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 10th 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
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