by This game recap is brought to you by – https://keeonsports.com/sponsors/
It was military appreciation night here at Pat Catan stadium and Strongsville had special camouflage uniforms on to honor our military. Honor them they did, as on the very first play of the game Harsh Patel found Alex Espay on a simple screen pass, and he did the rest. 65 yards later, Strongsville led 7-0. What a way to begin your first start of the season if you’re Harsh Patel.
It didn’t take long for Benedictine to respond. Three minutes and 20 seconds to be exact. The Bengals took the ball right down the field on seven plays, capped off by a ten-yard run from Luke Reed. The two-point attempt was no good and with 8:23 left in the first it was already 7-6.
Strongsville took over but had a very different result than the first drive. They would be forced to punt after just three plays.
Benedictine would take over and found themselves in a fourth and three situation from their own 38-yard line. They decided to roll the dice and go for it, but Jerome Williams stormed into the backfield and blew the play up. The Mustangs had the ball in Bengal territory looking to add to the lead.
However, just four plays later the Mustangs would give it right back to the Bengals as Shamar Darling broke up the fourth down pass attempt.
Both teams would trade punts and the Bengals had the ball once again looking to take the lead. A huge 31-yard pass to J.J. Baldwin from Matthew Furst put the ball in Mustang territory. The Strongsville defense bent but didn’t break as J.J. Pleasant ripped the ball away from Luke Reed, halting the Bengals push for the lead.
Punts by both teams brought us to halftime with Strongsville leading 7-6. What was looking like a shootout quickly turned into a defensive battle.
Benedictine received the ball to start the third quarter and like much of the first half they were forced to punt.
Strongsville wouldn’t make anything of the stop as after three plays the punt unit jogged onto the field once again. A high snap forced Austin Adkins to fall on it, giving the Bengals the ball at the Mustang 13-yard line. The Bengals couldn’t punch it in but would manage to get points. A 28-yard field goal from Bryce Meitin would give them a 9-7 lead.
The Mustang offense took the field looking to take the lead back. A short pass would get the drive started and move the chains for the first time all game. A 15-yard penalty and runs by Xavier Belvin moved the ball into the Bengals red zone and the Mustangs were threatening for the first time. Harsh Patel would scramble out of the pocket and find Jeremy Knauf a few plays later for a 19-yard score giving the Mustangs the lead back at 14-9 late in the third.
After multiple punts, the Mustangs found themselves with the ball looking to add to their lead. Belvin would break his first big run of the game, rumbling 48 yards all the way to the Bengals two yard-line. Penalties pushed the ball back to the 12 making it a third and goal for the Mustangs. Again, Patel would buy time in the pocket and this time found Will Dasher in the back of the endzone for the score. With 6:34 left in the game Strongsville led 21-9.
The defense thrived off the momentum the offense created as on the Bengals ensuing drive Storm Miller would jump Matthew Furst’s pass and give it right back to his offense.
Desperate for a stop, the Bengals defense would get stingy and force the punt unit onto the field. However, Benedictine would muff the punt and Strongsville would recover at the 23-yard line.
The Mustangs added to the lead as on fourth and 17 Patel found Jeremy Knauf down the left sideline for his fourth passing touchdown of the night to seal a 27-9 victory over the Bengals.
Players of the Game
Strongsville Mustangs- Harsh Patel 11/16 151 Yards 4 TD
Benedictine Bengals- Luke Reed 19 Carries 83 Yards 1 TD
Scoring Plays
1st Quarter
11:42- #15 Harsh Patel 65-yard pass to #10 Alex Espay. #53 Vincent Roncone Pat Good
8:23- #2 Luke Reed 10-yard run. 2PT no good
2nd Quarter
None
3rd Quarter
6:28- #31 Bryce Meitin 28-yard field goal good
1:20- #15 Harsh Patel 19-yard pass to #27 Jeremy Knauf. #53 Vincent Roncone PAT Good
4th Quarter
6:34- #15 Harsh Patel 12-yard pass to #85 Will Dasher. #53 Vincent Roncone PAT Good
1:21- #15 Harsh Patel 30-yard pass to #27 Jeremy Knauf. PAT No Good
