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 50th 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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