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