Benbrook racks up the rushing yards as Bobcats beat Venus for first win of the season
The last time Venus won a district game, it came during the 2016 season.
It was a 41-27 win over Benbrook in Fort Worth.
But since then the Bulldogs have lost 24 straight games in district play and were looking to snap the skid against, none other than, the Benbrook Bobcats in Fort Worth on Thursday night.
Benbrook made sure Venus’ streak continued and there was no doubt.
Christian Dwight intercepted a Venus pass on the second play from scrimmage, returned it 57 yards and Collin Thompson took it in on the next play as Benbrook rolled to a 49-7 District 4-4A D2 win at Farrington Field.
Benbrook picked up its first win and snapped an 8-game losing streak of its own.
“We had a short week and a new defense put in, but we talked about setting the tone early,” Benbrook coach Cody Slater said. “Just proud of the kids. They executed and went to work.”
The Bobcats are 1-1 in district and 1-6 overall.
Venus drops to 0-2 and 2-5. The Bulldogs had snapped an 25-game losing streak overall earlier in the season.
The Bulldogs began the opening drive near midfield and on their first play, got a 15-yard pass from quarterback Fernando Rodriguez to Brady Neuman into Benbrook territory.
But on the next play, Dwight picked off a Venus pass and returned it from the Benbrook 35 to the Venus 8.
“Coach said they’re taking a shot and I was ready for the shot. I just see the ball coming, I jump and take it all the way back. I looked at Collin and told him to go punch it in and he punched it in,” Dwight said.
Thompson, who is the team’s leading passer and rusher, took the draw and scored on an 8-yard touchdown to give the Bobcats a 7-0 lead less than a minute into the game.
“Offensively, we just had to assert ourselves and come out and be more physical than they were,” Slater said.
Venus would go three-and-out on its next drive before a bad snap on the punt attempt resulted in a 32-yard loss. But on Benbrook’s ensuing drive, the Bobcats were backed up after a penalty and Venus sack from Matthew Wheeler. However, they decided to go for it on fourth-and-22.
Thompson had plenty of time before sailing a 33-yard touchdown to Kade Cross to up the lead to 14-0 with 8:02 left in the first quarter.
Four possessions later and Benbrook was finding the end zone again. With the ball near midfield, the Bobcats got runs of 10 and 15 yards from Brady Gordon and Thompson before getting a 24-yard touchdown from Jaylon Williams to extend the margin to 21-0 on the second play of the second quarter.
Benbrook reached the red zone on its next drive and got a 20-yard touchdown run from Williams on fourth-and-5 to give the Bobcats a four-touchdown lead at 28-0 with 5:09 left in the half.
Venus had its best drive of the night just before intermission. The Bulldogs ran 13 plays and got a first-and-goal at the 2 following a Benbrook defensive pass interference in the end zone.
But the Benbrook D tackled Venus back Damarie Bell for a loss of four on first down and then sacked Rodriguez on second down for a loss of five. After a short completion on third down, the Bobcats pressured Rodriguez on fourth down. Rodriguez had to scramble before Christian Gleason and Roman Rabago brought him down and forced an intentional grounding penalty.
Gordon added two touchdown runs in the third quarter for the Bobcats, from 1 yard and 8 yards. He finished with 80 yards on 12 carries. His 8-yard score came after an interception from Cross. Dominice Nunez scored on a 3-yard run in the fourth quarter.
The Bobcats rushed for 297 yards total. They gained 413 yards of total offense. They also got a fumble recovery from Dwight in the second half. Santiago Merino had 72 yards rushing followed by Williams (60), Thompson (43) and Nunez (36).
“We can be really good [when we’re clicking on all cylinders],” Thompson said. “All over the ball, running, throwing, defense. Our defense stepped up big time tonight. That’s the reason we probably won the game.”
Benbrook held Bell to 79 yards on 21 carries. Bell entered the night with 10 TD runs on the season and ranked No. 12 in rushing yards among Fort Worth-area players. Bell, who had over 900 yards, including two 300-yard games, left for a brief moment in the first half after he was tackled awkwardly, but he would return shortly after.
“When we first saw him on the scouting report, we all knew he’d be the most dangerous guy. We changed our defensive scheme. We put more in the box and just went out there and hit,” Dwight said.
Bell did find the end zone on a 20-yard TD catch from Rodriguez late in the game. A bright spot for the Venus D came when Chris Webster intercepted a Benbrook pass in the fourth quarter.
“I hope this just spring rolls us and keeps us going forward,” Slater said. “The kids have been battling all year. We’re a young team, but they kept battling and I’m really proud of them.”
This story was originally published October 13, 2022 at 9:47 PM.
