A Google AI search reveals that a football team that loses the turnover battle by a margin of 3-1 will lose the game 77 percent of the time.
Benedictine was in that other 23 percent in its season opener against visiting Gilmour on Aug. 23 at John Carroll.
The Bengals held on for a 21-19 win over the Lancers despite fumbling the ball away in the second, third and fourth quarters, the last of those leading directly to a Gilmour touchdown on a 30-yard sprint on the following play by senior C.J. Santagata.
That score cut the Lancers’ deficit to two, but a two-point conversion attempt fell incomplete with 4:26 to play. The Bengals whittled the ensuing possession down to 1:45 before punting, and their defense held on through the final Gilmour possession.
Benedictine’s one-two running back punch of junior Corde Blair and sophomore Kayden Forte combined for 179 yards and a touchdown each on the ground, with the majority of that yardage and both scores coming in the second half after a first half that ended in a 7-7 stalemate.
Although the Bengals never trailed, they walked a tightrope with the two second-half turnovers.
“We definitely didn’t play a flawless game by any means,” Benedictine coach Joe Prevesk said. “But at the end of the day, we’re 1-0. We’ll get back to work, and come Monday, we’ll really push these guys.”
@BeneBengalsFB Coach Joe Provesk breaks down Benedictine’s 21-19 win over Gilmour pic.twitter.com/MVKkjiJGkG
— Jay Kron (@TownCenter2) August 24, 2025
Benedictine junior Tramell Reese returned the opening kickoff 90 yards for a touchdown, and an interception by senior Jonathan Spikes after Gilmour had driven to the Benedictine 27 seemed to have the Bengals in business.
But in a game with multiple momentum changes, the Lancers forced a punt, then drove 74 yards to tie the game at 7-7 on an 18-yard pass from senior Sean Pitrone to junior Bruno Cook and subsequent extra point by Evan Saline.
Each team came up with a fourth-down defensive stop in its own territory in the second quarter, then Gilmour couldn’t cash in on the first Benedictine fumble with 1:06 left before halftime.
Gilmour, behind a large offensive line and its own dynamic pair of running backs in juniors Nathan Lennon and Dom Dunlevy, along with Pitrone’s scrambles, dominated time of possession in the first half, which was a key aspect of the Lancers’ game plan.
“Sean (Pitrone) did a phenomenal job,” first-year Gilmour head coach Joey Bates said. “The guys up front blocked their tails off the whole game. Our backs ran really hard, and our wide receivers blocked, but those guys up front, I could not be more proud of.”
@GALancerFB Coach Joey Bates goes over Gilmour’s 21-19 loss to Benedictine pic.twitter.com/j7tx8W8dHX
— Jay Kron (@TownCenter2) August 24, 2025
Benedictine’s coaching staff challenged the Bengals’ offensive line at halftime, and and the rotation of running backs Blair and Forte started to pick up big chunks of yardage in the second half behind the experienced line that began to open wider running lanes.
Forte capped an 84-yard drive with a 12-yard scoring run to give the Bengals a 14-7 lead in the third quarter.
“The biggest thing was the blocks up front,” Forte said. “We had a couple breakdowns, but our line got us a lot of yards. In the second half, it was our line blocking and defense stepping up.”
@BeneBengalsFB sophomore RB Kayden Forte (18 carries for 107 yards and a TD) talks about the Bengals’ season-opening 21-19 win over Gilmour pic.twitter.com/yMD2ZAwEYD
— Jay Kron (@TownCenter2) August 24, 2025
Gilmour responded, though, as Lennon bounced a run outside and sprinted 35 yards for a touchdown. Lennon caught a five-yard pass from Pitrone to convert a fourth and five from the Lancers’ 36 earlier in the 69-yard drive. The point-after was wide right, leaving the score 14-13 in favor of Benedictine.
Benedictine fumbled near midfield later in the third quarter, but the Bengals’ defense forced a punt at the start of the fourth.
The Bengals return unit let that punt bounce behind them, to the consternation of their coaches, and Gilmour downed the ball at the Benedictine 4-yard line.
Nevertheless, the undaunted Bengals covered that distance in eight plays and just over three minutes. Forte ripped off runs of 10, 20, and 13 yards before giving way to Blair, who picked up 15 yards on a run and then burst into the clear in a 24-yard touchdown run that made it 21-13 Benedictine with 8:14 left in the game.
“That felt so great,” Blair said. “First varsity touchdown, it felt real good.”
@BeneBengalsFB junior RB Corde Blair (11 carries for 64 yards and a TD) reviews Benedictine’s 21-19 win over Gilmour, and looks ahead to a showdown at Padua next week pic.twitter.com/PWyDExZEPA
— Jay Kron (@TownCenter2) August 24, 2025
That 96-yard touchdown drive followed by a Gilmour punt with 6:23 seemed like a back-breaker, but the Bengals couldn’t stand prosperity, fumbling the ball away on 3rd and 14 at their own 33, and Gilmour recovered at the 30.
Santagata’s subsequent scoring run cut it to 21-19, but a pass for a two-point conversion was off target. On Gilmour’s final possession, a pass to a wide open Dunlevy also just missed.
Gilmour outgained Benedictine, 286-261. Lennon ran for 77 yards, and Dunlevy for 71. Pitrone passed for 78 yards and ran for 47. Cook caught 6 passes for 57 yards.
The Lancers may have come up short, but Bates was thrilled with their effort and ability to go toe to toe with the Bengals, who they were playing for the first time.
“There’s some stuff we have to get better at, but I could not be more proud of the kids,” Bates, a graduate of both Kirtland and John Carroll, said. “The fight these kids showed, it’s a big piece we’ve been talking about throughout camp. I hope that this shows them we can be a really good football team this fall.”
Benedictine now turns its attention to Aug. 29 when it will travel to Padua to play a Bruins team that knocked them out of the Division III playoffs last season.
“Obviously they played better than us in November, and we remember that,” Provesk said of Padua. “We have to have a great week of practice and prep, and we’ll be ready on Friday.”
The score
Benedictine 21, Gilmour 19
Originally Published: August 24, 2025 at 7:50 AM EDT