Chris Woodall (1) with the carry for the Bengals. (Photo/Kristy Kimball Massey)
BLYTHEWOOD (Oct. 14, 2016) – Lexington was one yard away from a game-tying score against Blythewood Thursday night at District 2 Stadium.
With 20 seconds on the clock and down 26-20, Lexington quarterback Chase Crouch took the snap, faked a handoff to go-to running back Dai’Quan Wells, then tucked the ball and ran to his left.
Blythewood’s Cassius Garner hit Crouch as he fell forward — but still short of the goal line.
The ball came out before Crouch’s knees met the turf, and Bengals defender Sekwan Jenkins scooped it up.
When time expired, Jenkins had rumbled 99 yards with the live ball, and delivered a game clinching score as time expired that gave Blythewood a 32-20 victory over its Region V-5A rival.
“We was all nervous because we knew if they scored, then they had a chance to win the game,” Jenkins said. “We didn’t want this to be like last year (a 21-20 loss at Lexington) so we had to make a play. When he fumbled the ball at the one, I just saw it and took it and took off.”
Jenkins’ effort singlehandedly offset a night in which Wells had pummeled the Bengals defense. Wells led all rushers with 211 yards and two touchdowns on 33 carries.
Blythewood coach Dan Morgan said he didn’t see the end of the play, although he knew that Crouch was stopped short.
“All of a sudden I saw the safety (Jenkins) run out with the ball,” Morgan said. “We’ve had some crazy stuff happen to us. It’s just finally nice to have something go the other way for us.”
Although Lexington (6-3, 3-2) mustered 410 yards of total offense, Blythewood (6-2, 3-1) made good with big plays, including Kenny Benton’s two long-distance catch-and-run pass plays of 64 and 80 yards, as well as a 62-yard TD run stemming from a lateral from Jordyn Adams.
Those big offensive and defensive moments saved the Bengals.
“We were sluggish,” Morgan said. “We just did not look good tonight. We weren’t in sync, we weren’t running to the ball defensively, our tackling wasn’t very good. We made a lot of mistakes. We were worried a lot coming in about how we were going to look because we haven’t been able to do things for quite a while. At times we looked good, and at times we looked completely awful.”
Even so, the Bengals stayed in the game, breaking a 20-20 tie on another defensive play with less than 10 minutes to go in the game.
On Lexington’s first-and-10 at the Blythewood 37-yard line, Crouch fired a pass in the flat that Blythewood defensive back Jaydon Brunson picked off at the Blythewood 38. With no one in front of him Brunson jetted 62 yards for the go-ahead score.
“Great things were going on in that game,” Morgan said. “This is why we wanted 5A football. In our region we have a lot of great matchups and it’s a lot of fun. It’s exhausting as a coach, but it’s a lot of fun for the fans and the players.”
Lexington took a 7-6 lead going into the second quarter. With 7:10 to go in the second, John Mills blocked a Blythewood punt, and Jaylen McCoy returned it to the Blythewood 40. Five plays later, Crouch found Oscar Ferguson at the back of the end zone for a 13-yard TD pass at the 5:17 to go in the first half.
Adams found Benton on a short route on the first play of the next series. Lexington defenders almost knocked Benton down around the Blythewood 24, but he recovered and finished off an 80-yard TD pass play to put Blythewood back to within a point.
“I happened to keep my balance and keep my footing and was able to score,” Benton said of the play. “If it wasn’t for my teammates blocking on the outside, I wouldn’t have been able to make any big plays.” Benton had six catches for 164 yards and two touchdowns, in addition to two carries for 70 yards and a score.
Blythewood had a chance for a 16-14 halftime lead. The Bengals drove down to the Lexington 5-yard line, but the Wildcats’ defense pushed them back to the 10.
From there, Ben Kline missed on a 27-yard field goal attempt with 50 seconds to go. Lexington clung to a 14-13 lead going into the locker room.
In the third quarter, Wells’ 22-yard TD run at the 7:47 mark gave the Wildcats a 20-13 lead when the point-after attempt failed.
Blythewood tied it up when Benton rushed 61 yards with 1:44 left. That score set up the Bengals’ defense to make two clutch scoring plays in the fourth.
“To get away with playing completely awful and be in it down the stretch against a pretty dadgum good ball club in Lexington, that’s a good feeling,” Morgan said. “They coach their kids so well, they’re always in the right spots, but it was nice of it to finally go our way. We’ve had quite a few of those games in the past four years that did not go our way. I know exactly how (Wildcats) coach (Josh) Stepp feels.”
LHS: 7-7-6-0 — 20
BHS: 6-7-7-12 – 32
First Quarter
B – Kenny Benton 64 pass from Jordyn Adams (kick failed) 11:28
L – Dai’Quan Wells 2 run (Gunnar Kennedy Kick) 1:57
Second Quarter
L – Oscar Ferguson 13 pass from Chase Crouch (Gunnar Kennedy kick) 5:17
B –Benton 80 pass from Adams (Ben Kline kick) 5:00
Third Quarter
L –Wells 22 run (kick failed) 7:44
W – Benton 61 run (Kline kick) 1:55
Fourth Quarter
B – Jaydon Brunson 62 interception return (kick failed) 9:57
B – Sekwan Jenkins 99 fumble recovery (no kick) :00
LHS BHS
First Downs 24 10
Rushes-Yards 56-288 30-169
Passing Yards 122 192
C-A-I 13-22-1 7-13-0
Fumbles-Lost 2-1 1-0
Penalties-Yards 5-40 8-57
Punts-Avg. 5-29.8 7-30.7
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING: Lexington – Dai’Quan Wells 33-211, Chase Crouch 13-54, Donte Davis 7-18, Cooper Smith 3-5. Blythewood – Chris Woodall 10-73, Kenny Benton 2-70, Jordyn Adams 17-26, Jeffrey Watkins 1-0.
PASSSING: Lexington – Chase Crouch 13-22-1. Blythewood – Jordyn Adams 7-13-0.
RECEIVING: Lexington – Oscar Ferguson 4-37, Jordan Hiller 4-30, Trey Norman 2-18, Dai’Quan Wells 1-19, David Jacobs 1-10, Trevor Daniel 1-8. Blythewood – Kenny Benton 6-163, Roger Carter 1-29.
