Benedictine Rallies to Defeat Boardman

Week One
August 27, 2011

Benedictine 31, Boardman 30

Bedford – A large crowd at Bedford’s Bearcat Stadium watched as Benedictine used big plays to notch a well-earned 31-30 victory over Division I playoff contender and first-time opponent Boardman.
The game also marked the Bengals coaching debut of Ben Malbasa, who was named as the new Benedictine coach in December 2010.
It was an evening of big performances by the Bengals.
Senior back Bryan Lacey gave the Bengals the go-ahead touchdown with a nifty 28-yard run with 9:38 left in the game to make it 31-28. It was Lacey’s third touchdown of the night. He was the Bengals leading rusher with 69 yards on 13 carries and also caught a pair of passes for 61 yards. His first touchdown provided the spark that the Bengals needed.
Junior Dan Piascik led the Bengals passing attack throwing for a career best and fourth-highest single-game total in school history of 307 yards and two touchdowns.
Freshman placekicker Toby Leahy got the Bengals on the scoreboard first with a 33-yard field goal just 1:05 into the game.
Boardman bounced back by scoring three touchdowns to take a 21-3 lead with 11:56 left in the second.
Lacey caught a 54-yard scoring pass from Piascik with 11:03 left in the second to bring the Bengals to 21-10. That scoring play allowed the Bengals get back into the game. Then, Piascik connected with junior Marshall Howell with a 90-yard scoring pass to close the gap to 21-17. That is the second-longest pass play in school history.
After the Bengals defense held Boardman at the 36, the Spartans punted to the Bengals six.
On the first play, Piascik hit senior Mike Roberts with a 72-yard pass that took the ball to the Boardman 22. Later, Lacey scored on a nine-yard run to give the Bengals a 24-21 lead with 5:21 left in the third. That drive covered 94 yards and took only six plays.
Early in the fourth, Boardman regained the lead at 28-24 on a Devin Campbell 13-yard run that completed an 11-play, 80-yard drive.
That set up Lacey’s winning 28-yard score just 72 seconds later.
Boardman got its final two points as Benedictine punter Alex Naida took an intentional safety by running out of the end zone.
Some key stats:
First downs: Boardman 20, Benedictine 16
Fumbles Lost: Boardman 3, Benedictine 1
Passing Yards: Benedictine 307, Boardman 134
Rushing Yards: Boardman 243, Benedictine 99

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Wally Mieskoski ‘71