Attrition finally took its toll on Benicia High’s football team Friday night.
Battered and bruised, the Panthers limped home from Sacramento after a season-ending 49-14 loss to host Inderkum in the second round of the Sac-Joaquin Section Division III playoffs. Benicia (7-4) was without several starters, including senior running back Tristan Batten, and got outscored 22-0 in a span of less than four minutes in the fourth quarter to turn a close game into a rout.
Batten – Benicia’s leading rusher this season – sat out the game due to a concussion, joining starters John Butler, Isaiah Mora-Larsebeid and Kendal Vargas on the injured list. Starting lineman Michael Soles injured his right ankle midway through the first quarter and didn’t return. Even Berwyn Hutcherson got hurt scoring Benicia’s final touchdown of the season.
“Our injuries were tough on us,” said senior Jason Toumbs. “We were missing a lot of key players and that was a big blow. It hurt our offense and our defense.”
Without Batten, Benicia’s running game was non-existent against the top-seeded Tigers (11-1). The Panthers had minus-13 yards on 25 carries while Inderkum racked up 392 yards on the ground.
“We were pretty one dimensional,” said Benicia head coach Craig Holden. “Missing an all-league running back is not how you want to go into the second round of the playoffs. We weren’t a deep team coming in and we were beat up. But our kids did a great job filling in and did the best job they could.”
Inderkum struck twice in the first quarter for a 14-0 lead. Larry Hardy hauled in a deep pass from quarterback Jonathan Henry, broke a tackle at the 30 and went in for a 68-yard touchdown. Austin Thurman swept left for a 9-yard TD run to cap a seven-play, 64-yard drive.
But the Panthers fought back. The offense, which went three-and-out on its three possessions in the first quarter, started clicking early in the second. Quarterback Riley Pitkin completed four straight passes to the Inderkum 31. Facing fourth-and-7 from the 26, Pitkin hit Weston Carr on a quick route and the senior pulled Tiger defenders for a 22-yard gain to the 4. Pitkin carried it in two plays later to make it 14-7.
The Tigers answered right back with an eight-play, 85-yard drive featuring two big catches by Hardy, the last a 26-yard TD reception to make it 21-7 with just over five minutes remaining in the opening half.
Benicia had two golden opportunities to cut into Inderkum’s lead but couldn’t find paydirt. Key passes to Carr, Alex Osterholt and Jason Shelley gave the Panthers a first down at the Tiger 7, but facing fourth-and-goal, Pitkin was sacked by outside linebacker Nu’umotu Falo to end the threat just before halftime. The Panthers took the second-half kickoff and marched all the way to the Tiger 12, only to turn the ball over on downs for a second straight possession inside the red zone.
“We had a couple key opportunities and didn’t get it in the end zone,” Holden said. “That hurts. We need to put pressure on them whenever we can.”
When Inderkum defensive back Tyrique Carter returned an interception 75 yards for a touchdown to make it 27-7 late in the third quarter, Benicia was hanging on life support. Hutcherson gave the Panthers hope when he returned a fumble 23 yards for a touchdown to make it 27-14 with 10:06 remaining, but that was Benicia’s high-water mark.
Hardy broke off two more TD runs and Ivan Prevost added a late touchdown to end Benicia’s season. The Panthers didn’t get a single first down in the fourth quarter. Hardy combined with Thurman to rush for 285 yards and three touchdowns for Inderkum, which advances to a semifinal game against No. 5 seed Sacramento.
“We were hanging with them for so long, but at a certain point they just took off,” said Benicia senior linebacker Tom Maday.
“We played a lot better than the score shows,” Toumbs said. “We gave it our all and came up short.”
“I was proud of our effort and the way we played tonight,” Holden said. “I felt we controlled the line of scrimmage for the most part until the fourth quarter. Then we just got tired.”
Benicia can only lick its wounds and reflect on a successful season.
“It’s been a heckuva journey,” Toumbs said. “We had our ups and downs but we always fought through it.”
“It sucks that the season’s over,” Maday said. “I just know that I’m really sore.”
916football says
Inderkum rushed for almost 400 and Benicia rushed for negative yards and inderkum got to the qb multiple times but Benicia controlled the line of scrimmage? Benicia coach had very choice words for inderkum in multiple articles leading up to the game.
Benicia kids played hard. You program and families should be proud how hard your kids fought