Benet hands Marist first loss
After a tough loss to Marist last season, Benet wanted to make sure the same outcome didn’t happen again this year.
The Redwings made some adjustments and dominated its way to a 34-24 football victory on senior night at Benedictine University.
Benet (7-1, 4-1 East Suburban Catholic Conference), which never trailed in the game, jumped out to a 10-0 lead early in the second quarter, then used a little trickery to put the game out of reach.
After Peter Andreotti scored on a 4-yard touchdown run for Marist to cut the lead to 10-7, the RedHawks went for an onside kick on the ensuing kickoff.
Benet recovered the kick and then immediately returned the favor to Marist (7-1, 5-1). Sophomore quarterback Jake Beneventi threw a lateral to backup quarterback JT Crosby, who found Jack Toner wide open down the field for a 52-yard scoring play.
“We are at the point where we are getting a little more comfortable to try things like that,” Benet coach Pat New said. “We want to take a little more chances, try some trick plays. We knew we were going to use that play, and it was a perfect time to do it. We were going to use it in another game, but I didn’t have the nerve to do it that game. I was glad we did it tonight.”
After the trick play Benet went on to build a 34-10 lead and never was threatened the rest of the game.
Benet’s defense also stepped up Friday night as it forced Marist into 4 turnovers. Marist quarterback Ian Woodworth completed 31 of 53 passes for 302 yards but threw 3 interceptions in the process. Ryan Parks intercepted two passes in the game, including one with just less than four minutes left in the game when Marist was driving.
“(Marist’s sophomore wide receiver) is real quick and I just broke on his hip turn and was able to pick it off,” Parks said. “Tonight was huge for our program. We worked so hard in the off-season, and now it is paying off.”
Beneventi completed 13 of 20 passes for 134 yards and 2 touchdowns in the win.
“The guys make it easy for me to lead,” Beneventi said. “We all have each other’s backs and it doesn’t matter what class each of us are. We played great tonight and really wanted it. This win was a huge win for our program.”