LOUISVILLE, Ky.— After scoring just 53 total points through the first four games of the season, the Bellarmine sprint football offense erupted for 49 points on Saturday in its Senior Day game against Midway.
The Knights (4-1) maintained the Bourbon Barrel trophy with a 49-31 victory over the Eagles (0-5) at St Xavier High School.
Prior to the game, Bellarmine honored five seniors in the program:
Cameron Broussard,
Max Dansereau,
Devan Hendricks,
Evan Williams, and manager
Alexandria Baldon.
Thanks to a botched punt from Midway on its opening drive, Bellarmine took over for its first drive at the Midway 22 yard line.
Brenden Reid capped the short drive with a 1-yard touchdown run, setting up his big day.
Midway did respond quickly, however, as running back Kaden Parraz sprinted 61 yards for a touchdown on the following possession. The Eagles tacked on a two-point conversion and led 8-7 less than four minutes into the game.
The scoring would continue in the first quarter with a 12-yard touchdown run from senior
Devan Hendricks. The TD was Hendricks' first of the season.
D.J Griffin added a run for a two-point conversion, and Bellarmine retook the lead 15-8 in the first quarter.
Neither team scored the remainder of the quarter, but a game trend was established – plenty of scoring and penalties. For the game, Midway and Bellarmine combined for 25 penalties enforced for a total of 232 yards.
The scoring would remain dormant just over midway through the second period. Defensive back
Joshua Bivens came up with a key interception with just over six minutes remaining in the half to thwart a 32 yard Midway drive into the Bellarmine red zone. The Knights capitalized on the ensuing drive with a 2-yard touchdown run from
Devan Hendricks to give Bellarmine a 22-8 lead.
Midway's back-up quarterback D.J Palmer entered the game in the second quarter and dashed 30 yards for a touchdown with under a minute to play in the half. Another two-point conversion cut the Bellarmine advantage to 22-16 at halftime.
In the third quarter, the Knights retook a two-possession lead with a 40-yard touchdown pass from
Dylan Gough to Griffin. But as was the trend on Saturday, Midway immediately answered with a 13-yard touchdown pass from Palmer to Penther Alphonse. With under three minutes left in the third quarter, Bellarmine led 29-23.
The see-saw continued on the very next play, when
Brenden Reid bolted 36 yards for a touchdown to put Bellarmine ahead 35-23. The Eagles would not go away, however, and Palmer found Ja'Shawn Lee for a 61-yard touchdown on the first play of its next drive. A third two-point conversion made the score 35-31.
And to no one's surprise, another touchdown occurred before the end of the third quarter – Gough threw his second long touchdown of the day, this time finding
Tavius Francis for a 60-yard TD to put BU up 42-31 at the end of the third quarter.
Bellarmine's defense stiffened in the fourth quarter, and the offense put together a 12-play, 75-yard touchdown drive that ate over seven minutes off the clock to seal the game. The drive ended with a 23-yard screen pass to Reid that he took to the house. The Bellarmine 49-31 advantage would prove to be the final score.
Individual bests were abundant for the Knights, led by Reid. The star running back rushed for 235 yards, averaged over nine per carry, scored three total touchdowns, and led the team with seven tackles on defense. Hendricks rushed 14 times for 113 yards and two TD's, while Francis racked up 98 yards receiving and a touchdown. Gough threw for a season-best 209 yards and three touchdowns.
As a team, Bellarmine put together a season-high 538 yards of total offense – 358 of which came on the ground.
Bellarmine wraps up its season next week at Calumet College of St. Joseph. Kickoff is scheduled for 8:00 p.m. ET (7:00 p.m. CT) in Whiting, Indiana. With a victory, Bellarmine would secure a spot in the MSFL Championship Game on Nov. 5.
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