The Benedictine football team hadn’t played in 21 days – an unplanned layoff after a Sept. 14 game in Ohio was canceled.
So some rust, especially in just the second month of the season, might have been expected when the Cadets hosted Westminster of Atlanta on Friday night at Memorial Stadium.
“I wanted to see us be excited to play football and really come out on fire,” Benedictine coach Danny Britt said. “I didn’t see it quite like I wanted to see it at the beginning.”
The Cadets’ offense went three-and-out to open the game, and the defense looked just a bit off, perhaps even vulnerable, reacting to the Wildcats’ quick passes to the flats on their first possession. Westminster marched from its 22 to the Benedictine 32 before an offensive penalty and a sack by senior standout Herbert “Third” Scroggins III – a sign of things to come – pushed the Wildcats out of field-goal range.
The Cadets (2-2) would get it figured out, and quickly, in handling the Wildcats 31-3 in a non-region contest between GHSA Class 4A squads.
“They’re a very well-coached team,” Britt said of Westminster (3-3), which has played six games in six weeks. “They had a scheme, a list of plays that they were running, and they did a good job of executing them. We withstood that and physically started taking care of it defensively, certainly, from that point forward.”
Physical is the key word here, as Benedictine was able to apply pressure to Westminster senior quarterback Michael Buhay, and when his receivers and running backs had the ball, they felt that physicality on most every tackle.
“I think it was a collective defensive mindset,” said Galen Houston, Benedictine’s assistant head coach who is in charge of the defense. “We wanted to make sure there was an emphasis on playing BC football, which is fast, physical, intelligent and disciplined.”
There was an emphasis this week, after the layoff, of playing with intensity and physicality, Houston said. That meant being aggressive but playing sound football and communicating with each other.
Benedictine's Bubba Frazier breaks free for a big play. (Photo: K. Shuman, RDP Productions)
“Once we settled in, I thought we were able to do that and play that way,” Houston said.
Perhaps the Cadets communicated a message, as well, to the Wildcats with sacks, contested passes and a couple of de-cleating tackles as Westminster found yards, whether through the air or on the ground, tougher to come by.
Once the Cadets got up several scores in the second half, the defensive line -- led by Scroggins, who has verbally committed to Miami, and junior Kameron Cody – was able to tee off and rush the passer. Houston also credited the secondary with coverage sacks as the entire unit worked together to prevent Westminster from scoring a touchdown.
Benedictine got on the scoreboard first on its second possession, blending run and pass plays for an 80-yard drive culminated by Jojo Sutton’s 2-yard touchdown run. Connor Ferguson kicked the first of his four extra points with 3:12 left in the opening quarter.
Westminster responded with its lone scoring drive, also 80 yards, with Vikas Reddy booting a 25-yard goal for a 7-3 deficit with 9:26 remaining in the second quarter.
But that was it for the Wildcats’ offense for the night.
“Coach Houston, I think after the second or third (Westminster) drive, really got what they were doing schematically and started changing up some calls and some things we were doing,” Britt said, “so that helped them to play faster.”
Speaking of playing faster, Chris “Bubba” Frazier. The Cadets smartly try to get the ball in the hands of the speedy junior as a receiver, on running plays and special team returns.
He caught seven passes for 164 yards, including a 75-yard catch-and-run that pushed Benedictine ahead 24-3 in the third quarter. Frazier had four carries for 74 yards, most on a 57-yard dash through the line and blistering sprint to the end zone for the only score of the fourth quarter.
Quarterback Stephen Cannon finished 15 of 21 for 222 yards, including a 40-yard connection with Frazier on the Cadets’ third drive of the game when they were up just 7-3. Cannon ran 10 yards on the next play for first-and-10 at the Westminster 21.
However, on the following play, he scrambled to the left and instead of keeping the ball, the right-handed Cannon attempted to pass to a receiver in the middle of the field. Westminster’s Mason Theis picked off the ill-advised throw to thwart the drive.
Britt said Cannon responds well to adversity, but “he doesn’t need to throw that one.
“I haven’t fussed at him about anything, but I did fuss at him at that one,” said Britt, who also wasn’t pleased with Benedictine’s multiple holding penalties. “That was a bad pass. He should have run it. He had 15, 20 yards in front of him, just taking that and he’s got us down inside the 5-yard line. Instead, he tried to throw across his body.”
Benedictine responded by stuffing three Westminster running plays for a punt. Then the Wildcats forced a three-and-out but gave the ball right back when the punt returner fumbled away a fair catch, which by rule cannot be forwarded.
The Cadets took advantage of the momentum on the next play, as Cannon lateraled to Jack Ganem, who launched a 34-yard touchdown pass to Micah Williams for a 14-3 advantage with 3:26 left in the second quarter.
Westminster went nowhere on its next possession, highlighted by defensive back Sutton’s hard hit to break up a third-down pass.
Cannon guided the Cadets to a score on the final drive of the first half, with Frazier his favorite target. Frazier momentarily bobbled a bullet pass over the middle but cradled it for a 16-yard catch before he hit the ground.
Ferguson’s 37-yard field goal as time expired pushed the Cadets to 17-3 lead at halftime.
Benedictine, No. 2 in Class 4A in the Georgia High School Football Daily composite rankings, plays at Ware County on Sept. 27 to begin a run of five consecutive Region 1-4A games to end the regular-seasons slate.
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BENEDICTINE 31, IWESTMINSTER 3 |
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| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | F | |
| WESTMINSTER | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| BENEDICTINE | 7 | 10 | 7 | 7 | 31 |
| First Quarter | |||||
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BC—Jojo Sutton 2 run (Connor Ferguson kick) |
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W—Vikas Reddy 25 FG |
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| Second Quarter | |||||
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BC—Micah Williams 34 pass from Jack Ganem (Ferguson kick) |
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BC—Ferguson 37 FG |
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| Third Quarter | |||||
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BC—Bubba Frazier 75 pass from Stephen Cannon (Ferguson kick) |
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| Fourth Quarter | |||||
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BC—Frazier 57 run (Ferguson kick) |
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RECORDS: BC (0-0/2-3,) W (0-0/3-3) |
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FINAL SCORES
WEEK 6
Sept. 20, Friday
Richmond Hill 35, Buchholz (FL) 28
Statesboro 41, Bradwell 36
Effingham County 47, South Effingham 0
Benedictine 31, Westminster 3
Long County 30, Beach 17*
Calvary Day 34, Jenkins 31* (OT)
Johnson 41, Groves 19*
Liberty County 21, Islands 0 *
SE Bulloch 35, Windsor Forest 8*
Savannah Country Day 31, Tattnall County 9
ECI 26, Bryan County 12
Fullington Academy 24, Memorial Day 20
Bethesda 30, Patrick Henry 7
Augusta Eagles 44, Coastal Homeschool 28*
*region game
Photo Credit: Courtesy RDP Productions - Kyunnie Shuman
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