Benedictine wins by shutout for 3rd straight VISAA State title
Benedictine defeated Trinity Episcopal 20-0 to win its 3rd straight VISAA D1 State championship. It was the 1st state title for Kurt von Bargen, who took over as head coach from Greg Lilly.
When the teams played two weeks ago in the regular season, it was the Cadets who trailed 20-0 in the 1st half, but this time they started off fast with an 85-yard touchdown run by JoJo Johnson on the Cadets’ 1st play from scrimmage.
Trinity Episcopal fumbled the ensuing kickoff and Benedictine recovered at the Titans’ 26-yard line. Place kicker Matthew Howerton made a 38-yard field goal with 4:40 remaining 1st quarter to extend the lead to 10-0.
VMI commit Landon Snyder scored on a 2-yard touchdown run to start the 2nd quarter, and an interception by Theo Gwyer set up another field goal by Howerton, this time from 25 yards, which made the score 20-0 at halftime.
Shutdown 2nd half
Neither team scored in the 2nd half, and Trinity Episcopal had the ball for only 9:55 seconds after halftime. Gwyer had two interceptions in the 1st half, and Malachi Mingo made an interception in the 4th quarter to end the Titans’ best scoring threat. Nigel Veney also had a strip sack as the Cadets forced five turnovers.
Trinity Episcopal did not have star receiver Davion Brown on the field after he suffered an injury in the 1st half. They finished the season 9-2, and at least a half dozen seniors will continue to play D1 football including Miles Love and Mason Love.