BENICIA RUNNING BACK Aaron Jenkins (34), just called up to the varsity this week, breaks off a big run against Pinole Valley.

Bolstered by its hard-nosed defense, Benicia High’s varsity football team shut out host Pinole Valley, 14-0, Friday night for the Panthers’ first win of the young season.

It was the first shutout victory for Benicia since a 36-0 drubbing of Fairfield on Oct. 10, 2014, and helped erase the memories of a 48-20 loss at Granada in last week’s season opener.

“We were aggressive and contained them on the outside,” said Panthers defensive back Jalen Lane, who had two of Benicia’s five sacks on the night. “We didn’t let them get around us.”

Pinole Valley running back Sam Nuss, who ran for 262 yards and three touchdowns a week earlier against College Park, was held to only 58 yards on 21 carries, with 20 of those yards coming with less than a minute to play. Pinole Valley (1-1) managed only 140 yards of total offense.

“We told ourselves (Nuss) wasn’t getting any yards on us,” said Benicia lineman Trae Crummie, who had several big tackles. “We were handling our business. The whole defense played good.”

“We kept him in the backfield and didn’t let them open any holes,” Lane added.

“We played well defensively all night, especially at the line,” said Benicia head coach Craig Holden. “We had six or seven guys tackling on every play. It was a high-energy game. We put a lot of pressure on their quarterback and our guys were smart enough to read the plays.”

Benicia’s own running attack ran over the Spartans. After rushing for only 18 yards in the season opener, the Panthers rushed for 280 yards on 42 carries against the Spartans. Jeremiah Lane led the way with 102 yards on only 12 carries, including a 48-yard touchdown run that gave Benicia a 14-0 lead midway through the third quarter. Cavon Etter added another 91 yards on the ground, including a 15-yard TD run.

“There was a challenge laid during practice,” Holden said. “We need to be able to run the ball in order to be successful and the kids took it to heart.”

Etter’s touchdown run capped a nine-play scoring drive on Benicia’s second offensive series of the night. It remained 7-0 at halftime as Matthew Larks intercepted a pass at the Benicia 20 and Joseph Lee recovered a fumble on a muffed punt.

While Pinole Valley’s offense was going nowhere, Benicia’s offense still continued to misfire at times. The Panthers (1-1) fumbled twice and turned the ball over on downs four times. It wasn’t until Jeremiah Lane went untouched up the middle for a 48-yard touchdown with 5:37 left in the third quarter that Benicia could feel some breathing room.

“I’m happy we got the first win, but there are a lot of things we need to do better,” Holden said. “We had a couple of fumbles and had a lot of penalties. It wasn’t a clean game.”

Benicia quarterback Devin Holden attempted only one pass in the second half and finished 4-of-12 for 33 yards with no interceptions. Etter and B.J. Washington each had a sack for Benicia’s defense.

The Panthers head to Santa Rosa this coming Friday for a non-league tilt against Maria Carrillo, and the shutout victory over Pinole Valley gave Benicia a much-needed lift psychologically.

“It pumps us up and gives us drive,” Jalen Lane said. “We need to stay focused and keep moving in the right direction.”

“I think we have a good season ahead of us,” Crummie said.

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