Check out Saturday’s small-college football scores from games involving KC-area teams

William Jewell is off to a 1-0 start to the 2023 college football season after taking care of business in Liberty on Saturday.

Here’s a collection of Saturday scores and recaps from small-college games involving teams around the Kansas City metro:

William Jewell 42, Fort Lewis 6: The Cardinals are off to a 1-0 start after hammering their visitors to Liberty on Saturday. It was 14-6 after one quarter but all Jewell the rest of the way. Quarterback CJ Ward threw for four touchdowns on 14-for-21 accuracy, passing for 219 yards. Deldrionn Amos was the recipient of two of those TDs, finishing with six receptions for 93 yards. Kaylin Merriweather rushed for 106 yards and a TD on 9 carries and Keondre McCullough had 90 yards and a TD on 10 carries.

Southwestern 49, Avila 41: After soaring through their season opener last week, the Eagles (1-1) lost what became a close home opener when a fourth-quarter rally fell short: Avila had trailed 49-19 entering the final period. QB Eli Williams threw for 205 yards, going 21 of 43 with a TD, and rushed for 183 yards and two TDs on 20 carries. Southwestern QB Braden Howell was 22 of 35 for 351 yards and 4 TDs as the Moundbuilders improved to 2-0.

Benedictine 63, Clarke 14: Benedictine put the clamps on Clarke early in Atchison, racing to a 35-0 first quarter lead at O’Malley Field at Larry Wilcox Stadium. Quarterback Jackson Dooley finished 13 of 17 for 304 yards and five touchdowns, and teammate Luke Laskowski was 8 of 12 for 141 yards and two TDs. JaShawn Todd and Derrick Overstreet each ran for a TD as the Ravens rolled up 620 yards of offense to Clarke’s 280. The Ravens improved 1-1 (they fell 20-17 to Morningside in their opener last weekend).

Baker 36, Peru 17: Baker (1-0) cruised to a win against Peru in its season opener at Liston Stadium in Baldwin City. Baker jumped out to a 33-0 lead, including three rushing scores from Rashaan Graves. Peru State got as close as 16 points in the fourth quarter before a late Seth Simpson field goal ended the scoring. Graves rushed for 120 yards, including a long of 55. Truman Juelsgaard also threw for one score for Baker.

Friends 49, Ottawa 20: Ottawa fell to 0-2 on the season thanks to Friends’ (2-0) dynamic ground-and-pound attack. Friends totaled seven rushing scores, three from Elias Pino, two from K’Vonte Baker and one apiece from Jett Cheatham and Laken Clowdus. The Falcons totaled 482 rushing yards, while Ottawa got two touchdowns through the air from quarterback Billy Maples and another on the ground from Malaki Peko.

Bethel 45, Saint Mary 22: A second-quarter eruption powered Bethel to a 23-point win over Saint Mary, which fell to 0-2 on the season. DJ Ciers ran for two of Bethel’s three touchdowns in the quarter and later added a 56-yard score. Ciers also threw for two scores. Saint Mary quarterback Erick Covington threw for three touchdowns, but a 24-3 halftime deficit was too much to overcome. Bethel improved to 2-0 and has scored 98 points through two games.

Grand View 24, MidAmerica Nazarene 7: MNU was unable to follow last week’s win over Langston with a win on Saturday, falling 24-7 to Grand View to drop to 1-1 on the season. Grand View (1-0) led 24-0 before a fourth-quarter touchdown pass from MNU’s Myles Hymes to Adrian Parson broke the shutout at Olathe District Activity Center. Grand View’s Jackson Waring ran for two early touchdowns and found Avery Gates for a score through the air.