Halloween was still a week away, but Benicia High’s varsity football team was treated with some tricks anyway by the Bethel Jaguars.
Bethel scored touchdowns on five of its first six possessions and held on to beat the Panthers, 34-27, Friday night at Corbus Field. It was a humbling loss for Benicia, which suffered its first Solano County Athletic Conference defeat and had its four-game winning streak snapped.
“I think they out-played us in all three phases of the game,” Benicia head coach Craig Holden said of the Jaguars, who along with the Panthers are 4-4 overall and 2-1 in the SCAC, locked in a three-way tie with Vanden for second place behind American Canyon (3-0 SCAC).
“We just didn’t come out and play our game,” said senior linebacker John Butler. “Small mistakes hurt us.”
The Jaguars opened the second half with three straight touchdowns for a commanding 34-13 lead, but Benicia fought back, scoring two touchdowns in a span of 2:22 to make it a one-score game with 3:04 remaining. When Benicia’s defense forced a punt with just under two minutes left, the Panthers appeared set up for a dramatic comeback.
That comeback drive never got started. Benicia fumbled the punt return at its own 38-yard line with 1:48 to go, and Bethel quarterback Elijah Summerise converted a third-and-12 with a 16-yard run to help the Jaguars run out the clock.
“The game of football does not fall on one play,” Holden said.
The Panthers can point to several costly mistakes that contributed to the defeat. Bethel opened the game by recovering an onside kick and marched 45 yards for a touchdown. The Jaguars also pulled off a fake punt and intercepted a pass.
But it was Benicia’s inability to stop the Jaguars on third and fourth down that ultimately killed the Panthers. Bethel converted three times on third-and-long and twice on fourth down. Benicia’s defense, which had allowed only seven points in its previous three games combined, allowed five touchdowns on Bethel’s first six possessions, many of those drives extended by third- and fourth-down conversions.
“Third and fourth downs were rough on our defense and we couldn’t get off the field,” Holden said. “We had them in spots where we wanted them a lot of times and they converted. They did what they were supposed to do and we didn’t.”
“Third down conversions is how they won the game,” Butler said. “We held them first down through second down, and when we’d get them third and long we’d give up a big play. We were so used to shutting them down that we wouldn’t see some tricks they were pulling.”
Benicia senior receiver Weston Carr had a big night, hauling in six catches for 157 yards. Alex Osterholt ran for a pair of touchdowns, quarterback Riley Pitkin threw for 274 yards and ran for a score, and Tristen Batten caught a 39-yard TD pass.
Summerise threw for 193 yards and two scores and also ran for a TD as Bethel beat the Panthers for the first time since 2011. Running back Omari Batts had a pair of nice touchdown runs, and 6-foot-6 tight end Gabe Martinez was left wide open down the middle for a 48-yard TD strike.
Benicia celebrates Senior Night this Thursday at home against Vanden.
“It doesn’t mean we’re done or the season’s over,” Holden said after the Bethel setback. “We’ll get another chance next week at our place to show everyone what Panther football is all about.”
Bethel 34, Benicia 27
Benicia 7 6 0 14 – 27
Bethel 7 7 12 8 – 34
First Quarter
Beth – Batts 18 run (Lopez kick), 7:49
Ben – Pitkin 1 run (Sinclair kick), 2:53
Second Quarter
Beth – Summerise 1 run (Lopez kick), 11:06
Ben – Osterholt 4 run (run failed), 6:20
Third Quarter
Beth – Martinez 48 pass from Summerise (kick failed), 9:59
Beth – Batts 13 run (kick blocked), 3:12
Fourth Quarter
Beth – Dawson 30 pass from Summerise (Wheeler run), 7:56
Ben – Osterholt 2 run (Sinclair kick), 5:34
Ben – Batten 39 pass from Pitkin (Sinclair kick), 3:04
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Benicia Bethel
First downs 19 14
Rushes-yards 29-92 41-169
Passing yards 274 193
Comp-Att-Int 14-24-1 9-14-0
Total offense 366 362
Penalties-yards 7-55 10-90
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Individual Statistics
RUSHING: Benicia – Batten 10-74, Peterson 3-29, Osterholt 7-26, Pitkin 9-3; Bethel – Batts 11-68, Summerise 9-53, Dawson 9-33, Wheeler 10-15.
PASSING: Benicia – Pitkin 14-24-1-274; Bethel – Summerise 9-14-0-193.
RECEIVING: Benicia – Carr 6-157, Shelley 3-43, Batten 2-43, Dickerson 2-20, Casey 1-11; Bethel – Sanders 4-96, Martinez 1-48, Dawson 1-30, Conley 1-11, Wheeler 1-5, Fox 1-3.
JV Score = Bethel 32, Benicia 28
Freshman Score = Benicia 40, Moreau Cath. 6
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