Eagles see progress despite loss

Benedictine could not have come much closer than it did Saturday in the quest to send its last football game of the season into overtime.

The game went into the record book as a 7-0 loss to Concordia (Wis.), but the manner in which the Eagles battled the Falcons to the end offered proof of the progress they have made under coach Jon Cooper the past three years.

"What we have built with Coach Coop and the staff is incredible," said cornerback senior Kyle Bruett, who played his last game for Benedictine. "To come to this point from where we were during my freshman year is really something. We were 5-5 this year and that's progress, but it's not where we wanted to be."

The season finale, which featured two of the top defenses in Division III, figured to be a low-scoring affair with many big plays by defenders from both teams.

But the Concordia defense had the last word, stopping two Eagles drives at the Falcons' 7- and 2-yard lines in the last three minutes.

"Our defensive backs had to make the big plays," said Concordia coach Jeff Gabrielsen. "(Benedictine was) three-step throwing, so it's hard to get pressure. The defensive backs came up big."

The Falcons (7-3, 6-1) scored at the end of the first half when a pair of questionable Benedictine penalties set up the only touchdown of the game, a 15-yard strike from backup quarterback Nathan Chart to Taylor Siolka in the corner of the end zone. Dan Winsey's extra point made it 7-0.

Then the Eagles, who had stuck pretty much to a ground game in the first half, came out after the intermission with freshman quarterback Andrew Ramus throwing -- and hitting.

The big scoring threats, however, didn't occur until the fourth quarter when Benedictine, which started the day with a chance to tie for the conference title, took over on its own 41 with 4:55 to play in the game.

A 15-yard Ramus completion to Dan Cebulak, followed by a Concordia face-mask penalty, two completions to Brandin Austin and a 5-yard pass to Matt Jenkins got the Eagles to the Concordia 15-yard line.

An 8-yard run by Ryan Schwartz moved it to the 7 with a little more than two minutes to play.

And that's when the Falcons defensive backfield stepped up by denying four straight passes into the end zone and taking over on downs with two minutes to play.

Three plays later Benedictine's Pat Daniels caused a fumble that Matt Kunz recovered on the 14, and the Eagles were in business again.

A pass interference call on Concordia moved the ball to the 2-yard line.

However, the stubborn Concordia defense held again and defensive back Dontrell Hall intercepted a Ramus toss in the end zone on fourth down to seal the victory.

"The kids never quit," Cooper said. "Concordia is the conference champion and we were right there with them. One or two plays would have made the difference in the game."

"It was just a great game," said senior Benedictine defensive back Anthony Borsellino (Montini). "I wish the result could have been different. But we got it down to the 2-yard line at the end. They're a great team and we aspire to get to that level."

Concordia finished the season tied for first place with Lakeland College but was awarded the conference title and the NCAA playoff bid because the Falcons defeated Lakeland head-to-head.