BC Fought Until the Final Play
Benedictine football coach Danny Britt was upset with the self-inflicted wounds that cost his Cadet squad dearly on Friday night in a 31-27 Region 1-4A loss to visiting Perry. But after he let those emotions out, he let his team know that he was proud of the fight it showed taking the Panthers, the defending Class 4A state champions, to the final whistle.
The biggest mistake came on a 4th and 1 at the Perry 25-yard line with about three minutes left when a Cadet player was injured and didn't go down on the field to allow for a substitution. Another player came on and BC was penalized five yards for having 12 men on the field.
On the next play, sophomore quarterback Omari Burse got rid of the ball under pressure, but Jack Ganem couldn't corral it. BC's defense stood strong with a three-and-out, but the Cadets couldn't get anything going from their own 28 with less than a minute left.
Omari Burse, the sophomore quarterback, who got his first start last week. played well. He threw an interception on his second throw of the game, but then got into a rhythm. He was 12 of 25 passing for 254 yards with three touchdowns and two interceptions. The second pick was costly as Ashlon Ashley of Perry batted a ball up into the air and came down with it, before rumbling 60 yards for a score.
Omari Burse, the sophomore quarterback, who got his first start last week. played well. He threw an interception on his second throw of the game, but then got into a rhythm. He was 12 of 25 passing for 254 yards with three touchdowns and two interceptions. The second pick was costly as Ashlon Ashley of Perry batted a ball up into the air and came down with it, before rumbling 60 yards for a score.
"I thought Omari played well," Britt said. "He's just a sophomore and starting his second game — so mistakes are going to happen. But he settled in and made some big plays."
Burse had a 44-yard touchdown strike to Eron Mallard at the end of the first half and then hit a wide-open John Lilly with a 27-yard scoring pass on BC's first offensive play of the second half, cashing in on a big-fumble recovery and 30-yard return by defensive back Micah Williams on the play before.
With 1:58 left in the third quarter, Burse hit Stanley Smart Jr. on an out pattern, and the sophomore did the rest — slipping a pair of tackles en route to a 57-yard touchdown. The enthusiastic response on the Cadet sideline was short lived as Decorrion Daniels returned the ensuing kickoff about 90 yards back for a touchdown as Perry went up 31-27.
With 1:58 left in the third quarter, Burse hit Stanley Smart Jr. on an out pattern, and the sophomore did the rest — slipping a pair of tackles en route to a 57-yard touchdown. The enthusiastic response on the Cadet sideline was short lived as Decorrion Daniels returned the ensuing kickoff about 90 yards back for a touchdown as Perry went up 31-27.
"This was way different than last week," Burse said of facing Perry (7-2, 4-0 in region) as opposed to a winless Wayne County squad. "Perry was a lot more athletic and physical, and they are very well coached and disciplined. We didn't come out on top tonight, but we stayed together and never stopped fighting."
Ganem had three catches for 77 yards and ran for 34 yards on four carries. Bubba Frazier had 39 yards receiving and 36 yards rushing, while Smart ran for 46 yards on 11 carries in addition to his long touchdown catch.
The BC defense was strong all night holding the Panthers to 41 yards rushing and 209 yards of total offense. Third Scroggins was a force from the edge with a pair of sacks, and Isaiah Jones also had a sack and several big plays, while junior Wyatt Estabrook had an interception.
"They beat us, but I felt like we left it all on the field tonight," said Frazier, the highly-recruited junior. "We fought until the end, and I'm proud of how Omari (Burse) played. He's been working hard and he was a big reason we stayed in this game."
