FREDERICKSBURG, Va. — Like most signature victories, Benedictine's 43-12 win over St. Michael's in this year's VISAA Division One state title game was rooted in a bitter loss.
Two years ago, the Cadets lost this game 35-0 to their rivals from Trinity Episcopal. That loss changed a few things in Greg Lilly's program.
"We had to recalibrate a little bit" Lilly explained. "A lot of this year's seniors worked their butts off for two years to make sure that happened."
And it culminated on the field at Riverbend High School where this year's title game was played. Benedictine spotted St. Michael's a 6-3 first-half lead, then scored the next 40 points in the game, the key being a 27-second span just before halftime where the Cadets blew the game open.
It started with a Carson Lambert pass that Sam Faniel took down inside the 5. That led to a Ryker Cook (21 carries, 65 yards, 2 TDs) 1-yard touchdown plunge.
On the next Warriors' possession, Landon Snyder picked off a pass and returned it inside the St. Michael's red zone. Lambert capitalized again with a 10-yard scoring pass to Owen Smith that gave the Cadets a 20-6 lead at halftime.
"We made the most of that turnover," Lilly said. "We got up a couple of scores and that's when we were able to tempo them a little bit."
Highlights from Benedictine's 43-12 win over St. Michael's that earns @cadetsports1 their second straight @GO_VISAA Division 1 state title and the 7th in program history@bcprva @CBS6 pic.twitter.com/hB3ppggS6g
— Lane Casadonte (@LaneCtvsports) November 17, 2024
The Cadets (9-4) stopped the Warriors on their first possession of the second half, then went back to work on offense. Jo Jo Johnson (5 catches, 51 yards) ran 25 yards for a score, then Ayron Norton came up with a big sack on defense which forced a fumble. That led to Cook's second touchdown of the game.
Lambert completed 13 of 21 passes for 171 yards and a touchdown and also had a 33 yard TD run in the second half.
St. Michael's beat Benedictine 41-32 back on August 31st. The second meeting was much different because both teams were different.
"We were both worse," Lilly said of the season's first meeting. "We weren't as good as we are now, and I'm talking about both teams. Knowing how physical they were, knowing how good their quarterback play was, knowing how good their skill kids were, I think that helped us prepare during the week."
The title is the 5th for Lilly as Cadets head coach and the 7th overall for the program.
Stats courtesy Gary Hess/AM 910 The Fan
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