Osei Thomas lunges ahead against the Lugoff-Elgin defense. (Photo/Kristy Kimball Massey)
BHS-41, LEHS-28
LUGOFF – Catapulted by four passing touchdowns by David Isreal, the Blythewood Bengals went on the road Friday night to extinguish the Demons of Lugoff-Elgin, 41-28.
The victory further tightened the Bengals’ (4-6/2-2) grip on the final playoff spot in Region IV-4A.
Lugoff-Elgin issued the first blow late in the first quarter when Aldrecio Wells reached the edge on an end-around and bolted 42 yards down the right sideline for the game’s first score.
However, that would be the Demons’ only lead of the game because the Bengals would score 21 second quarter points fueled by two touchdown receptions by Trae Churn from 5 and 11 yards respectively. Isreal connected with Churn both times on jump balls in the end zone.
Trailing 14-7, Lugoff’s Malek Lyles capped a three-play, 43-yard drive with a 1-yard plunge across the goal line to knot the game up at 14 all.
With the final seconds ticking away in the first half, Isreal went to his bread and butter and lofted a 33-yard pass into the end zone to a leaping Osei Thomas to give the Bengals a 21-14 edge at the break.
The Blythewood defense, coupled with a 45-minute lightning delay, threw the Demons off their offensive rhythm to begin the second half as the Demons were held to a mere 19 offensive yards (6 rushing and 13 passing) in the third quarter.
The Bengals’ offense took advantage of that opportunity and extended their lead to 34-14 off an Eric Weber touchdown catch and a Thomas rushing score.
With the game in hand in the fourth quarter, the Bengals coasted to a 41-28 victory. Lugoff added two late touchdowns with two minutes to go in regulation. Wells broke free to score on runs of 22 and 50 yards to pad his stats even further.
Blythewood freshman running back Kyle Wright squeezed in a 48-yard scoring run of his own late in the game. Wright finished with a team high 115 yards on the ground.
The Bengals’ offense was near flawless in the contest, scoring on four out of their five chances in the red zone and stockpiling 421 yards of total offense.
Blythewood will wrap up the regular season Friday with a game against the Blazers of Ridge View (4-7/1-3). The Blazers are coming off a 31-7 loss to Spring Valley last week. Blythewood defeated the Blazers earlier this season 20-5 on Aug. 29. The Bengals can secure a playoff berth with a win, although a loss coupled with a Spring Valley win over Dutch Fork would bounce the Bengals from the playoff picture.
Kickoff at District 2 Stadium in Blythewood is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. Fans can follow live game updates on The Independent Voice’s Facebook page.
LE: 7-7-0-14 – 28
BH: 0-21-13-7 –41
Scoring
First Quarter
LE – Aldrecio Wlls 42 run (Greg Ruffner kick). 1:54
Second Quarter
BH – Trae Churn 5 pass from David Isreal (Cody Turner kick). 7:05
BH – Trae Churn 11 pass from David Isreal (Cody Turner kick). 5:03
LE – Malek Lyles 1 run (Greg Ruffner kick). 4:02
BH – Osei Thomas 33 pass from David Isreal (Cody Turner kick). :13
Third Quarter
BH – Eric Weber 2 pass from David Isreal (Cody Turner kick). 9:28
BH – Osei Thomas 3 run (kick failed). :08
Fourth Quarter
LE – Aldrecio Wells 22 run (kick failed). 2:14
BH – Kyle Wright 48 run (Cody Turner kick). 1:17
LE – Aldrecio Wells 50 run (Malek Lyles run). :19
Team Stats
BH LE
First Downs 22 14
Rushes/Yards 31-203 45-227
Passing Yards 218 83
C-A-INT 17-28-0 5-9-1
Fumbles/Lost 3-1 2-1
Penalties/Yards 6-50 3-19
Third downs 3-9 2-11
Fourth downs 4-5 1-2
Individual Stats
RUSHING: BH – Kyle Wright 10-115, Osei Thomas 11-49, David Isreal 8-34, Jo Richardson 1-7. LE – Aldrecio Wells 11-159, Jermaine Jenkins 17-77, Rahmel Burton 4-2, Malek Lyles 1-1.
RECEIVING: BH – Daquan Patten 4-59, Trae Churn 4-58, Jo Richardson 4-30. LE – Jordan King 2-48, Tyrek Kirkland 2-13, Rahmel Burton 1-22.
PASSING: BH – David Isreal 17-28, 218 yards, 4 TD, 0 INT. LE – Keyshawn Martin 5-9, 83 yards, 0 TD 1 INT.
