This Week in Benedictine History: Week 6

September 26, 1952

Benedictine Topples Top Ten-Ranked Warren Harding 7-0

A tough test with Warren Harding was awaiting the Bengals in the third week. Harding had defeated Collinwood 14-0 in the season opener and defeated Canton McKinley 29-19 in the second week.

                Leading the Bengals into this game was Jerry Bush, the district’s leading scorer. He scored both touchdowns in the opening 12-8 win over Holy Name and added five touchdowns in the next week’s 60-0 win over East Tech.

Warren Harding entered the game as the state’s seventh-ranked team by the Associated Press poll with 77 points. They received one first place vote.  Benedictine was ranked 25^th with 12 points. Lakewood was ninth with 46 points.

                A 10-yard scoring run by end Steve Chernicky was the game’s only touchdown to give Benedictine a 7-0 upset win over Harding. Bob Konkoly kicked the extra point in the second period to give the Bengals their third straight win and give the Red and White their first loss of the season.

                The game's winning score was set up by Vince Delsanter, who recovered a Harding fumble on the 13-yard line.  Konkoly ripped off nine yards and Jerry Bush took it to the two. But Benedictine was penalized 15 yards for holding. Bob Huttman gained seven yards to the 10, from where Chernicky scored on the next play.

                The game ended with Benedictine on the Harding eight. Benedictine also had another scoring chance in the third period when it recovered a fumble on the Harding 20, but could advance it only to the 13 from where the Red and White took over.

                Harding never seriously threatened. The Bengals smothered their running game and intercepted four passes.

                It was another big win in recent years over a respected downstate opponent for the Bengals.

                Benedictine finished third in the state rankings by First and Ten Magazine. In the International News Service state ratings, Benedictine finished fourth. In the Associated Press poll, the Bengals were seventh.

                NOTES: Cleveland Auxiliary Bishop Roger Gries O.S.B. ’54 recently recalled that victory over Warren Harding.

                “I remember that game well.  There was a series of downs where their back was continuing to gain five yards after five yards.  We varied the defense a little, and I was lucky to tackle him and put him on his back.  While on his back I told him, “You didn’t gain anything that time, did you?”  He picked up a handful of dirt with some of the lime from the yard-lines, and threw it into my face.  It burned like “hell” and I had to sit out a couple plays while they rinsed out my eyes,” smiled Gries.

                Bishop Gries chuckled as he remembered the game-winning play. Although Gries was a tackle, he had to play “quarterback” on a rarely-used end-around.

                “We always liked to get the jump on the defense because we knew the count. So when our end Steve Chernicky asked me what the snap count was at the line of scrimmage, I knew he was nervous about being the ball carrier. I told him and the defensive linemen just smiled.  I was ready, and hoped that the defensive end would not follow Chernicky around and catch him.  It worked out well as we scored on the play and went on to go undefeated and beat St. Ignatius in the Charity Game,” added Gries.

               

The Bengals finished the season with a 10-0 record, the second undefeated team in school history.  Joe Rufus was the coach of the Bengals. The season was capped off with a solid 26-18 win over St. Ignatius at the Charity Game at Cleveland Stadium with a crowd of 33,689 watching the Bengals take their second outright Cleveland City Championship.

                This 1952 team was the highest scoring team in school history with 340 points in 10 games until 1965 when the Bengals scored 380 in 10 games. Even that mark has been eclipsed. Athletic Director Tony Russ ’66 was an All-Ohio lineman for the Bengals on that ’65 team. Junior running back Larry Zelina ’67 led the state in scoring that season with 210 points.

                The seven points in the win over Warren Harding were the fewest points scored by the Bengals thatl season.

                Steve Chernicky was Benedictine’s first All-Ohio football player. He later played at Purdue and was inducted into the Benedictine Athletic Hall of Fame in 2006.

Running back and kicker Bob Konkoly was inducted into the Benedictine Hall of Fame in 1996.  Jerry Bush was inducted in 2009 and was the first Mr. Benedictine award winner in the spring of 1953.  Auxiliary Bishop Roger Gries O.S.B. ’54 was inducted into the Benedictine Hall of Honors in 1993, and was the second Mr. Benedictine award winner in 1954.

by Wally Mieskoski ’71

Benedictine Football Historian

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Safety first… then Bengals rough up Ironmen, 52-18

Recap

September 22, 2012

Benedictine 52, Cleveland Central Catholic 18

            It may have been the most unusual start to a Benedictine football game. But the final score was more typical. A 52-18 victory over North Coast League member Cleveland Central Catholic increased the Bengals all-time series record over the Ironmen to 14-4-0.

                Nowhere in Bengals history could you find a start to a game like this one.

                At the end of the first quarter (not inning), Benedictine led 4-0 as the Bengals blocked two CCC punts out of the end zone. A pair of “Matt”’s Matt Merimee and Matt McCarthy each blocked Ironmen punts to give the Bengals the lead.

                It was a 26-point second quarter that catapulted Benedictine on its way to this easy win.

Senior wide receiver Marshall Howell scored three times before halftime on a 33-yard pass from quarterback Brian Schoeffler and a 20-yard scoring pass from the freshman. He also scored on a one-yard run in the second.

                Sophomore back Jerome Baker added a one-yard scoring run in the second.

                Howell also added a two-point conversion run in the second.

                The Bengals led at halftime 30-6.

                In the third, Howell added his fourth touchdown of the game, this time on a 62-yard pass from Schoeffler. It was the third time they connected for scoring passes in the game.

                Baker then scored his second touchdown on a 14-yard run and with Antonio Robinson’s two-point run gave the Bengals a 44-6 lead near the end of the third.

                Robinson scored the last Bengals touchdown on a two yard run followed by Terrell Clark’s two-point run in the final quarter.

                All three CCC touchdowns were scored on pass plays.

                The game was called with 2:54 left in the contest as the weather conditions, with strong winds and heavy rain, forced the teams to their respective locker rooms.

                The teams never returned to the field as the game was officially called.

                The win gives Benedictine a 3-2 season record with the Bengals to begin North Coast League Blue Division play this week. CCC falls to 2-3 and also begins play in the White Division of the North Coast League.

                Benedictine dominated the stats.

Overall, Benedictine gained 462 yards while CCC had 273 in total offense. The Bengals had 24 first downs while holding the Ironmen to just 10.

It was a heavily penalized game with Central being flagged 14 times for 62 yards and the Bengals 10 times for 82 yards.

NOTES – Two other times the Bengals scored at least 50 points against CCC. In 1995, the Bengals won 54-0 and in 1997, the score was 56-7.

The 314 passing yards by Brian Schoeffler is fourth-best on the all-time school single-game list.

The all-time record is held by Larry Wanke ’86, when he threw for 344 yards in a state playoff victory over Holy Name in 1985.

                Marshall Howell tied a school record held by four other players with 10 receptions (for 190 yards) in a game. The last player to catch 10 passes was Tim Kendig against Columbus DeSales in 2009.

While the two safeties in one game may be unusual, it is not a school record. That happened in 1994 in the 33-0 win over Cleveland John F. Kennedy when the Bengals scored three safeties in the game.

The 52 points, the highest in the Ben Malbasa era, was the most scored by Benedictine since 2000 when the Bengals defeated Rhodes, 52-0.

On the 50^th anniversary (to the day) of the debut of the “Flying B” helmet logo - for two minutes and seven seconds on the game clock in the third quarter, it was almost like 1962 all over again. With 2:14 left in the third quarter, Benedictine put up points to make the score 44-6, matching the final score of that 1962 victory over Valley Forge when the “Flying B” helmet logo debuted. But Cleveland Central Catholic spoiled the nostalgia party. On its next possession, the Ironmen traveled 68 yards in seven plays for a touchdown to make the score 44-12 with just seven seconds left in the third. The final was 52-18.

by Wally Mieskoski ’71

Benedictine Football Historian

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“Flying B” helmet logos unveiled in 44-6 win over Valley Forge

This Week in Benedictine History

Week 5

September 22, 1962

 There was a new look for the Bengals when they returned home to John Adams Field on September 22  to face Valley Forge, a new high school in Parma.

After starting the season with an easy 42-0 win over Rhodes, Benedictine traveled to face Toledo Central Catholic the following week. The Bengals lost 16-8 and would try to get back on the winning track.

                This game was important for another reason. It was the first game that the Benedictine new helmet logo, the “Flying B” design was unveiled. It was designed by Athletic Director Joe Rufus, assistant coach Fr. Roger W. Gries O.S.B. ’54 and assistant coach Ed Kubancik ’47. It was patterned after the Green Bay Packers new logo, the oval G. The Packers had appeared in the National Football League championships in 1960 and 1961, winning the title in 1961.

Leading by only 6-0 at half-time, Benedictine exploded for five touchdowns in the second half to rout the inspired Valley Forge team. They easily defeated Valley Forge 44-6. Speedy Sal Collura, a 165-pound halfback, got the Bengals started with a 69-yard scoring run in the first quarter.

                In the second half, Bengals 170-pound fullback Joe Ditchman had two 11-yard touchdown runs to close out long drives of 77 yards and 80 yards in the third. Collura also added a third quarter score rambling 15 yards. The Bengals scored 24 points in the third to put the game out of reach.

                They added scores by Ron Ganim of 37 yards and John Sanders of 15 yards. The conversion points were scored by end John Upthegrove on two passes from Jeff Chorba, and runs by Chorba and Sanders.

                The impressive victory gave the Bengals a third place ranking in the Cleveland Press First 50 poll following the game.

NOTES:

50^th Anniversary of the “Flying B” helmet logo – The 50^th anniversary of the Flying B helmet logo is on Saturday, September 22, 2012 in the afternoon game against Cleveland Central Catholic. It was first used on September 22, 1962, a 44-6 win over Valley Forge and since then has remained unchanged. It is one of the most recognizable helmet logos in Ohio high school football. In October 2003, it was voted in a Cleveland.com poll, as the coolest-looking helmet logo in Northeast Ohio. The on-line poll had the Benedictine logo receiving 35.8 percent of all votes followed by second-place Massillon with 18.8 percent, in third was Strongsville with 10.7 percent while Shaker had 10.3 percent of the votes. The “Flying B” was patterned after the Green Bay Packers oval G logo and actually designed by athletic director Joe Rufus, assistant coach Ed Kubancik ’47 and by then-coach and present Cleveland Auxiliary Bishop Roger Gries O.S.B.  ’54. Rufus and Kubancik (both deceased) are Benedictine Hall of Famers while Bishop Gries is a member of the school’s Hall of Honors. Since the “Flying B” has adorned the helmets, the Bengals have compiled a 343-180-12 record.

The first year that the Bengals used white helmets was in 1955 in Augie Bossu’s first year as head coach. Previously the helmets were blue.

In 1957, the Bengals were the first team to wear numbers on their helmets to make it easier to identify players for fans, newspaper photographers and for coaches watching the game films. Most college teams and many NFL teams had been using this style with the numbers on helmets.

At the end of the 1962 season, Toledo Central Catholic (the Bengals second opponent) was voted as the state’s top team by the Associated Press wire service poll.

by Wally Mieskoski ’71

Benedictine Football Historian

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Benedictine 27, Holy Name 23

Recap

September 15, 2012

                In this win over long-time rival Holy Name, Benedictine fell behind early and never led until 11:09 was left in the game.

That’s when Jerome Baker scored on a 40-yard pass play from Brian Schoeffler that completed a 51-yard scoring drive.

Nick Judy kicked his third extra point of the game that gave the Bengals a 27-23 decision.

The winning touchdown was set up by Matt Merimee’s 24-yard interception return. It was Holy Name’s only turnover in the game.

The Green Wave had built a 9-0 lead midway through the second quarter on three Donald Stepic field goals of 22, 36 and 35 yards.

The second quarter was a show of offensive football as each team scored 13 points. The teams scored three touchdowns in a period of just under four minutes at the end of the first half.

After the last Holy Name field goal of 35 yards, Benedictine answered with a Marshall Howell one-yard run with 3:51 left in the second. Howell was instrumental in moving the ball downfield as he caught two passes from Schoeffler that covered 52 and 14 yards. That score cut the Green Wave margin to 9-7.

But Holy Name came right back scoring on a Tre Smith two-yard run to make the score 16-7.

Then Howell added his second touchdown of the night on a two-yard run to bring the Bengals to 16-13. Jerome Baker had the big play of the drive with a 60-yard run that took the ball to the Holy Name 10.

Holy Name led at halftime 16-13 and increased their lead to 23-13 in the third when quarterback Mike Messina hit John Ehrbar on a 38-yard scoring pass and Stepic’s conversion kick. It was the biggest lead in the game.

Taking over at their own 40 after a Holy Name punt, the Bengals needed only three plays to score. It came on a 48-yard touchdown pass from Schoeffler to Howell, his third score of the game. That brought the Bengals closer at 23-20.

It remained that way until Merimee’s interception that led to the Bengals go-ahead touchdown in the fourth.

Jerome Baker had 144 rushing yards in 14 carries. Marshall Howell added six catches for 141 yards. Quarterback Brian Schoeffler was nine of 21 for 190 yards and two touchdowns. Dan Piascik had three completions in four attempts for 72 yards.

Overall, the Bengals gained a season-high 424 yards in offense.

The win over Holy Name brings the Bengals record to 2-2.

NOTES – Holy Name is one of the school’s oldest rivals dating back to the first year of football at Benedictine in 1929. That year Holy Name defeated Benedictine 24-0.

Benedictine leads the all-time series record 22-17-3.

by Wally Mieskoski ’71

Benedictine Football Historian

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Bengals Beat Bedford 14-12

Recap

Benedictine vs. Bedford

September 7, 2012

                The Benedictine defense did an outstanding job in stating its case as they held the high-scoring Bedford Bearcats to a season-low 12 points. Bedford won its first two games outscoring its first two opponents 108-14.

                The defensive unit allowed the Bengals to grind out a 14-12 victory over their landlord. Benedictine uses Bedford Stadium for its home games.

                Both teams scored a pair of touchdowns in this game.

                The value of special teams was borne out as this tight contest that was decided by the right leg of kicker Nick Judy. His two extra point kicks provided the margin of victory for the Bengals.

                Bedford got on the scoreboard on the game’s first drive.

                A four-play 66-yard drive culminated in a 55-yard touchdown pass from Deon Carter to Deandre Norris. The extra point kick failed for the Bearcats but led 6-0.

                It took a while for the Bengals to reach the end zone, but they twice struck quickly.

                With 2:47 left before halftime, Marshall Howell caught a six-yard pass from Brian Schoeffler to complete a five-play drive. Nick Judy’s kick gave the Bengals a 7-6 lead.

                The touchdown was set up by a Bengals fumble recovery at the Bedford 32.

                On their next drive, the Bearcats turned over the ball again on a pass interception at the Bengals 29.

                On the first play from scrimmage, the Bengals Jerome Baker ran 70 yards to the Bedford one. From there, Antonio Robinson scored on the short run that gave the Bengals their second touchdown of the game.

                Nick Judy split the uprights that gave the Bengals a 14-6 lead with just 32 seconds left before halftime.

                The only score in the second half came on a 37-yard pass play from Deon Carter to Javaun Washington with 7:35 left in the game.

                Possibly, the biggest play of the game came on the two-point play.      

                Quarterback Deon Carter attempted to roll out to his right but the Bengals defense stopped him short of the goal line to preserve the 14-12 lead.

                On the kickoff, the Bengals took over at their own 28 and drove it to the Bedford 25 before the game clock ran out to end the game.

                The Benedictine offense kept the ball in its possession for 15 plays in the last 7:35 of the game. Bedford never got the ball back.

                On offense, the Bengals ran a total of 67 plays from scrimmage to Bedford’s 31.

                Jerome Baker led the Bengals with 128 yards on 22 carries.

                Defensively, the Bengal standouts were linebacker Antonio Robinson with six solo tackles and four assists and Jovon Dawson, who also had a pass interception, with six solos and two assists.

                Dan Piascik picked off two Bedford passes for a total of 20 yards. Matt Merimee had an interception return of 15 yards and a fumble recovery. Lamar Davis also had a fumble recovery.

               

by Wally Mieskoski ’71

Benedictine Football Historian

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This Week in Benedictine History

Week 4

September 13, 1963

Benedictine hands Padua its first football loss, 56-0

Scheduling to play Benedictine on Friday the 13^th was not a good omen for Padua Franciscan.

While most of the area teams opened play on the weekend of September 6-7, Benedictine opened its season on September 13 against the new all-boys parochial high school in Parma, Padua Franciscan.

Padua opened its doors in 1961 and would be fielding its first varsity football team in 1963.

                After winning the first varsity football game in school history over St. John Cantius 12-8 at Cloverleaf Speedway Stadium, Padua then lost its first football game in school history to Benedictine a week later.

                 Benedictine would be short-handed for a few weeks as fullback and co-captain Bob Zelina suffered a broken hand in a scrimmage against Shaw and would be out of action for about one month.

                It didn’t matter, as the Bengals pounded Padua, 56-0, at John Adams Field. The Bruins never had a chance.

                Scoring once in the first period, the Bengals added two in the second to take a 22-0 halftime lead. They added that many points in the third and scored 12 in the final quarter to win easily, 56-0.

                While adding up 412 rushing yards, Benedictine was led by Greg Betts and Joe Palagyi, who each scored twice.

Betts scored on runs of seven and 40 yards, while Palagyi hit paydirt on a pair of one-yard runs.

                Other Bengal scores were by John Sanders on a 3-yard pass from Palagyi, Greg Marn on a 14-yard dash, Glenn Novak on a six-yard jaunt, and Chuck Braschwitz on an 11-yard run.

                The Bengals got two-point conversions from Frank Fink on a run, Betts on a run and Len Rychlik on a pass from Palagyi.  The team also scored on a safety when the Padua center snapped the ball out of the end zone.

               

NOTES:

                Long-time Bengals fans may remember John Adams Field as the home of Benedictine and the other East Senate schools. It was at the start of the 1963 season that the new stands were built on the visitors side of the field with a seating capacity for that section of 3,000.  Earl Ocker, manager of John Adams Field, also announced to the Plain Dealer before the season began that a new ticket booth at the northeastern corner of the field will be open for the Benedictine-Padua football game.

                The 1963 Bengals team finished with a 7-2-1 record securing a spot in the Charity Game for the Cleveland City Championship.

                It was there that Benedictine earned one of its most cherished victories in school history on Thanksgiving morning November 28, when the Bengals defeated St. Ignatius 30-16 to stop the Wildcats from successfully defending their crown and ending their 19-game winning streak.

                Benedictine Hall of Fame class of 2006 inductee, Jim Yacknow (Class of 1964), earned the game’s Most Valuable Player award for his performance. Sadly, Yacknow died in January 2012.

                Because of the assassination of President John F. Kennedy on Friday, November 22, 1963, the National Football League did not play any of its games on the weekend of November 23-24^th.  But the Charity Game went on as scheduled a few days later on Thanksgiving morning.

by Wally Mieskoski ’71

Benedictine Football Historian

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This Week in Benedictine Football

September 6, 1968

Benedictine 12, St. Edward 12

Fit to be tied … again

Nobody went home happy after this game in the season opener at St. Edward field. The Bengals had to rally in the fourth quarter to tie the Eagles 12-12.

It was the second straight tie game between these teams. Last year, they played to a 0-0 draw.

                St. Edward got on the board in the second quarter on the first of two Dave Mooney-to-Bruce Pudlock touchdown passes. This first score covered 15 yards. The conversion kick failed and the Eagles led 6-0 at halftime.

                In the third, the Mooney-to-Pudlock passing combination struck again on a 48-yard scoring pass play. Once again the conversion kick failed with the Eagles leading 12-0.

                The Bengals waited until the fourth quarter to make it a game. They had hurt themselves with three pass interceptions, a fumble and a number of penalties at inopportune times.

                On their first scoring drive, Bengals senior back Denny Kaczmarek went around left end for 40 yards to the St. Ed 15. After a fourth-and-ten pass play was called for interference, the Bengals got new life on the one-yard line and a first down. Junior fullback Woody Vogel plunged from there to make it 12-6 with 9:36 left to play.  A conversion run for two points failed.

                Less than two minutes later, Benedictine blocked a punt and smothered the ball on the Eagles 25. Keeping the ball on the ground, the Bengals rumbled through to pay dirt in nine plays. Kaczmarek went the final two yards. The extra point kick was wide.

                With 1:25 to play in the game, Benedictine intercepted a pass and took over on the Eagles 26.

                With big 6-3, 190 end Gary Barnes getting behind the St. Edward secondary, quarterback Frank Petruziello lofted a perfect pass to him as he trotted into the end zone.

                The wild celebration turned to disappointment after one of the officials dropped a flag against the Bengals and the apparent winning touchdown was called back with just 37 seconds left.

                Benedictine coach Augie Bossu said, “I was proud of the way our kids bounced back but I thought for a minute that we’d won it all.”

                St. Edward coach Joe Paul said, “Two mistakes less and we win by a shutout. We had enough good plays to win it but we gave it away.”

                For the most part, the statistical battle was also very even.

                Benedictine had 12 first downs to St. Edward’s 11. The Eagles led in total offense 221-211. St. Ed gained 117 yards passing and 107 rushing, while the Bengals had 144 rushing and 66 passing.  Probably the biggest disparity was in the penalty yards. St. Edward had 14 yards in penalties, while Benedictine was flagged for 70 yards.

                But the penalty that hurt the Bengals the most was the last one, which took away an incredible come-from-behind victory.

                NOTES – As a football player for the Bengals in this game, Mike Easler did not enjoy nearly as much success as he achieved in baseball. He was an outstanding baseball player, who, as a junior and senior, led the Bengals to baseball City Championships.

                He had planned to attend Ohio University, but was selected by the Houston Astros in the major league baseball draft. Easler was an outfielder who enjoyed a 14 year major league career from 1973 to 1987 with the Houston Astros, Pittsburgh Pirates, Philadelphia Phillies, California Angels, Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees. He was selected as a Major League All-Star in 1981, when the game was played in Cleveland. He was also a member of the 1979 Pirates World Series championship team.

                In a Cleveland Plain Dealer article about him on September 7, 1975, Easler reflected on his days at Benedictine High School and his old coach Augie Bossu.

                “Mr. Bossu’s image keeps shooting back and forth in my mind. Every morning at Benedictine I’d see him go to chapel to pray. He is a successful man. A hard-working man. I remember he always told us, ‘Prayer and hard work equal success.’”

                Gary Barnes was selected as both a Plain Dealer and Cleveland Press All-Scholastic. He later played at the University of Louisville, where he had an outstanding career. In 1972, Barnes earned All-Missouri Valley Conference and Associated Press All-American Honorable Mention honors at end.

                Dave Belin was a senior offensive guard on that Bengals team that tied St. Edward. He said that after Gary Barnes caught what appeared to be the game-winning touchdown catch, he ran downfield to congratulate Barnes.  Then he saw the flag and was disappointed that the touchdown was called back. “I was angry that the call went against us, but at the same time, it made me determined that if we could score against them one time in this drive, then we could do it again,” Belin said recently. “We didn’t score again, but our team had such great confidence in our coaching staff and fellow teammates that we could do it.”

by Wally Mieskoski ’71

Benedictine Football Historian

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Bengals fall short in Death Valley

Week 2

August 31, 2012

Steubenville 32, Benedictine 28

                Steubenville – In a stadium known as “Death Valley” where few visiting teams win, Benedictine almost scared the life out of Steubenville’s Big Red.

                Benedictine held the lead or was tied for the lead in most of the first half. The Bengals also held the lead for almost the entire third quarter.

                They just could not pull away.

                Steubenville took its second lead of the game, 25-20, with 26.8 seconds left in the third.

                But Benedictine came roaring back to move into the lead 28-20 with 9:13 left in the game.

                Big Red scored its last touchdown with 6:13 remaining in the game to make it 32-28 and the win.

                The Bengals had just one more possession and earned one first down but was forced to punt.

                In the first quarter, senior Marshall Howell got the Bengals on the scoreboard on a three-yard run. It was a pass from senior Dan Piascik to Howell that covered 42 yards to put the ball on the three, from where Howell scored on the next play.

                Steubenville tied up the game on its next possession at 7-7.

                Junior receiver Matt Merimee put the Bengals on the board again in the first when he made a great catch from Piascik at the right pylon of the end zone.

                Nick Judy kicked both extra points that gave the Bengals a 14-7 lead.

                Big Red scored its second touchdown midway through the second but the extra point kick failed and the Bengals maintained a lead, 14-13.

                Another touchdown by Big Red with 3:22 left in the first half was their first lead of the game at 19-14.

                To start the second half, the Bengals pooch kick was recovered by Antonio Robinson at the Steubenville 24.

                Three plays later, the Bengals regained the lead on Jerome Baker’s four-yard run. The big play in the drive was Piascik’s pass for 23 yards to Matt Merimee to the four.

                The two-point conversion run was stopped.

                Later in the third, Steubenville got back the lead, 25-20.

                It was on this drive that Bengals quarterback and defensive back Dan Piascik was injured.

                The Bengals took possession of the ball after the kickoff on their own 29.

                At the helm was freshman quarterback Brian Schoeffler.

                He guided the Bengals 71 yards in nine plays to take the lead. He then threw for the two-point conversion that gave the Bengals a 28-25 lead. In the drive, Schoeffler was four of six for 53 yards and ran 12 yards for a first down. Terrell Clark ran into the end zone from five yards for the go-ahead touchdown.

                But the Bengals could not hold on to the lead.

                On the next possession, Steubenville started at its own 25 and went downfield in eight plays for the winning points.

                Steubenville is now 2-0, while the Bengals drop to 0-2.

                According to the Steubenville football web site, Big Red wins 78 percent of its games at Harding Stadium, aka “Death Valley.”

by Wally Mieskoski ’71

Benedictine Football Historian

               

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