This Week in Benedictine Football, Week 15

December 9, 1950

Charity Game

Benedictine 14, St. Ignatius 14

                After a major snow storm crippled the Cleveland area in the early hours of November 25, the 20^th annual Charity Game became the only title game to be postponed.  

                Here’s how Tim Hudak described the weather conditions of that day in his book, The Charity Game, a history of Cleveland’s biggest annual high school football game.

“Early that morning it started to snow, and to snow, and to snow. The Plain Dealer called it, “one of the worst blizzards in modern times…” Twelve inches had already fallen by noon on the 25^th with no let-up in sight. By nightfall the total had risen to 21 inches. It would take five full days just to clear the main streets – and that was with the help of 600 National Guardsmen and some 100 Army vehicles. Schools were closed until Monday, December 3.”

                For those fans and friends who attended the game when it was finally played on Saturday December 9, it was worth the wait…as both teams could claim the title.

                No doubt, one of the happiest persons at Cleveland Stadium on that day had to be Benedictine’s Joe Kostelac. He converted one of the most important extra point kicks in Benedictine history.

                But more on that later…

                St. Ignatius was favored in this game as they were riding an 18-game winning streak. The Wildcats also had a sizable weight advantage on both offense and defense. The Wildcats offensive line averaged 192 to the Bengals 174, and 201 to 176 on defense.

                Ironically, while both teams were mostly known for their outstanding running attacks, the game turned into an air show.

                Benedictine quarterback Jack Slekar, who would be voted the game’s Most Valuable Player, completed six of 12 passes for 177 yards and one touchdown. The Bengals ground game could manage only 32 yards and did not help themselves by losing four fumbles.

                St. Ignatius passers completed nine of 24 for 136 yards and had three throws intercepted by the Bengals. The Wildcat runners gained only 45 yards.

                Benedictine jumped out to a quick lead as Slekar found Ben Stefanek for a 67-yard pass play that put the ball on the Wildcats 18. Running back Ed Yemec carried twice for the Bengals and scored from the six. Joe Kostelac kicked the extra point to give the Bengals a 7-0 lead.

                That lead was carried into halftime.

                St. Ignatius got on the board in the third on a 19-yard scoring pass and extra point kick to tie the game at 7-7.

                Then, with five minutes left in the game, St. Ignatius took the lead 14-7 on a 29-yard touchdown pass and extra point kick. It looked as if the Wildcats were on their way to victory. But there was another star-in-the-making for the Bengals.

                Benedictine moved the ball to the St. Ignatius 40. On a fourth-and-six, Slekar flung a pass to sophomore halfback Bob Konkoly, who was playing in his first varsity game after being promoted from the junior varsity squad. Konkoly gathered it in at the 10-yard line and crossed the goal line untouched with two minutes left in the game. His clutch touchdown reception put the Bengals in a position to tie the game.

                Now the game rested on the kicking foot of Bengals senior lineman Joe Kostelac.

                “My feet were frozen and my knees were shaking as we lined up,” said Kostelac. “It was a great feeling when I saw the kick was good,” he told the Plain Dealer.

                Not surprisingly, Kostelac, a stalwart on the Bengals line at 200 pounds, said it was the most important kick of his high school career.

                That kick gave the Bengals a 14-14 tie with the favored Wildcats and a share of the Cleveland City Championship.

                That prompted Benedictine coach Joe Rufus to declare, “We stopped their winning streak, we’re the champs.”

Who could blame him? If nothing else, his Bengals had earned a moral victory.

                NOTES: This game on December 9 is the latest date a Benedictine game was played.

                Bob Konkoly, Joe Kostelac and lineman Bob Radel are all members of the Benedictine Athletic Hall of Fame.

                If you are looking for a Christmas gift for someone else or yourself, you should consider The Charity Game book, by Tim Hudak. It is a very thorough, year-by-year look back at the Charity Game played as the season-ending game from 1931 until 1968.

                With its large number of appearances in the title game, Benedictine is mentioned prominently in the book with lots of photos. For more information go to:  www.sportsheritagepublications.net

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Wally Mieskoski ’71

Benedictine Football Historian

This Week in Benedictine Football, Week 14

November 25, 1965

Charity Game

Benedictine 29, South 8

                CLEVELAND – Voted unanimously as the top team in the Cleveland area by The Plain Dealer, Benedictine was a heavy favorite to return to championship glory in the 35^th annual Charity Game against South High at Cleveland Municipal Stadium.

                After the game, you would not get any arguments from South High coach John Gentile after his Flyers lost to the Bengals 29-8 in front of a crowd of 36,202 fans.

                “They deserve to be No. 1. They’re tough all the way around,” he said.

The victory increased Benedictine’s record to 7-4-2 in these title games.

In a three-minute span late in the second quarter, the game turned in favor of the Bengals

A bad snap from center on a punt by South gave the ball to the Bengals on the four and then Larry Zelina took it in from there. His place kick gave the Bengals a 7-0 lead with 3:56 left in the second.

Forcing South to punt, the Bengals struck again covering 57 yards in just four plays. Halfback Glenn Novak burst through the line, after a great fake by quarterback Jim Betts, and raced 38 yard for another Bengals touchdown. Zelina’s extra point gave the Bengals a 14-0 halftime lead.

With South driving to the Bengals five-yard line, the Benedictine defense made the play of the game. On a fourth down play, the Flyers all-scholastic halfback Mickey Gallegos took a flip and tried to skirt right end. He was met four yards behind the line of scrimmage by all-scholastic 240-pound tackle Tony Russ, who was backed up by five other Bengals defenders.

Benedictine then drove 91 yards to reach the end zone once again on Zelina’s one yard run. His extra point kick made it 21-0 with 45 seconds left in the third.    

Zelina had three big plays in the drive, a 13-yard dash, a 19-yard run, and a 49-yard pass reception from Betts.

Zelina set up the Bengals final score as he ran 50 yards to the South one. From there, Novak took the ball over. A surprise two-point pass from Bill Scanlon to Glenn Novak gave the Bengals a 29-0 lead.

With less than one minute remaining in the game, South finally got on the scoreboard with a touchdown pass from sophomore quarterback Don Lamka, who also threw for the two-point conversion.

Zelina, who won the game’s MVP award, finished the game with 101 yards rushing on 14 carries and two touchdowns. Glenn Novak added 95 yards rushing on 15 carries and two scores.

This was the highest scoring team to date in Benedictine history with 380 points in 10 games while allowing only 97 points.

Only a 29-12 loss to Massillon in the second game of the season marred a perfect record.

Glenville coach Phil Crawley, whose Tarblooders played both teams, said, “I think if Benedictine and Massillon were to play again, Benedictine would take them apart. Benedictine played Massillon too early,” he added.

Massillon was the Associated Press wire service state champion.

Even Augie Bossu, who was not known for his use of superlatives, admitted that “this team has to rate with our best. It’s ONE of our best. You can’t compare teams of different years. This one had more depth than our ’57 team which won the state championship.”

NOTES: Larry Zelina won the game’s MVP award and did it again in the next season in the Bengals 32-6 victory over South High. He is the only player in Charity Game history to win two MVP awards.

This Week in Benedictine Football, Thanksgiving Edition

November 24, 1955

Charity Game

Benedictine 47, St. Ignatius 6

                The first Charity Game to be played on Thanksgiving morning was an appropriate date for the Bengals as they carved up the St. Ignatius Wildcats in a record-setting 47-6 victory.

                It was a convincing victory as Benedictine set a Charity Game record for most points as well as margin of victory. The 41-point spread surpassed the old record of 33 points set by Cathedral Latin in a win over Lincoln in 1944.  The previous record for most points was held by Rhodes in a 40-14 win, ironically, over the Bengals in 1953.

It did not take long for the Bengals to establish their superiority in this Turkey Day game.

                In the first minute of the game, senior back Tom Rini dashed 54 yards for a score on the fourth play of the game.

                Early in the second, Ray Hudiak completed a 60-yard drive with a four-yard run. Later in the second, Rini scored his second touchdown on a one-yard run. Sophomore back George Sefcik added a two-point conversion that gave the Bengals a 20-0 halftime lead.

                While the Bengals offense was rolling, the team’s defense was also doing its job. St. Ignatius did not gain a first down in the first half.

                In the third, Fred Yarris broke through the Ignatius line and raced 61 yards for another Bengals touchdown that built their lead to 27-0 with Sefcik’s kick.

                After blocking an Ignatius punt, the Bengals took over on the Wildcat 21. Rini scored his third touchdown with a seven-yard run. Sefcik kicked the extra point to give Benedictine a 34-0 lead.  

                St. Ignatius avoided the shutout on a 71-yard pass play in the third.

                A pair of sophomore backs, Gary Hansley, (74-yard run) and Sefcik (14-yard run) finished the scoring for the Bengals in the fourth quarter.

                “The Bengals left no doubt of their superiority in every department of play. But they left grave doubt about the accuracy of statewide polls that have ranked them no better than 10^th among Ohio high school teams,” wrote Plain Dealer sports editor Gordon Cobbledick.

                He continued, “No one who witnessed their triumph over a fired-up foe in the frosty stadium could believe that there are nine better teams in the state. For this one day, at least, Benedictine was about as good as high school teams ever get.”

                How confident were the Bengals?

                So much so, that they did not punt in fourth-down situations.

                Rini won the game’s Most Valuable Player Award for his performance of three touchdowns while gaining 99 yards in 13 carries, while throwing several key blocks that sprung Bengal ballcarriers.

                The Bengals offense gained 383 yards rushing and 24 passing for a total of 407 total yards. St. Ignatius had a total of 152 yards on 57 rushing and 95 passing.

                NOTES: This was Augie Bossu’s first year as head coach of the Bengals. He had a great start at Benedictine winning Cleveland city titles in 1955, 1956 and in 1957, which clinched the sate championship.

                This was Benedictine’s third undefeated, untied team in school history matching the 1948 and 1952 teams.

                Hudiak was the leading scorer in the East Senate.

                Ticket prices were $1, $1.50, $2.50, and $3.50

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Wally Mieskoski ’71

Benedictine Football Historian

This Week in Benedictine Football History Week 13

November 16, 1996

Benedictine 24, Lake Catholic 10

                Lakewood – Benedictine’s 24-10 upset win over Lake Catholic in the second round of the playoffs was one of the school’s most satisfying wins. It was also the 400^th football victory in Benedictine history.

Lake Catholic was the state’s top-ranked Division III team and handed Division I state runner-up St. Ignatius one of its two losses of the regular season. Plus, in four previous games, the Bengals had never beaten Lake Catholic.

That was about to change.

With the exception of the first few minutes of the game, the Bengals played a nearly flawless game.

                On the third play of the game, the Cougars intercepted a pass on the Bengals 33.  A 29-yard touchdown pass followed to give the Cougars a quick 7-0 lead.

                Later in the first, the Bengals took possession on their own 44. It was from there that senior back Walter Randall took a pitch from junior QB Tom Fejes, broke a tackle and then burst down the left sidelines for the score. Erol Senel’s extra point kick tied the game at 7-7.

                That was all the scoring for the remainder of the first half.

                With 7:23 left in the third, Benedictine’s Senel’s 32-yard field goal gave the Bengals a 10-7 lead. Lake Catholic came back with its own field goal of 39 yards to tie the game at 10-10 with 1:45 left in the third.  

                The momentum seemed to be shifting to the Cougars but that all changed just 11 seconds later.

                Junior Pat Minnillo took the kick-off at his 11-yard line, raced up the middle and then cut to the right for an 89-yard kick-off return for a touchdown that gave the Bengals a 17-10 lead for good.

                Walter Randall put the game away with a four-yard touchdown run with 2:38 left in the game.

                The victory gave the Bengals a 10-1 record, while Lake Catholic dropped to 11-1.

                Benedictine would now face Bellevue for the chance to go to the state finals.

                Who were the heroes in this game? There may have been too many to count.

                How about Walter Randall who rushed for 183 yards on 21 carries and two touchdowns?

You could also say the Bengals offensive line who protected quarterback Tom Fejes.  He completed six of 16 passes for 126 yards and was not sacked one time. The defensive line would be a good candidate. They sacked the Lake Catholic quarterback six times for minus 28 yards, after being sacked only 14 times all season.  You can’t leave out Todd Bacik and Justin Fraley who intercepted Cougar passes in the end zone to thwart their threats. Tim Lorber also picked off a Lake Catholic pass.

                And you can’t forget Pat Minnillo, who helped swing the momentum back to the Bengals with his electrifying kick return to give the Bengals the lead for good.

                But, was it an upset? 

                “I’m not surprised we won,” said senior Salem Simon, who starred as a two-way lineman. He had two sacks. “I knew it would happen,” he added.

                Quarterback Tom Fejes said, “We knew we could do it. We still have two tough teams to beat.”

                NOTES – In fact, Benedictine did defeat those two tough teams. They topped Bellevue 28-12 to reach the state title game. Then the Bengals topped Columbus DeSales 14-3 to win the Division III state title.

                Lakewood Stadium was the new “home” field for the Bengals. They defeated St. Edward 27-0 in the regular season finale and then played three playoff games there. In the regular season, the Bengals had only four home games at Bedford Stadium.

                Pat Minnillo had a season to remember making the return game for the Bengals something special. For the entire season, he ran back 6 punt returns and 2 kick-off returns for touchdowns. He opened the state title game against Columbus DeSales with a 92-yard kick return to the Stallions three. In the playoff opener against Olmsted Falls, he opened the game with a kick-off return for a touchdown. Then when the Bengals defense forced the Bulldogs to punt, he returned that punt for another touchdown. Minnillo gave the Bengals a 14-0 lead and the Bengals had yet to run a play from scrimmage. They went on to win 28-7.

                In 1996 the Bengals finished with a 13-1 record, a 3-0 loss to Youngstown Cardinal Mooney was the only blemish.

                This playoff state title gave the Bengals state titles in each of the decades that the playoffs have been contested, 1973, 1980, 1981 and now 1996. That string still continues with State Championships in 2003 and 2004.  The Bengals are the ONLY team that can boast State Championships in each decade since the playoff system was introduced in the 1970's.

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Wally Mieskoski ’71

Benedictine Football Historian

This Week in Benedictine Football Week 12

November 12, 1994

Benedictine 33, Youngstown Mooney 13

                Warren – It was the third game – all in the state playoffs - between Benedictine and Youngstown Cardinal Mooney.             

The teams met for the first time in 1981 at the Akron Rubber Bowl with Benedictine scoring a 21-17 upset over Mooney with a furious fourth-quarter rally.  The Cardinals had been nationally-ranked in several publications. A few years later, the Benedictine football alums voted that 1981 come-from-behind victory as the greatest game in school history.

                Then in 1985, Mooney pulled an upset over the Bengals in one of the worst playoff losses in school history, 47-0, once again at the Akron Rubber Bowl.

                This time, Mooney was the favorite, having finished the season as the top-ranked team in Region 13 while Benedictine was third.  At this time, only the top four teams qualified for the playoffs.

                And, once again, the underdog sprung the upset.

Benedictine convincingly handled Mooney 33-13 at Mollenkopf Stadium.

                Paul Svigel wrote in the Sun Messenger that “The smaller, quicker Bengals dominated the bigger Cardinals in every phase of the game in taking a 2-1 series lead.”

                There were some individual highlights.

                Senior QB Joel Jelinek threw four touchdown passes for the third time in the season. Three of the TD tosses went to Kevin Coffey.

                The defense did their part. Long-time legendary Mooney coach Don Bucci said, “We had to establish our running game and as the (Benedictine) scores were mounting, we didn’t have a chance to do so.”

                The Bengals held the Cardinals strong running attack to only 76 yards.

                After a scoreless first quarter, the Bengals got on the scoreboard on a 32-yard touchdown pass from Joel Jelinek to Jarritt Goode to take a 6-0 lead.

                After holding Mooney on downs, the Bengals drove 73 yards for another score, this time on a 38-yard Jelinek-to-Coffey touchdown pass. The two-point conversion failed and the Bengals led 12-0.

                The Bengals then used a little trickery as sophomore Mike Zelenka recovered an onside kick at the Cardinals 41-yard line.

                It took only one play for a score with another Jelinek-to-Coffey touchdown pass.  The quick-strike touchdown took place only 22 seconds after the previous score. The two-point conversion was good and the Bengals led 20-0 with 2:40 left in the second quarter.

                Mooney finally got on the scoreboard later in the second and trailed 20-7 at halftime.

                After a fumble recovery by John Cirino in the third quarter, the Bengals used that turnover to move 70- yards in just five plays. Chauncey Berry took the ball the final 20 yards for the touchdown. That gave the Bengals a 27-7 lead.

                The last Benedictine score came with 10:03 left in the game on another Jelinek-to-Coffey touchdown pass. Tom Bogo kicked the extra point to make it 33-7.

Mooney got its final points on a touchdown with just 11 seconds remaining in the game.

                Berry finished the game 123 yards in 19 carries.

                Coffey finished with 128 yards on seven catches and two touchdowns. Goode had three catches for 88 yards and also had two touchdowns.

                Although Ryan Ryzner did not have a big game, he did not go unnoticed by the Mooney defenders with consistent double-coverage. Goode explained after his first touchdown, “I just got behind the cornerback. They were paying attention to Ryan (Ryzner).”

                Notes: In the next round of the playoffs, the Bengals defeated Brookfield 26-6, and then lost Orrville 54-27. Orrville lost in the state title game, 34-24, to Germantown Valley View.

                It was the first year as head coach for Al Hodakievic ’72, who led the Bengals to a 10-3 record.  Hodakievic replaced the legendary Augie Bossu, who stepped down in the spring of 1994 after 39 seasons as head coach.

                In 1995, Benedictine and Cardinal Mooney began a regular season series that ran until the 2010 season. In 2011, the Bengals joined the North Coast League.

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Wally Mieskoski ’71

Benedictine Football Historian

Lake Catholic Defeats Bengals … Again

November 4, 2011

Division III Playoffs

                MENTOR – The result was the same in the second time the Bengals played Lake Catholic.

                Earlier in the season, Lake Catholic started strong and defeated Benedictine 30-6 in week six of the regular season in a Bengals home game.

                In this Division III, Region 9 first round playoff game, the Cougars jumped out to another fast start and while the Bengals fought back, it was Lake Catholic who moved on to the next round of the playoffs with a 47-21 victory at Jerome T. Osborne Stadium.

Lake Catholic had a 21-0 first quarter lead. The teams traded touchdowns in the second quarter that made the score 27-7. Cougar quarterback Mark Baniewicz did most of the damage as he threw five touchdown passes in the game, including the first four scores.

                Bryan Lacey got the Bengals on the scoreboard midway through the second quarter on a 24-yard run with Toby Leahy getting the extra point.

                On the first drive in the second half, Benedictine took the ball 73 yards in 11 plays as Richard Allen took it in from the one. With Leahy’s kick, the Bengals had narrowed the gap to 27-14.

                It didn’t take long – exactly one minute – for the Cougars to once again increase the lead scoring on a 68-yard run.

                Later in the third, Lake scored on a 22-yard pass play to make the score 40-14.

                The Bengals reached the end zone once more in the third quarter on a Dan Piascik-to-Mike Roberts 36-yard pass play to make it 40-21.

                Lake got its final touchdown early in the fourth on a two-yard run.

                Senior back Bryan Lacey led the Bengals with 99 yards rushing on 23 carries and scored the team’s first touchdown.

                Senior wide receiver Mike Roberts had four catches for 74 yards and one touchdown.

Junior Marshall Howell led with seven receptions for 81 yards.

                Overall, Dan Piascik was 12 of 30 for 163 yards and one TD pass.

                Although the number of first downs was close, with Lake holding a 16-15 edge, they had a commanding lead in the total offense yardage with 445 to the Bengals 261.

                NOTES: Benedictine finished the season with a 7-4 overall record which included a 7-3 regular season mark.  The Bengals had a 3-2 record, under first-year head coach Ben Malbasa, in their first year of North Coast League competition. The teams that defeated Benedictine were highly ranked. Lake Catholic (twice) was ranked number 2 in the Division III, Region 9; Walsh Jesuit was No. 1 in Division II, Region 5; and Columbus DeSales was first in Division III, Region 10.

                This season broke a string of six losing seasons and the team made the playoffs for the first time since 2005.

               

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Wally Mieskoski ’71

Benedictine Football Historian