ATCHISON, Kan. — Benedictine’s 42-34 win against Peru State on Saturday does well to characterize the Ravens’ season as a whole.

Big plays. Punishing runs. Missed assignments. Tough breaks. Flashes of both brilliance and ineptitude.

The victory brings Benedictine’s overall record to 5-5. While it falls short of expectations, the Ravens have a chance to finish with a winning record for the second straight year with one game remaining, a home contest against Graceland.

The Ravens traded blows with Peru State, an NAIA independent, in the game’s opening and closing quarters. In between, Benedictine rattled off four straight touchdowns and achieved the offensive rhythm it’s strived to establish consistently all year.

“We did a good job with both the run and the pass,” coach Larry Wilcox said. “We knew the option was going to be a strong element for us, and it really was. We were really able to attack the perimeter with our run game and did a great job of taking advantage of opportunities on offense.”

The Ravens used those opportunities to chalk up 523 yards, rushing 48 times and throwing on 34 plays. D.J. Matysek led the way for Benedictine, running for 160 yards on 13 carries with two touchdowns. His backfield counterpart Andrew Pucinski had 82 yards on the ground, 45 of which came on a touchdown that put BC up 21-13 with under four minutes left in the first half.

Quarterback Ryan Kelly racked up 183 yards on 19-for-33 passing, throwing one touchdown pass and no interceptions. His usual favorite targets, wide outs Conor Walsh and Chris Langley, finished with 86 and 71 yards receiving, respectively.

Benedictine faced an early deficit.

After Matysek ran for a 51-yard score on Benedictine’s first possession, the Raven defense gave up two passing touchdowns to Peru State’s Curtis Thompson. The Wildcat quarterback hit receiver Cody Wallinger for a 74-yard touchdown down the right sideline. Cornerback Dustin Ralls was neck-and-neck with Wallinger, but the throw went just past his outstretched hands.

On Peru State’s next possession, cornerback Russell Davis slipped and fell while trying to cover Quentin Edelman, allowing the receiver to snag one of his two touchdown passes.

The Ravens quickly regained momentum, however. Nathan Hetmanek blocked the extra point, and moments later Langley threw a touchdown pass to Charles Archie after catching a lateral pass from Kelly.

The Ravens defense kept the Wildcats from scoring until Thompson found Edelman again with 4:19 to play in the third. By that point, BC had scored three more times on Pucinski’s touchdown, a fade to Langley in the end zone and a 25-yard Matysek run.

“That was one big emphasis this week,” Kelly said. “We came out in packages that allowed us to move the ball now matter how (Peru State) lined up. And we executed well enough to the point where whatever they decided to do was the wrong thing.”