Lynard Jamison (24) stretches for the first down marker.
Bengals quarterback Kylin Binn on the carry.
Friday night at District Stadium in Blythewood the Bengals prevailed over the Lancaster Bruins 21-12 to improve to 3-1 on the year. Lancaster came into the game having lost their last two and was desperate for a win, but Bruins head coach Bennie McMurray knew they had their work cut out for them.
“Coach Kennedy and his staff do a great job,” McMurray said. “They have some great players and a good tradition.”
Lancasterwon the coin toss and deferred until the second half. Blythewood was forced to punt on their first possession giving Lancaster the ball at their own 39-yard line. But faced with a third-and-12, Bruins quarterback Red Truesdale threw a costly interception to Tony Rebollo. Blythewood would capitalize on the turnover by using eight plays to go 50 yards for the touchdown. Dean Beckford busted up the gut for an 11-yard touchdown putting the Bengals on the board first. Greg Huegel added the extra point to give his team a 7-0 lead. Before the game coach McMurray knew his defense could not give up the big play.
“Blythewood throws the deep ball as good as anyone we’ve seen,” McMurray said.
But after a punt byLancaster, one of coach McMurray’s worst fears was realized. The Bengals’ offense would score on its second straight possession when quarterback Kylin Binn unleashed a perfect ball down the middle to his wide-out Shyeim Brown for a 44-yard touchdown. Huegel nailed the extra point and Blythewood went up 14-0.
Just when it looked like the Bengals would run away with the game,Lancastergot on the board in the second quarter. The Bruins offense drove 80 yards on 12 plays for the touchdown when running back Terrell Rivers punched it in from 1 yard out. Lancaster’s kicker missed the extra point wide right making the score 14-6.
Just before the end of the half Blythewood’s offense struck again, when Beckford gashed the Bruins defense for a 24 yard scamper with 1:19 to play in the second quarter. The touchdown run capped a six-play 63-yard drive that was set up by a Rebollo fumble recovery. After the extra point by Huegel, Blythewood took a 21-6 lead in at the half. Bengals head coach Reggie Kennedy was confident after the first 24 minutes of play.
“I felt good the way we played in the first half,” Kennedy said. “I felt like we won all three phases of the game and I was pleased going in at halftime.”
The only points in the second half would come from Lancaster early in the fourth quarter when wide receiver Jay Hood scored off a 27-yard pass from Truesdale. The Bengals defense was opportunistic throughout the night forcing four turnovers (three interceptions) and holding the Bruins to just two of nine on third down.
“The defense played well all night,” Kennedy said. “They were able to put us in some good situations offensively.”
Blythewood’s offense picked up 227 yards with Beckford accounting for 95 (90 on the ground).
“Dean (Beckford) is the big play guy for us right now and we’re going to feed him the football,” Kennedy said.
Blythewood continues non-region action next week when they go on the road to play Sumter. You can listen to the game on the Blythewood Sports Media network by going to the Facebook page at www.facebook.com/bhathletics.
LHS—0-6-0-6 12
BHS—14-7-0-0 21
First Quarter
BHS- D. Beckford 11 run. G. Huegel kick. (5:03)
BHS- S. Brown 44 pass from K. Binn. G. Huegel kick. (1:13)
Second Quarter
LHS- T. Rivers 1 run. Kick failed. (6:56)
BHS- D. Beckford 24 run. G. Huegel kick. (1:19)
Fourth Quarter
LHS- J. Hood 27 pass from K. Truesdale. PAT failed. (10:21)
Records: BHS: 3-1/0-0 LHS: 1-3/0-0
Team Stats
BHS LHS
First Downs 12 14
Rushes/Yards 35-140 30-37
Comp/Att/Int 7-12-1 11-24-3
Pass Yards 87 201
Fumbles/Lost 0-0 5-1
Penalties/Yards 8-93 3-23
Individual Stats
RUSHING—BHS: D. Beckford12-90. B. Ruiz 10-54. L. Jamison 2-8. LHS: K. Truesdale 12-33. T. Rivers 12-21.
PASSING—BHS: K. Binn 7-12. 87 yards. 1 INT. 1 TD. LHS: K. Truesdale 11-24. 201 yards. 3 INT. 1 TD.
RECEIVING—BHS: S. Brown 3-65. D. Beckford 2-5. J. Smith 1-16. J. Britt 1-1. LHS: J. Hood 4-122. T. Anthony 3-23. C. Pelham 2-12. K. Anthony 1-27.
