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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