Kennedale kicker wins it in overtime over Benbrook for district championship
Kennedale junior placekicker Aidan Birr found redemption in overtime Friday night, booting a game-winning 34-yard field goal to give the Wildcats a 16-13 overtime victory over Benbrook in a District 6-4A Division 1 game.
The district elected to turn into two four-team zones to help during the COVID-19 pandemic. After playing three zone teams, Friday was meant for the district championship. Both the Wildcats and Bobcats finished 3-0 and atop their respected zones.
The district won’t finish all their games so Kennedale is district champ and the No. 1 seed for the playoffs. Benbrook is No. 2. FW Western Hills and Castleberry are the other playoff teams.
Birr, who was 0-for-4 in second-half attempts, lifted the game winner straight and right down the middle to avoid a ferocious Bobcat rush that had blocked three earlier attempts.
Kennedale (5-0-1 overall), a playoff team for 20 consecutive seasons, improved its 6-4A D1 record to 4-0 with the win. Benbrook (3-4 overall) fell to 3-1 in district play.
Ironically, two teams that had been averaging over 50 points in each of their first three district games, found it challenging to find the end zone – primarily because of aggressive defense from the other side of the ball.
Birr was actually the first-half hero for the Wildcats, continuously pinning Benbrook deep with his leg and booting a pair of field goals to give Kennedale a 13-6 halftime lead.
After Benbrook fumbled the ball away on its first possession at its own 18, Birr converted a 41-yard field goal to give the Wildcats an early 3-0 lead. Birr later pinned the Bobcats deep with a 57-yard punt, and teammate Kameron Sallis made it 10-0 with a pick-six interception return to make it 10-0.
After a sluggish start, Benbrook finally got a spark out of its passing game. A pair of William Green-to-Dontre Sengal passes led the way on an 8-play drive that culminated with a pair of Dee Kennedy runs to cut the lead to 10-6.
But Benbrook kept helping out the Kennedale cause with penalties. A pair of dead-ball personal fouls helped the Wildcats move into position for a 36-yard Birr field goal, stretching the Wildcat lead to 13-6 midway through the second quarter.
After the first missed field goal opportunity early in the third quarter, the Bobcats evened things up at 13 on a 53-yard William Green-to-Demetrio Brown pass and a Francisco Ceja kick.
Kennedale moved into position three more times for Birr to be a hero in regulation, but his final three attempts were blocked, including a 30-yarder with two seconds left. After the Bobcats stalled in the first overtime possession, Ceja missed an attempt to give Benbrook a lead. Three runs up the middle then positioned Birr for the game-winner.
This story was originally published October 17, 2020 at 12:44 AM.