by The night was perfect for a rematch of the regional semi finals from last year between the Benedictine Bengals and the Padua Bruins. While last year’s game was a high scoring affair, this year couldn’t be more of the opposite as the Bengals won 7-0. I talked with Bengals head coach Joe Prevesk before the game and he said his key to moving to 2-0 was “toughness in the trenches on both sides of the ball”. His team showed just that in this one while rushing for 159 between their two backs and holding Padua to just 68 yards on the ground.
The Bengals started the game out with the ball and it was obvious their gameplan was to run the football. As an offense, they cruised down the field on a long 7 minute, 13 play touchdown drive which consisted of 12 runs and just 1 pass. The drive was highlighted by two runs from sophomore running back Kayden Forte. The first was a 22 yard gash to the outside to put them at the 5 yard line. The second was a 2 yard touchdown run to put the Bengals up 7-0 after the extra point.
As the first quarter came to an end and the second began, both teams’ defenses looked impressive. Benedictine’s line held strong, forcing punt after punt while Padua’s defense forced a turnover on downs in their own territory.
The defensive battle continued until the Bruins started moving the ball late in the second quarter while in the 2 minute drill. They connected on a few passes and ended up on the Bengals side of the field for the first time of the night. With 20 seconds left in the half the Bruins marched their kicker out on 4th down to attempt a 54 yard field goal. Before the snap the Bruins changed formation into a trick play and successfully picked up the first down through the air. This set up a time expiring 39 yard field goal that had the distance, but was pushed right keeping the 7-0 heading into the intermission.
Defense was the name of the game in the first half for both squads. The Bengals held the Bruins to just 72 first half yards while forcing 3 punts and a missed field goal. On the other side the Bruins really settled in defensively after allowing a touchdown on their first drive. After the touchdown drive they allowed less than 50 yards the rest of the half and forced a turnover on downs.
The third quarter continued the trend of defense. The Bengals got big 4th down stops on both of Padua’s drives in the quarter while the Bruins forced a 3 and out. It wasn’t until late in the quarter where one team finally broke free offensively.
With less than a minute left in the third quarter Benedictine broke through Padua’s defense. They picked up a 3rd and long through the air and then drove down into the red zone on the ground. With the way the Bruins offense had been playing they would need some red zone magic on defense and that’s exactly what they got. While on the 10 yard line the Bengals quarterback fumbled the snap and it was recovered by the Bruins. Unfortunately for the Bruins, their offensive woes continued. They were forced to punt it back after a 3 and out with 6 minutes left in the game and the score still at 7-0 in Benedictines favor.
Needing a stop to stay in the game, Padua’s defense left the Bengals with a 4th and 1 at mid field after burning all of their timeouts. Coach Prevesk of the Bengals made the gutsy call to leave his offense on the field for 4th down. Senior quarterback Matthew Furst took the snap and charged right through the trenches to pick up the game clenching first down. After some clock runs out the game finished at 7-0 in favor of the Bengals.
The name of this game was defense and Benedictines shined the brightest. They held the Bruins to just 68 yards rushing and 117 total yards of offense. They forced punt after punt and a crucial turnover on downs late in the game.
The Bruins look for their first win of the season next week when they travel to take on Bedford. The Bengals will try to stay undefeated as they head back home to take on Lutheran West next week.
Player of the game
Benedictine Bengals sophomore RB Kayden Forte – 18 carries for 85 yards and a touchdown
