Cardinals rally falls just short, 29-26

Sophomore Perris Jones (2) scores for the Cardinals.

Homecoming 2014 promised an exciting game with top-ranked Benedictine visiting second ranked Bishop Ireton and the squads didn’t let anyone down in a thrilling 29-26 contest where the visitors escaped a 26-point second half by the Cardinals for the win. It was a game with everything a fan could want; big plays, exciting comebacks, unexpected turns, it was an entertaining, if disappointing, afternoon for Cardinal football fans.

The Cadets took advantage of a fumbled punt after the Cardinals had pinned them deep in their own territory to cobble together the game’s first scoring drive. Senior Ramon Jones scored the first of three touchdowns with 6:03 remaining in the first quarter to give Benedictine a 6-0 lead. Cameron Cougill’s PAT was wide left as Ireton got the ball for the first time.

Both ball clubs moved the ball throughout a quick first half, but neither could muster and offensive scoring drive. The Cadets’ special teams got in the act however, when Andrew Latrash stood near the back line of the end zone on 4th and 17 to punt the ball away.

Senior Mikey McDonald charged up the middle and got a hand on the kick, knocking the ball out of the end zone for a safety with 5:00 remaining in the half. Chandler Wilder made a spectacular interception, one of three on the day by Ireton, to blunt Benedictine’s final drive of the half and send the teams to the locker with an 8-0 score on the board. Little did fans know, but the fireworks were about to begin as clubs returned for the second half.

Bishop Ireton came out of the locker room and promptly drove 80 yards for their first touchdown, aided by a 50-yard aerial from Joe Dickinson to Brenden Peifer. The strike set the Cardinals up on the Cadet 10 yard line and three plays later sophomore Perris Jones scampered in for a touchdown, David Cooper trimming the Benedictine advantage to 8-7 with his PAT at 8:30 left in the third quarter.

The visitors responded on the next series, mixing the running of Ramon Jones and strong throws by Jake Waldrop. Jones capped the drive with a 14-yard bolt up the middle and with 6:10 left the Cadets were back to an eight point margin at 15-7.

Ireton’s next drive rode a pair of tosses to Sam Smith and another over the shoulder grab by Peifer at the one yard line . Andrew Latrash bulled in from there and a fake kick resulted in a 2-point PAT and a stalemate at 15-15 with 2:36 in the third.

Benedictine scored on their next two possessions to grab a 29-15 advantage, including an 85-yard sprint by the Cadet’s Jones, who plagued the Cardinals throughout the contest, as the game entered the final quarter.

In the fourth, down 29-15 the Cardinals started their comeback. Corey Johnson thwarted one Cadet drive with a diving interception of a tipped pass, later linebacker Josh Ammon picked off a pass 8 yards deep in the end zone and returned it the Cardinals’ 44. The home team would settle for a 31-yard field goal as a result of that turnover to pull to 29-18.

After Bishop Ireton converted a successful onside kick, quarterback Joe Dickinson led the Cardinals down the field and found sophomore Sam Smith on a fade to the end zone where he out jumped the defender and hauled in a 20-yard pass for a touchdown with 2:17 left in the game. Once again, the Cardinals successfully completed a two-point try, this time a scrambling Dickinson tossing back over the middle to a diving Peifer and suddenly Ireton trailed by only three.

Coach Tony Verducci had buried his three timeouts deep in his pocket and now was the time to use them. Benedictine, stung by back-to-back interceptions, tried to pound the ball on the ground, but this series, Jones had little running room and Bishop Ireton got the ball back for one more series with 76 seconds remaining in the contest and the 84 yards from the end zone. It was not to be on this Saturday, however, and when Dickinson was sacked on third down, the ball was loose with :45 remaining. The Cadets took a knee and had survived the Cardinals’ furious comeback.

The loss dropped Bishop Ireton to 5-2 on the season, still good enough to retain the number 2 spot in this week’s poll, while top-ranked Benedictine improved to 6-1. The Cardinals head to Fairfax Friday night to visit the Paul VI Panthers for a 7pm contest. The Cadets stay in their road whites and venture out to Woodberry Forest for key matchup for the Richmond Catholic School. After the Panthers, Ireton returns home one final time to host The Potomac School on senior day before ending the regular season on the road at St. John Paul the Great.

Box Score 1 2 3 4 Final

Benedictine 6 2 7 7 29

Bishop Ireton 0 0 15 11 26