St. Pius X’s option offense, when executed to perfection, can baffle opposing defenses with an assortment of ball fakes and misdirection plays.
However, Benedictine stayed alert, read its keys and beat St. Pius X to the punch on the snap to secure a 21-7 road victory in a non-region affair.
“They [Benedictine] got a fine football team. We didn’t help matters with turnovers. We have some youth and inexperience. We got beat by a good football team,” said St. Pius X head coach Paul Standard. “They got speed and size. I don’t know if we’ll play a team like them with so much speed at multiple positions. My hat’s off to them.”
The Golden Lions kept pace with their visitors and played to a scoreless tie at the end of the first quarter.
Unfortunately, things began to unravel for the hometown squad in the second quarter. The Cadets recorded a pair of touchdowns and a turnover sandwiched between the scoring plays.
Following a muffed punt, Benedictine used a short field to quickly make a dent on the board when Wesley Kennedy dashed in for a 3-yard touchdown to put the Cadets up 7-0. On the ensuing kickoff, St. Pius X running back Bobby Campbell was hit hard fumbled. The ball was recovered by Luke Smith at the 15-yard line. Two plays later, Travis Blackshear caught a 19-yard touchdown reception in the back corner of the end zone to give Benedictine a 14-0 lead.
Late in the third quarter, Benedictine put the game out of reach with a long-distance run against a fatigued Golden Lions defense.
Blackshear added his second score of the evening when ran untouched until he was mobbed by his teammates 49 yards later after crossing the goal line.
St. Pius X avoided a shutout when Matt Spear posted 27-yard catch with just over three minutes remaining in the game.
With this latest shortcoming, the Golden Lions fall to 0-2. This streak includes back-to-back home losses. St. Pius X will look to post a notch in the win column next week at Marist.
“We could’ve given up and got drilled. They just battled and battled,” said Standard. “It doesn’t get any easier for us. We got Marist next week. However, I know when we get on that bus, we’re going to have a team that’s ready and prepared.”
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