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.<\/p>\n
Benedictine was in that other 23 percent in its season opener against visiting Gilmour on Aug. 23 at John Carroll.<\/p>\n
The Bengals held on for a 21-19 win over the Lancers despite fumbling the ball away in the second,\u00a0third and fourth quarters, the last of those\u00a0leading directly to a Gilmour touchdown on a 30-yard sprint on the following play\u00a0by senior\u00a0C.J. Santagata.<\/p>\n
That score cut the Lancers\u2019 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.<\/p>\n
Benedictine\u2019s 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\u00a0coming in the second half after a first half that ended in a 7-7 stalemate.<\/p>\n
Although the Bengals never trailed, they walked a tightrope with the two second-half turnovers.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe definitely didn\u2019t play a flawless game by any means,\u201d Benedictine coach Joe Prevesk said. \u201cBut at the end of the day, we\u2019re 1-0. We\u2019ll get back to work, and come Monday, we\u2019ll really push these guys.\u201d<\/p>\n
@BeneBengalsFB<\/a> Coach Joe Provesk breaks down Benedictine\u2019s 21-19 win over Gilmour pic.twitter.com\/MVKkjiJGkG<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Jay Kron (@TownCenter2) August 24, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n But in a game with multiple\u00a0momentum changes, the Lancers forced a punt, then drove 74 yards to tie the game at 7-7\u00a0on an 18-yard pass from senior Sean Pitrone to junior Bruno Cook and subsequent extra point by Evan Saline.<\/p>\n Each team came up with a fourth-down defensive stop in its own territory in the second quarter, then Gilmour couldn\u2019t cash in on the first Benedictine fumble with 1:06 left before halftime.<\/p>\n Gilmour, behind a large offensive line and its own\u00a0dynamic pair of running backs in juniors Nathan Lennon and Dom Dunlevy, along with Pitrone\u2019s scrambles, dominated time of possession in the first half, which was a key aspect of the Lancers\u2019 game plan.<\/p>\n \u201cSean (Pitrone)\u00a0did a phenomenal job,\u201d first-year Gilmour head coach Joey Bates said. \u201cThe guys up front blocked their tails off the whole game. Our backs ran really hard, and our\u00a0wide receivers blocked, but those guys up front, I could not be more proud of.\u201d<\/p>\n @GALancerFB<\/a> Coach Joey Bates goes over Gilmour\u2019s 21-19 loss to Benedictine pic.twitter.com\/j7tx8W8dHX<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Jay Kron (@TownCenter2) August 24, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n Benedictine\u2019s coaching staff challenged the Bengals\u2019 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\u00a0to open wider running lanes.<\/p>\n Forte capped an 84-yard drive with a 12-yard scoring run to give the Bengals a 14-7 lead in the third quarter.<\/p>\n \u201cThe biggest thing was the blocks up front,\u201d Forte said. \u201cWe 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.\u201d<\/p>\n @BeneBengalsFB<\/a> sophomore RB Kayden Forte (18 carries for 107 yards and a TD) talks about the Bengals\u2019 season-opening 21-19 win over Gilmour pic.twitter.com\/yMD2ZAwEYD<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Jay Kron (@TownCenter2) August 24, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n 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\u2019 36 earlier in the 69-yard drive.\u00a0The point-after was wide right, leaving the score 14-13 in favor of Benedictine.<\/p>\n Benedictine fumbled near midfield later in the third quarter, but the Bengals\u2019 defense forced a punt at the start of the fourth.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n \u201cThat felt so great,\u201d Blair said. \u201cFirst varsity touchdown, it felt real good.\u201d<\/p>\n @BeneBengalsFB<\/a> junior RB Corde Blair (11 carries for 64 yards and a TD) reviews Benedictine\u2019s 21-19 win over Gilmour, and looks ahead to a showdown at Padua next week pic.twitter.com\/PWyDExZEPA<\/a><\/p>\n