Park Hill South graduate Shaefer Schuetz and West Platte product Brett Shepardson were key cogs in Benedictine College’s historic playoff push in the NAIA playoffs.
Quarterback Schuetz and linebacker Shepardson helped the Ravens all the way to the NAIA championship game, their first such appearance.
But Morningside (Iowa) handed Benedictine a 35-28 loss in the title game on Saturday, Dec. 15, in Daytona Beach, Florida.
Schuetz, named the Heart of America Athletic Conference Offensive Player of the Year, completed 16 of his 41 passes for 209 yards in the contest.
“They for sure are an athletic bunch,” Schuetz said at the postgame press conference. “They’re the most athletic defense we’ve seen. They did a great job. There were a couple possessions down in the red zone that we came out with just a field goal and that can’t happen. But that’s a testament to their defense.”
Schuetz finished the season with 3,037 passing yards, 33 touchdowns and 10 interceptions. Schuetz’s touchdown mark is the most in a single season in BC program history. He is currently sixth in career passing yards with 5,240 yards while at Benedictine.
Shepardson, a junior, tied for the team high with 10 tackles in the title game. He earned first team all-conference honors for his role in 66 regular-season tackles, second most for the Ravens, a team-high 11 for tackles for loss, 4 1/2 sacks, one interception and a fumble recovery.
“He’s a very fast defensive player and he’s really football savvy,” Benedictine’s 40-year head coach Larry Wilcox said in an interview last month. “He reacts well to plays and he gets himself in the right position. In his two years as a starter he’s had some very significant plays that have impacted big wins that we’ve had.”
Shepardson played a solid chunk of the 2018 season with a hand injury.
“He had a large cast on that for six or seven weeks and still played through that,” Wilcox said.
The Ravens led 20-14 at halftime. But Benedictine only managed eight points the rest of the way, and a low snap on a punt that was recovered by Morningside put the Mustangs at the BC 18-yard line with time running out.
Three plays later, Morningside was in the end zone with less than two minutes to play. The Ravens punted on their next possession to seal the Mustangs’ first national title.
“That’s what opened the door for Morningside,” Wilcox said at the postgame press conference. “With that field position, there was hardly anyway to keep them from scoring.
“We’ll be back,” Wilcox added. “We’ve come back a lot of times, not necessarily to this game, but we’ve got a solid program in place and solid people and solid leadership and a great school, so we can’t go wrong.”
Schuetz and Shepardson are expected to be back, too.
TODD NUGENT/Special to the Citizen
Benedictine quarterback Shaefer Schutez looks to pass in the game. He played football at Park Hill South High School.