COLUMBIA, S.C. — Chennis Berry's common theme is he wants his team to go 1-0 each week/.
In week one, that has been accomplished.
The defending SIAC champion and D2 HBCU national champion delivered a dominating performance in Saturday's season opener at Charlie W. Johnson, defeating Shaw 52-0 in the annual Carolinas Classic.
The Tigers recorded 451 yards of total offense, with a balanced combination of 197 yards rushing and three touchdowns to go with 254 passing yards and three touchdowns through the air.
Benedict's Jayden Broughton set the tone as he recovered a fumble on the second play of the game. That would lead to the first touchdown of 2023, an 11-yard run by Noah Zaire Scotland just a minute and a half into the game.
Quarterback Aeneas Dennis completed 13-of-21 passes for 182 yards and two touchdowns in his debut in a Benedict College uniform. He connected with freshman Caden High for a 70-yard touchdown in the second quarter for a 14-0 lead. He added a 25-yard touchdown pass to Jaylen Taylor just before halftime as the Tigers extended their lead to 28-0.
Scotland would pace the rushing attack for Benedict with 62 yards and three touchdowns.
Benedict (1-0) will travel to Edward Waters next week for a 4":00 p.m. kickoff in Jacksonville. That game is the SIAC opener for the Tigers.
