Jackson Bennett's Big Week

Here's something you don't see every day.  Orleans Online, in their recap of the NCAFA Midget Championship game from November 2nd between the Nepean Redskins and Orleans Bengals, provides the description:

...The Bengals' offence raked up 56 points against a Redskins team that had only allowed 68 points all season long, while the defence managed to hold Nepean's offence to just 39 points.

Jackson Bennett had a monster game for the Bengals, slicing and dicing his way through the Redskins' defence like a hot knife through butter. The fleet-footed running back gained over 500 yards against the top defence in the league and scored seven times to earn MVP honours.

The Bengals only other touchdown was scored by quarterback Thompson Richards, while Alex Gauthier was good on all eight convert attempts.

Think about that for a moment.  500 yards passing would have been pretty damn impressive.  Dude had the equivalent of five good rushing games in one contest.

I've seen the occasional wonky stats report in amateur ball.  But even if this one was fudged by 100 yards it would be insane.

Obviously, the flow of the game has to be cooperative.  Bennett didn't accomplish this by averaging 4.5 yards a carry.  He had to have been in a position to break a bunch of big runs.  And break them he did.

So that done, what did he do the following Saturday?  Orleans Online again:

...With just over three minutes left to go in the game and the Lancers holding on to a three-point lead, Bennett fumbled the ball away on his team's 45-yard line. In his defence, the pigskin was pretty slick thanks to the snowy conditions.

...

Thankfully for Bennett, the St. Peter Knights failed to take advantage of the turn in fortune. After Jarryd Rushford (#33) picked up five yards on first down, the Knights attempted to pass the ball in the less than perfect conditions with predictable results. The pass fell to the ground and Sir Wil took over on downs after the Knights were only able to gain three yards on third and five.

Prior to giving the ball away, Bennett was on pace for an MVP performance. He had run for 150 yards on 14 carries, scored both of the Lancers' touchdowns, and made several key stops on defence including an interception that ended a potential first quarter scoring drive for the Knights.

After Sir Wil got the ball back in the later stages of the fourth quarter, Bennett made sure the Knights never got a second chance to regain the lead. He protected the ball and picked up several key first downs as the clock continued to tick down to under a minute.

The Lancers would cap the 73-yard drive with a 33-yard touchdown pass from Stephan Kukkonen (#5) to Kurleigh Gittens (#28) that would put the game out of reach for the defending champs.

Bennett added an exclamation point to his performance with a fumble recovery and a 30 yard run back on the Knights final drive of the game. The only thing that would have made his day even more perfect would have been to score on the play, but he was pushed out at the one and the game ended with Kukkonen taking a knee.

...

When you combine his two performances, Bennett has rushed for over 700 yards and scored nine touchdowns. For most running backs that represents a decent season. Bennett did it in two title games against decent defences.

...

Bennett's performance in Saturday's high school championship overshadowed an equally impressive game turned in by Jarryd Rushford who carried the ball 45 times for 166 yards and scored the Knights' opening touchdown in the first quarter. The Lancers responded with an impressive 87-yard drive of their own, capped by Jackson's first touchdown.

With the game tied at seven, the Knights didn't take long to regain the lead on a 48-yard touchdown pass from Pascal Roy-Lapensée (#9) to Patrice Rene (#10). Quinton Soares' (#81) second convert of the game would put the Knights up 14-7 at the half.

The Lancers opened the third quarter with a 22-yard kick return by Cedric Ky (#28). Four plays later, Bennett carried the ball in from 17 yards out after picking up 45 yards on an earlier run. Kousha Aminian-Heidari (#12) would add his second convert of the game to narrow the score at 14 points apiece.

Neither team made much headway during the rest of the quarter. The Lancers managed to take advantage of a favourable wind to move the ball deep into Knights territory near the end of the quarter, but time ran out before they had a chance to attempt a 28-yard field goal with the wind at their back., Instead, Aminian-Heidari had to attempt the kick into the wind and it came up short leaving the game tied 14-14.

Aminian-Heidari would get a second chance two series later and this time he would split the uprights from 25 yards out to give his team the lead for good.

The Lancers eventually scored again to make the final score 24-14 after the Knights failed to take advantage of Bennett's fumble.

Splendid.  At the risk of dating myself, I went to the original Sir Wil prior to the school's move to its current Orleans location so yes, I'm a fan.

Could this be something of a changing of the guard?  St. Peter barely got by St. Pius last year in as good a high school game as I've ever seen.  Sir Wilfrid Wilfrid, meanwhile, had won the Tier Two championship in 2011 and 2012 and now have clutched the title in their first year back at the higher level.  Games between these two schools will take on a new intensity in the coming years, I gather.

Going back to the NCAFA game, this was going to be the last game of the Nepean football club as the Redskins.  On that level, I admit I would have liked to see them win to go out on a high note.  I'm not crazy about the decision, for a number of reason that I will not repeat all over again pointlessly, but I look forward to seeing how their rebrand themselves.

About Bennett specifically, I admit that I didn't know him until these past couple of weekends.  Or if I'd seen him, I don't recall when I did.  But for the sake of posterity, I want to note that he was credited with 85 carries, 739 yards and seven scores for the Bengals.  That's a healthy 8.7 yard average...over five games. So no one should think of him as a fluke.

Last but not least, much appreciation towards Fred Sherwin for the coverage he provides for amateur football on Orleans Online. When it was decided three of the four teams in these games were Orleans clubs, I could be confident that there would be detailed recaps to refer to.  I wish other neighborhood papers could be as supportive and thorough.