ATCHISON ? Baker University dug itself so big a hole, even a furious 28-point rally couldn’t make up for it.

Benedictine jumped to a 33-0 lead at halftime and cruised to a 40-28 football victory over the Wildcats on Saturday at Raven Stadium.

In a game touted as a battle of premier running backs, Baker’s John Reeves and Benedictine’s John Willits, the bulk of the Wildcats’ offense came through the air. Baker (4-4) reeled off 28 straight points on four touchdown passes from quarterback Brian Sheppard.

Three minutes into the third period, Sheppard found Ryan Pitts for a 23-yard strike. Less than three minutes later, the two hooked up again for a 20-yard TD pass. Sheppard switched receivers in the fourth quarter. Just over a minute in, Sheppard’s nine-yard pass to Keenan Ganz gave the Wildcats their third TD. Then, again just three minutes later, Sheppard and Ganz hooked up for a 13-yard strike.

Benedictine (3-4) scored a late TD to ice the victory.

Reeves rushed 19 times for 68 yards and was greatly upstaged by the Ravens’ Willits, who carried a whopping 40 times for 181 yards and two TDs.

Baker will play host to Graceland at 1:30 p.m. Saturday.