Blythewood’s Jacob Rabon pulls down a David Israel pass. (Photo/Joe Seibles)
BLYTHEWOOD – The chilly October darkness could not cool down the scorching Bengals Friday night, who accumulating 437 yards of total offense en route to a 52-14 blowout win over the Demons of Lugoff-Elgin in a critical Region IV matchup. With 52 points, the Bengals posted their highest-scoring game of the season. Blythewood’s David Israel completed 19 of 30 pass attempts for 370 yards and six touchdowns – a career-high for the sophomore quarterback. Five of his six scoring strikes came in the first half, leading the Bengals to a 42-14 halftime lead while amassing 313 yards of total offense compared to 173 for the Demons. The Bengals offense was virtually unstoppable in the first half, scoring on six of their seven drives.
“Pretty much we were able to do our game plan. We were relentless and just basically executed this week,” Blythewood head coach Dan Morgan said. “The air-raid part of our game is getting better and I hope we can continue that.”
The Bengals defense set the tone early, forcing a Demon three-and-out on the first Lugoff-Elgin drive. The offense took advantage of the good field position to set up a 40-yard touchdown pass from Israel to Jacob Rabon with 10:31 left in the first quarter. Greg Huegel added the extra point to put the Bengals up 7-0. On the Demons’ ensuing drive, L-E drove 80 yards down the field to set up a 4-yard touchdown run by Aldreacio Wells with 8:19 left in the first. Running a hurry-up offense, the Demons caught a Bengals defense off guard on the PAT as Shon Belton rushed in for the 2-point conversion attempt to take an 8-7 lead.
On the following drive, the Bengals took the ball 70 yards down the field. The drive was briefly in peril as Israel lost the handle and put the ball on the turf deep in Demon territory. But Lynard Jamison saved the day, scooping up the fumble and darting 13 yards for the touchdown. Huegel’s extra point put Blythewood up 14-8 with 6:27 left in the first, and the Bengals were clearly living right.
The Bengals extended their lead to 21-8 on their next possession, using a short field following Lugoff-Elgin’s dismal 13-yard punt. Israel hit De’Andre Fletcher from 8 yards out for the score and Huegel’s point after was right down the middle with 3:19 left on the clock in the first quarter.
Wells got the Demons back on the board early in the second quarter, scoring on a 23-yard run with only 5 seconds having ticked off the clock. The point after kick by Lugoff-Elgin’s Andrew Place was blocked, however, and the Bengals’ lead stood at 21-14.
The Bengals then unleashed a tidal wave of offense, scoring on their next three drives before the half – all from the arm of Israel and into the hands of the Blythewood receiving corps. Israel connected with Jamison from 33 yards out with 10:35 to go, then hit Rabon with a 21-yard touchdown rope with 7:35 remaining. Israel wrapped up the first-half onslaught with an 11-yarder to Trae Churn with 21 seconds left before the break. Huegel’s three point after boots upped Blythewood’s lead to 42-14 at the halfway mark.
In the third quarter, both offenses were silent for the next three drives before Israel capped off a 53-yard drive with a 43-yard touchdown pass to Jamison with 4:23 on the clock. Huegel added the extra point to put Blythewood up 49-14. Huegel added the final points of the game late in the third quarter, nailing a 25-yard field goal with 6 seconds remaining.
Jamison led the Bengals in receiving with nine receptions for 165 yards and three touchdowns. Right behind Jamison, Rabon finished with his best game of the season with three catches for 116 yards and two touchdowns.
“We had a really good week of throwing and I’m proud of them. I feel like last week we took a half step back then two steps forward,” said Morgan. “We’re back at the place where I thought we would be. We just have to make sure we learn from the mistakes that we made last week.”
The Bengals improve to 2-1 in Region IV play (6-3 overall) and will look to seal up second place in the region against the Irmo Yellow Jackets this Friday. Kickoff is at 7:30 p.m. in Blythewood.
L-E – 8-6-0-0 – 14
BHS – 21-21-10-0 – 52
First Quarter
BHS – Jacob Rabon 40 pass from David Israel. Greg Huegel kick. (10:31)
LE – Aldreacio Wells 4 run. Shon Belton 3 run. (8:19)
BHS – Lynard Jamison 13 run. G. Huegel kick. (6:27)
BHS – De’Andre Fletcher 8 pass from D. Israel. G. Huegel kick. (3:19)
Second Quarter
LE – A. Wells 23 run. Kick blocked. (11:55)
BHS – L. Jamison 33 pass from D. Israel. G. Huegel kick. (10:35)
BHS – J. Rabon 21 pass from D. Israel. G. Huegel kick. (7:35)
BHS – Trae Churn 11 pass from D. Israel. G. Huegel kick. (0:21)
Third Quarter
BHS – L. Jamison 43 pass from D. Israel. G. Huegel kick. (4:23)
BHS – G. Huegel 25 FG. (0:06)
LE BHS
First Downs 11 19
Rushes/Yards 46-211 26-67
Passing Yards 13 370
C-A-I 3-13-1 19-32-0
Fumbles/Lost 5-2 3-1
Penalties/Yards 4-20 6-45
RUSHING: L-E – S. Belton 15-121, A. Wells 19-73, J. Jenkins 7-27, E. Payne 1-8, T. Locklear 3-(-5), A. Cummings 1-(-13). BHS – Joseph Richardson 4-57, Jaquari Blunt 3-12, Dabreon Benson 1-4, Lynard Jamison 4-4, De’Andre Fletcher 2-0, Marquise Knight 2-0, David Israel 7-(-6), TEAM 3-(-4).
RECEIVING: L-E – E. Payne 2-7, B. Brown 1-6. BHS – Lynard Jamison 9-165, Jacob Rabon 3-116, Javon Smith 3-54, Trae Churn 1-11, Jaquari Blunt 1-9, De’Andre Fletcher 1-8, Dabreon Benson 1-7.
PASSING: L-E – Shon Belton 3-13, 13 yards, INT. BHS – David Israel 19-30, 370 yards, 6 TD; Zach Alexander 0-2.
