Hard running Andrew Bladen, above, took care of the pigskin to score the winning TD for undefeated Bishop Ireton Saturday.
There is a saying, “I’d rather be lucky than good” and in the seventh week of the regular season, the Cardinals looked like “their number was up” when Benedictine took a 15-14 lead on a field goal with under 5 minutes remaining. But thanks to some luck in the form of undisciplined play by the Cadets late in the Cardinals’ final drive of the game, Andrew Bladen turned second chances to an Ireton advantage as he scored on a short  rush to give the Cardinals a thrilling 22-15 win to improve to 7-0 on the season.
Benedictine scored first after the Cardinals had a nightmare start to the contest on an otherwise beautiful, blustery fall day for a Richmond homecoming. Going three and out on their first possession, the snap from center sailed over punter Aurelian Guillaud’s head and the lanky punter scrambled to get a short punt away.
Fortunately, Benedictine was flagged for too many men on the field and Ireton had a second chance. This time the snap was perfect, but perhaps unnerved, Guillaud dropped the ball and rushed the ball only to the Cardinals’ 29 and  left the green-shirted hosts with a first down deep in Ireton territory.
It took only 4 plays for the home team to grab a 6-0 lead as senior quarterback David Greary tossed 36-yard touchdown over the outstretched hands of the Cardinals’ Robert Banez to senior Charley Meyer. The PAT kick was no good, but Benedictine held a 6-0 lead.
The Cadets again stopped Ireton but Guillaud boomed a 55-yard  punt into the end zone then followed with a 36-yard kick that rolled out of bounds at the 2-yard line. When the Cardinals stripped the football on the second play of the drive and Bladen recovered on the 7-yard line, the northern Virginians were in business. Moses Webb quickly sprinted up the middle almost untouched and a Galdos PAT gave Ireton a 7-6 advantage.
Ireton would use a long 30-yard pass play to Merid Merid in the second quarter to knock on the door once again, and Webb scored his second touchdown of the day with three straight rushes to push the advantage to 14-6, a lead the visitors would protect into the halftime locker room.
Benedictine returned from homecoming festivities and promptly marched down the field on their second possession of the half,  a 10-play, 47-yard drive capped by a Corey Downey 7-yard scamper, to narrow the Ireton advantage to 14-12 as they failed on a two-point attempt following the touchdown.
The Cardinals struggled throughout the second half to get any offensive consistency. Fortunately, the unsung defense of coordinator Matt Shea stymied the Richmond school repeatedly (they forced a pair of turnovers in the game), including following a Cadet interception deep in Ireton’s end. Benedictine’s freshman Michael Greary missed a short field goal but quickly got the ball back and when stalled again in the red zone, Greary did find the range with a field goal with 4:56 remaining to play and the Cadets were back in front 15-14 with an enthusiastic homecoming crowd roaring it approval.
The Cardinals got a good kickoff return to near midfield. Head coach Tony Verducci inserted hard nosed Andrew Bladen into the backfield and, with the scrambling of quarterback PJ Zingler, Ireton began pushing that “big rock” up the steep hill. When things started to look bleak for the state’s top ranked private school football team, the Cadets stepped in with some ill advised, undiscipline play.
The Cardinals’ drive appeared to stall on the Cadet’s 30-yard line when a late hit after the play was followed by a scrum and at least one punch from a Cadet.  Sophomore Amani Williams eventually was ejected from the contest. The personal foul gave Ireton new life inside the 20.
Once again, Benedictine’s defense stonewalled the Cardinals and Galdos entered the contest to attempt a 35-yard field goal. While the kick missed badly, Galdos was drilled well after the kick by the Cadets and the ensuing personal foul gave the Alexandrians yet another first down inside the 10 yard line.
This time the white shirts would not waste the opportunity and Bladen plowed into the endzone from 4 yards out and 1:58 remaining. Sitting on a 20-15 lead, Ireton deftly executed a fake extra point kick and Zingler tossed a short aerial to senior Brendan Bowe for the two-point conversion.
Though the Cardinals pinned Benedictine on their 17 yardline, the Cadets rode the scrambling of senior quarterback David Greary on 4th and long to keep the drive alive, and a 18-yard dash by Meyer, as they moved down the field as the clock raced toward the game’s conclusion. Not quickly enough for the Cardinal faithful however, as Greary heaved a desparation pass from the Ireton 36 into the endzone only to see Moses Webb make sure there would be no heroics on the game’s final play.
“It is so important that we found a way to win this game, one that we didn’t play our best offensively.” said a smiling offensive coordinator, Joe Blaszkow, a 2003 alum of the Cambridge Road school. “I have seen many times in the past where this sort of game got away from us.” Indeed, Zingler connected on 9 of 28 for 71 yards and Ireton rushed the ball 24 times for only 91 yards, but still outgained the Cadets in total yardage.
The win, the second on the road against that week’s VISAA third-ranked division I football team, puts the top-ranked Cardinals in great shape for the state playoffs. With the dangerous Paul VI Panthers due for a 1pm kickoff on Fannon Field Saturday, the Cardinals will have senior day and their annual homecoming to deal with as well as their long-time diocesan rival. They will then finish the regular season on the road with dates at The Potomac School, at 1pm,  and a season-ending Friday night contest at St Mary’s Rykien at 7pm.
Scoring Summary:Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 1Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 2Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 3Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 4Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Final
Bishop Ireton                  7         7        0          8          22
Benedictine                      6        0         6           3           15
Ben – Meyer 35 yd pass from D. Greary (kick failed)
BI – Webb 6 yd run (Galdos kick)
BI – Webb 1 yd run (Galdos kick)
Ben – Downey 7 yd run (2-pt attempt failed)
Ben – M. Greary FG 24 yd
BI – Bladen 4 yd run (Zingler pass to Bowe)
News and Notes:
– Benedictine had scored 150 points in their past 4 contests coming into their homecoming matchup with Bishop Ireton
– Former Ireton assistant coach Chris Lapore, on active duty with the Navy, made a guest appearance in the booth to assist the Ireton defense while on temporary duty in the Virginia area.
– Sidelines saw former Marines leading both teams, Greg Lilly a combat veteran infantry officer on the Benedictine side and Tony Verducci, retired Marine officer on Ireton sideline.
– Brandon Bowe, a transfer from Fallbrook, California, scored his first points as Cardinal in the 2-pt conversion in the 4th quarter.
– The victory pushed the record-setting win streak to 9 over the past two years.
– Saturday’s homecoming game with PVI (0-6)Â is scheduled for a 1pm kickoff. Panthers were 33-7 victims of Benedictine in their home opener.
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