By RayJaun Stelly, The Seattle Medium
The Renton city rivals, the 6U Benson Bruins and the Renton Rangers, found themselves matched up against each other for the first time this season. Playing at Renton Memorial for week two of the Northwest Junior Premier League, both teams were looking to add a win to their records.
The Rangers opened their season with a bye in week one, while the Bruins found themselves in a tight-knit season opener against Five Star. Despite losing 13-12 in week one, Benson showed how impressive their rushing attack is, with Knowledge Morgan scoring both of their touchdowns against Five Star. Now, coming into this matchup with a 0-1 record, the Bruins were on the hunt to earn their first win of the season against Renton.
Despite last week’s loss, Benson’s offense was operating like a well-oiled machine, which can be directly attributed to their offensive line. Not only did the line do a great job blocking throughout the game, but they also controlled the line of scrimmage and the pace of the game. The group consistently opened up holes for running backs to excel and get downfield at will and, more importantly, helped protect their quarterback.
Alongside the firm line, the blocking downfield was impeccable for Benson as their running backs made headway once they got in full stride for positive yardage. Fans and coaches could see the efforts of the players as they held their blocks regardless of where they were on the field.
Despite not playing in the opening week, Renton looked to knock the rust off. Even with just nine players on their current roster, the Rangers’ offense managed to find success in spurts against Benson’s defense. The Rangers’ ability to evade defenders, gain positive yardage each possession, and provide significant blocking helped them post 20 points in their season debut.
Renton’s Adriel Sanchez, who earned player of the game for the Rangers, led the way offensively using his speed to score two of the Rangers’ three touchdowns, while teammate Zion Lowe scored a touchdown of his own.
On the defensive end, Renton displayed spurts of what their defense can be as the season goes on, making fundamental tackles to stop big yardage plays downfield, getting tackles for losses on some possessions, and, more importantly, playing extremely hard on each snap, which all coaches appreciate. But their Head Coach, Davonte White, acknowledges that there is more work to be put in.
“I feel like the boys did an excellent job against the Benson Bruins. It was a good game, but I cannot wait until this upcoming weekend to get a win,” said White. “In practice this week, we’re going to be working on tackling and blocking. The key is tackling and blocking for us. We have a scrimmage against Benson to help us out and get us prepared. I’m appreciative of the Benson coaches for helping us out with that.”
Although the Benson defense gave up a season-high 20 points, they put up a season-high 46 points offensively, credited to Knowledge Morgan leading the charge in week two. Morgan found his way to the end zone for three touchdowns, while Jaylen Mitchell and Maxwell Kis-Young added touchdowns of their own.
Benson’s high-powered offense helped them get over the hump to secure a 46-20 win against Renton, earning their first win of the season and making their record now 1-1. They’ll face the CD Panthers next week at Renton Memorial, and the Rangers will look to earn their first win against Heir 5U on the road at Chief Leschi.
