The Benson Bruins 12U team, nationally ranked and undefeated with a 6-0 record, continued their perfect season with a dominant 46-6 victory over Gridiron. Entering the game at 4-1, Gridiron was battling for a playoff spot in the Northwest Premier Junior Football league’s 12U division, making this a critical matchup. Despite a slow start, the Bruins pulled away in the second half to secure the win.
From the opening play, the Bruins set the tone. Benson’s defense immediately forced and recovered a fumble at Gridiron’s 20-yard line. Quarterback CJ “Mr. 100” Vala followed with a 13-yard run, setting up Kaiden “Agent 44” Peterson-Leonardo’s 2-yard touchdown after a penalty moved the ball to the 2-yard line. With Vala converting the extra point, the Bruins took an early 7-0 lead just 8:25 into the first quarter.
Benson’s defense, anchored by Makoa “Big Weapon” Titialii, held strong on Gridiron’s first drive, stopping them on fourth down. The Bruins offense quickly went back to work, with key runs from MJ Barber and Vala, followed by a 16-yard sprint from Landon Bartlett down to the 1-yard line. The drive was capped off as Peterson-Leonardo scored his second touchdown of the day, but a failed extra point attempt kept the score at 13-0 with 1:54 remaining in the first quarter. Gridiron caught a break toward the end of the quarter when a personal foul on Benson advanced the ball to the Bruins’ 39-yard line.
Gridiron capitalized on this momentum early in the second quarter, finding the end zone on a 10-yard touchdown pass. Although their extra point attempt failed, they had closed the gap to 13-6. Gridiron’s defense then stepped up, intercepting a pass and returning it to Benson’s 45-yard line. However, Benson’s defense responded with a sack by Leonidas Vaofusi and MJ Barber, followed by a tackle for loss from Barber, and then an interception by Terrance Tran to regain possession for the Bruins.
With only 18 seconds left in the half and facing long yardage, Vala connected with Peterson-Leonardo on a 19-yard pass to the Benson 45. On the very next play, Vala threw a backwards pass to Alexander Richards, who unleashed a 55-yard touchdown pass to Peterson-Leonardo as time expired, giving Benson a 19-6 halftime lead after a missed extra point.
In the second half, the Bruins came out firing on all cylinders. Peterson-Leonardo scored again on an 11-yard run, extending Benson’s lead to 25-6. The defense continued their stellar play, as Makoa Titialii intercepted a Gridiron pass and returned it 55 yards for a touchdown, further extending the Bruins’ advantage to 32-6 after a successful extra point conversion by Heathcliff Love to Selassie “Saucy” Trahan-Castillo. Gridiron’s struggles continued when a bad snap sailed over their quarterback’s head, leading to a safety and making the score 34-6.
Benson’s offense capitalized on their next drive, with Henry “King Henry” Kwao breaking free for a 32-yard touchdown run, increasing the lead to 40-6. The Bruins ended the third quarter in control after recovering a fumble at the Gridiron 46-yard line.
In the final quarter, with the game firmly in hand and a running clock, Benson methodically marched down the field. Sean Novillo Jr. broke off a 14-yard run to the 40-yard line, and Love connected on short passes to Aaiden Brown and Sincere Butler, moving the ball to the 1-yard line. Love then scored on a quarterback sneak, capping off the Bruins’ scoring at 46-6. Benson’s defense finished the job, stopping Gridiron on their last drive to close out the game.
Kaiden “Agent 44” Peterson-Leonardo was the star of the day, finishing with four touchdowns—three rushing and one through the air. CJ Vala and Alexander Richards combined for a 55-yard touchdown pass, and Makoa Titialii’s interception return for a touchdown was another highlight in a dominant team performance.
After the game, Benson Bruins 12U Head Coach Chris Vala spoke highly of Gridiron’s effort.
“They’re a good team, they’re great. They seem like they’re very well-coached and they’re very feisty. They were very aggressive. They attacked well. It was a great effort by them, great defensive play. They even scored on us, which is very hard to do, so yeah, man, they woke us up that first half.”
Vala also reflected on his team’s performance, noting their slow start.
“We had a slow start. I felt they [Gridiron] had the intensity to begin with. We usually start off fast. I think they kind of started with their foot off the pedal, thinking it was going to be a breeze. But that’s good, it was another form of adversity for them [our team] to wake up as we prepare for the postseason. So it’s what we needed. When you get hit in the mouth, it wakes you back up.”
“In the second half, we had to give our team that pep talk, and then you see what happened. We just took off,” Vala added.
With the win, the Benson Bruins improved to 7-0, maintaining their perfect season and heading into the playoffs as the top contender in the league. Gridiron, now 4-2, will look to regroup in their push for the final playoff spot.
