Heir (9U) 13, Benson Bruins (9U) 12
Facing each other for the second straight week, Benson came into the matchup beating Heir 20-12 to improve their record to 7-1, and giving themselves the number two seed heading into playoffs.
Now with winning to advance or losing to go home, both teams, who’ve been able to score at will all season long, were in for a defensive battle. Heir and Benson’s defense held each other’s high-powered offenses scoreless in the first quarter.
The second quarter was filled with turnovers left and right. Heir’s defense would force a turnover on downs then recovered a backwards pass for a fumble. Bensons defense stood firm as well, forcing two turnovers on downs and recovering a fumble.
With two minutes left before halftime, Benson would break the scoring drought when CJ Ireland would run for an 80-yard touchdown giving the Bruins a 6-0 lead. On the very next offensive possession for Heir, Ireland would intercept a pass and returned it 40 yards for a touchdown, to give Benson a 12-0 halftime lead.
Benson would hold Heir scoreless until the two-minute mark of the third quarter, when David Boyce would score on a quarterback sneak to give Heir their first touchdown of the game. With the score, Heir trailed 12-6 to end the third quarter.
Heir’s defense would get another turnover on downs and capitalize, driving all the way down field to the two-yard line where Jaden Oloapu would run in for a touchdown to give them a 13-12 lead with three minutes left in the game.
Benson had one last chance to score, but Heir’s defense would force another turnover on downs. The game appeared to be over until Benson recorded their second strip fumble of the game to give them another chance on offense with one minute remaining.
However, the defense of Heir would stand firm and stop Benson to secure a 13-12 come-from-behind win to advance to the league championship game.
Benson Bruins (10U) 41, 253 Heir Black 0
Completing the regular season 8-0, the Benson Bruins 10U team has been dominant throughout this season only allowing one touchdown heading into the playoffs where they faced 253 Heir Black.
Benson started the game off with back-to-back touchdowns to give themselves a 14-0 lead heading into the second quarter. Defensively the Bruins held 253 Heir Black’s offense at a standstill forcing penalties, making tackles in the backfield and forcing bad snaps that made things difficult for 253 Heir Black.
With their defense establishing dominance, Benson’s offense flourished scoring 14 points in the second quarter to extend their lead to 28-0 at halftime.
Just like the first half Benson remained aggressive keeping 253 Heir out of the endzone.
The Bruins would score 14 second half points as they posted a shutout win over 253 Heir Black.
Benson’s Aiden Brown and Tatum Wilson both had receiving touchdowns on the day, while teammates David Dorsey (14-yard TD), CJ Vala (54-yard TD), and Lawrence Phillips (3-yard TD) all found their way to paydirt running the ball to help the Bruins secure their place in the championship game.
