Benbrook scores 41 unanswered points to pick up win in district opener vs. Castleberry
Something had to give on Friday night at Clark Stadium.
Both Benbrook and River Oaks Castleberry were without a win on the young season, but with District 6-4A Division I play beginning, a win now was much more important.
The game was close early, but the Bobcats rode the four-touchdown performance of quarterback William Green to a 54-14 West Zone win over the Lions.
“I’m just so happy for these kids,” said Benbrook coach Cody Slater. “This group has fought through a tough non-district schedule and we feel like we should have had two wins, but we stumped our foot. This one was a big one for us.”
Benbrook (1-3 overall, 1-0 in district) dominated the first quarter and led 13-0 before Castleberry (0-3, 0-1) picked up a first down.
The Bobcats’ first two drives ended in field goals of 32 and 34 yards by Francisco Ceja. Green capped the third drive with a 30-yard TD pass to Demetrio Brown with 1:52 left in the first quarter.
The Lions got rolling early in the second quarter when Castleberry quarterback Anthony Valadez led the Lions on a 7-play, 70-yard scoring drive.
Diego Rivera’s 54-yard TD reception from Valadez cut the Benbrook lead to 13-8 after Valadez ran in the point-after conversion.
The duo struck again late in the first half when Valadez hit Rivera on a slant. The senior wide receiver took it 52 yards to the house to give Castleberry a 14-13 lead with 4:02 left in the second quarter.
The Lions lost their momentum for good just before the intermission when a high punt snap was recovered by Benbrook’s Florian Moke at the Castleberry 12. Two plays later Green hit Brown with a 2-yard TD pass to give the Bobcats a 19-14 lead with 11 ticks left in the second quarter.
While Castleberry struggled in the second half, Benbrook rolled.
The Lions punted, loss the ball on downs twice and suffered three turnovers after halftime. Benbrook, on the other hand, scored touchdowns the final five times it had the ball.
“Our offensive line stepped up and played huge tonight,” Slater said. “Defensively it was the best output we’ve had all year and we tackled better tonight than we’ve done all year.”
Running back Dondreone (Dee) Kennedy started the onslaught with TD runs of 29 and 52 yards. The latter put Benbrook up 34-14 with 3:33 left in the third quarter.
Backfield mate Draylon Williams opened the fourth quarter with a 51-yard dart to the end zone. Both Kennedy and Williams surpassed the 100-yard mark rushing with 181 yards on 16 carries and 100 yards on six carries, respectively.
“I feel like we have three or four of the best backs in the district right now,” added Slater. “At any point Dee Kennedy can touch the ball and take it to the house. He’s pretty special for a sophomore.”
Green hit Trevonne James with a 27-yard scoring pass late in the third quarter for a 41-14 lead. His 2-yard TD run with 1:50 left in the game provided the final margin.
“We kind of expect it of him,” said Slater of Green. “He started as a sophomore and now he’s a senior and we expect that kind of production out of him. He had an awesome night and we told him that we were going to put him in the running game a little more this week.
“He stepped up and got us some big first downs and threw the ball extremely well. I’m super proud of him.”
Benbrook plays Diamond Hills-Jarvis Thursday night at Farrington Field while Castleberry plays Western Hills at Farrington Field Friday Sept. 25.