up. And the Ravens could salt away what little time remained.
Saturday’s showdown between Benedictine and Friends marked the two schools’ first game since 2013, when Benedictine won 28-15, also at Adair-Austin Stadium.
Looking ahead for Benedictine, next week’s game opponent, site, date and time were to be determined later Saturday. Both Saturday, Dec. 13 semifinal games will be played on campus sites; the Dec. 20 championship game will be played at Crowley ISD Stadium in Fort Worth, Texas.
This story was originally published December 6, 2025 at 3:39 PM.