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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