CLOVER – Some teams might need more than just a bye week to lick the kind of wounds that Lexington inflicted upon Blythewood back on Sept. 4, but Friday night it was clear that the bruises from that 21-20 loss had completely healed as the Bengals throttled Clover 55-22 on the road.
“I was real proud of our guys. We bounced back real well,” Blythewood head coach Dan Morgan said. “They feel like we kind of let one get away from us against Lexington, and the thing I was proud of today was they put this one away. Not many teams can come off a bye week and a loss like we did and come out and we were sharp coming out on offense and drove it right down the field.”
Benefitting from the short field after Clover’s opening on-side kickoff attempt rolled out of bounds at the Bengal 48, Blythewood indeed drove the ball down field at will from the first whistle. Senior quarterback David Isreal came out slinging, carving up the Blue Eagle secondary on the drive and ultimately hitting Eric Webber from 26 yards out for the 7-0 lead with 10:12 left in the quarter.
The Bengal defense added the next flourish when Sekwan Jenkins picked off a Noah Lindsay pass at the Blythewood 15 and bolted 85 yards for the score.
The pick-6 ended a Clover drive that began on their own 20 and had devoured more than 2 minutes of clock as the Blue Eagle wing-T attack ground their way to the Blythewood 28.
“They run a great offense for them,” Morgan said. “They do a great job of it. We had a few tackles here and there that kept them from busting some things open. In the first half I think we got lucky for quite a few series. We’ve got a great kicker who puts them on the 20 every single time, and we’re hoping they just can’t do it for 80 yards.”
But on Clover’s next possession, they did just that – putting together an 80-yard drive that drained more than 6 minutes from the first quarter. Lindsay punched it in from the 1 and Tanner Tolson ran in the 2-point try, cutting Blythewood’s lead to 14-8 with 2 minutes left in the first.
The Blue Eagle momentum was short lived, however, as Isreal and the Bengals went right back into the end zone in just five plays. Starting from their own 40, Isreal, who threw for 176 yards and three TDs on the night, quickly air mailed the Bengals to the Clover 28. Timel Benton, who along with Kyle Wright carried the load of the running game for an injured Osei Thomas, took Blythewood to the Clover 11 as the first quarter came to a close. On the first snap of the second, Benton hauled in an Isreal pass in the paint and Cody Turner’s kick made it 21-8, Bengals.
Thompson, Morgan said, is still nursing a shoulder injury leftover from the Ridge View game. And while Morgan expects to have him back next week, Benton and Wright more than made up for the loss. In addition to Benton’s receiving TD, he would go on to throw for a score and run for one as well as backup quarterback late in the game.
Wright, meanwhile, ran for a pair – a 19-yarder at the 5:05 mark in the second, and a 37-yard gallop with 2:08 left before the half – and caught Benton’s 26-yard toss with 11:49 left in the game.
“(Wright) is a sophomore. He’s fantastic,” Morgan said. “He played last year for us as a freshman. He’s very very good.”
Isreal drew his last blood of the match with 9:18 to go in the third when he found Eric Webber again on a 21-yard bullet.
“(Isreal) did real well. I’m proud of him,” Morgan said. “He managed the game real well. We were on the same page pretty much all night, which was really nice.”
Clover tacked on two touchdowns against the second team defense in the final frame to narrow the gap somewhat on their homecoming night.
Blythewood (3-1) hosts Irmo (1-3) next week. Reggie Kennedy’s Yellow Jackets have had a tough go of it so far this season, but the former Blythewood head coach finally notched his first win of the season Friday, beating Spring Valley 21-20.
“We’ve only beat them one time in the history of our school, and it was last year,” Morgan said. “Hopefully we can do it again. No matter what anybody can say about Irmo struggling a little bit … they are a very talented ball club that has played a very tough schedule. They’re not going to be a pushover for us. We’re going to have a tough game next week.”
BHS: 14-21-7-13 – 55
CHS: 8-0-0-14 – 22
Scoring
First Quarter
BH – Eric Webber 26 pass from David Isreal (Cody Turner kick). 10:12.
BHS – Sekwan Jenkins 82 INT return (C. Turner kick). 8:08.
CHS – N. Lindsay 1 run (T. Tolson run). 2:00.
Second Quarter
BHS – Daquan Patten 11 pass from D. Isreal (C. Turner kick). 11:54.
BHS – Kyle Wright 19 run (C. Turner kick). 5:05.
BHS – K. Wright 37 run (C. Turner kick). 2:08.
Third Quarter
BHS – E. Webber 21 pass from D. Isreal (C. Turner kick). 9:18.
Fourth Quarter
BHS – K. Wright 26 pass from Timel Benton (Ryan Derek kick). 11:49.
CHS – W. Clark 24 run (S. Edmunds kick). 8:23.
CHS – W. Clark 15 run (S. Edmunds kick). 3:42.
BHS – T. Benton 4 run (kick failed). 1:42.
Team Stats
BHS CHS
First Downs 17 22
Rushes/Yards 16-137 60-318
Passing Yards 247 75
C-A-I 1-24-1 3-9-1
Fumbles/Lost 1-0 5-0
Penalties/Yards 13-132 6-70
Individual Stats
RUSHING: BHS – Kyle Wright 4-64, Jordyn Adams 2-25, David Isreal 3-25, Timel Benton 5-22, Justin Dunn 2-1. CHS – W. Clark 19-206, T. Tolson 21-62, T. Hubert 8-23, T. Her 8-14, N. Lindsay 4-13.
PASSING: BHS – David Isreal 13-20, 176 yards, 3 TDs, INT; Timel Benton 3-4, 71 yards, TD. CHS – N. Lindsay 3-8, 75 yards, INT.
RECEIVING: BHS – Jordyn Adams 4-67, Kenny Benton 3-32, Eric Webber 2-47, Kyle Wright 2-32, Trae Churn 2-22, Derambez Drinkard 1-24, Timel Benton 1-12, Daquan Patten 1-11. CHS – C. Hill 1-39, J. Parrish 1-29, T. Hubert 1-7.