We hit the final week of regular season action on the gridiron, as Benet Academy looks to earn playoff eligibility. The task will not be easy for the 2-6 Redwings as they welcome their longtime rivals, the 5-3 St. Patrick Shamrocks, under the lights at Benedictine. A win for Benet will put them on the playoff bubble, while a loss will eliminate them from postseason contention. The matchup is also Senior Night for seven players on the Benet varsity squad, and they look to make the end memorable with a big-time win. This highlight is sponsored by BMO.
St. Patrick storms out to big lead
The game does not start in Benet’s favor. After being forced to punt, the ball is mishandled by the punter, who is tackled by the St. Patrick special teams deep within Benet territory.
St. Patrick takes advantage in the red zone, as Gavin Gardiner tosses the high slant to Anton Henning, who lands in the end zone for the touchdown as the Shamrocks hit the jackpot first, up 7-0.
Into the second quarter, St. Patrick strikes gold again. The give goes to Jayden Miranda, who dashes past the pile untouched, and like Speed Racer, he shifts into Mach Five speed, outracing the competition to the end zone. No good on the PAT, but St. Patrick leads 13-0 early.
Shamrocks continue to shine
The Shamrock defense looks to cash in too. On the ensuing Benet possession, Alex Mitchell looks for Giovanni Sanderlin, but Nana Achampong steps in front of the pass and takes the pick. With green grass ahead of him, he is off to the end zone for a 24-yard pick six as St. Patrick takes a 20-0 lead early in the second.
The Shamrock offense continues to spread the luck. Gardner fakes the give, then throws deep down the right side, finding Nicolas Miro, who just stays in bounds to push St. Patrick on the verge of another score.
That score would come moments later in the form of Jayden Miranda. He gets the pitch from Gardiner, then sidesteps the Redwing defense for his second tuddy of the night as it’s 26-0 Shamrocks following another missed PAT.
Benet needs to get anything going to stay in the game. Mitchell pump fakes then throws over the middle, finding a wide open Hawke Lawler who walks in for the 32-yard TD catch. No good on the point after, but Benet is on the board down 26-6.
But St. Patrick responds with its own aerial attack. Just over midfield, Gardiner rolls right, then chucks it deep to an open Rocco Martens, who scoots in for another Shamrock score. The first half fireworks from the green and white put St. Patrick up 33-6 at halftime.
Benet gets going in the second half
But the second half is a much different story as Benet is not ready to roll over and see the season come to an end. Now in the third, Mitchell has time again and throws the deep ball to a contested Sanderlin. With a defender hanging on to him, he makes an incredible one-hand snag! The defender is all over him, but he shakes him off and scores from 53 yards as Benet has life down 33-12.
Two Redwing possessions later, Benet is marching again, and forces the Shamrock luck to turn their way. Mitchell throws short to Luca Diamede, who’s hit twice behind the line, but stays upright! He takes off, breaking through another defender, and dashing in for a 38-yard catch-and-run score. The Redwings are rolling down 33-19.
Into the fourth on third and long, Mitchell keeps the chains moving. With plenty of time once again, he tosses over the shoulder to Tyler Lakis and comes down with it at midfield, putting Benet halfway towards another score.
A few plays later, Mitchell shows off his speed, sliding for a first, but gets hit as he goes down. Laundry flies, and tempers boil over, as Benet gets the first down and a 15-yard penalty that puts them in the red zone again.
Now on third down inside the 10, Mitchell throws to Lawler, but Micah Soriano jumps the route and takes it up the other way for another St. Patrick pick-six. But as he scores, a flag is thrown behind the line for roughing the passer on the Shamrocks, as Benet goes from being down by three scores to having first and goal.
The Redwing comeback falls just short
The penalty helps Benet, as the flip pass goes to the motion man Diomede, who scampers in for his second touchdown on the night as Benet goes from being down 33-6 to now 33-27 with under two minutes left to play.
Benet tries an onside kick, but St. Patrick falls on the ball at midfield. However, with all three timeouts left, hope remains for the Redwings.
On third-and-long, it’s do-or-die for the Benet defense. Backup QB Kierre Wilson enters the game. He fakes the handoff and is feeling fortunate on the QB scamper to pick up the first down and ice the game. The Shamrocks run down the clock and hold off a Benet comeback with a 33-27 win. St. Patrick ends the season at 6-3, improving its playoff seeding. The Benet season ends at 2-7 with the Redwings eliminated from postseason competition after another tough-luck defeat.
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