View more pictures – photos by Garvas: https://photos.garvas.org/bengals2022
On Thursday night football and for the second week in a row, the Nordonia Knights football squad allowed the opposing team to open the scoring, but then came roaring back with 33 straight points to secure victory and close their regular season at 8-2. The Knights forced Benedictine into 5 turnovers and held the Bengals to 1 of 14 on third down conversions as the defense played a stellar all around game.
Nordonia started the game by throwing an interception on their second offensive play of the game, then followed that up with a fumble on the next drive that Benedictine would turn into the first points of the game on a 21 yard pass play. After their offense went 3-and-out to bring the first quarter to a close, Jeremy Olszko was able to recover a Bengals fumble at the start of the 2nd quarter, which the Knights were able to convert into a 20-yard field goal by Connell Rafferty. The Knights stalled the Bengals next drive near midfield with a sack by Tucker Rusk on Benedictine’s 4th down attempt. Nordonia again marched down the field for a 34-yard field goal by Rafferty. Benedictine fumbled the ensuing kickoff, and QB Joey Palinkas found the endzone on the first play from scrimmage when he hit WR Devin Tufts for an 18-yard catch and run. Tufts would end the game with 105 yards receiving on 7 catches. Benedictine responded with a strong drive of their own, but the Nordonia defense was up to the task and picked off QB Lucas Kaltenbach deep in their own territory when Israel Petite snagged the errant pass.
Nordonia again came out of the locker room looking strong, as they moved well into Bengals territory before Palinkas missed a 43-yard field goal attempt. The defense would get on the scoreboard when, on Benedictine’s ensuing series, Brenden Hermensky would intercept a pass and race 55-yards for a defensive touchdown to put the Knights up 20-6 halfway through the 3rd quarter. The teams would go back-and-forth trading punts before Rafferty would nail his 3rd field goal of the game from 28 yards out.
The 4th quarter would start by seeing Benedictine drive just inside of midfield before turning the ball over again on another unsuccessful 4th down try. Rafferty was again up to the task, as he added 3 points to the Knights score from the 25 yard-line to make the score 26-6. Hermensky would add his second pick-six of the evening when he stole a Bengals pass on the first play of the next drive and raced 30 yards for the defensive score, putting the game out of reach at 33-6 with less than 8 minutes to go in the 4th quarter. Rafferty would add the extra point, and the junior kicker would end the evening with 4 field goals and 3 successful extra point attempts for a 15-point night. Nordoina would allow Benedictine to add a pair of late 4th quarter touchdowns that would bring the final score to 33-19.
Gino Perrine led the way for the Knights rushing attack as he racked up 26 yards on 9 carries. In addition to his two interceptions, Hermensky rushed 4 times for 23 yards and added 2.5 tackles. Olszko and Petite each ended the night with 4.5 tackles. Palinkas finished the evening having gone 16 of 28 for 236 yards with a touchdown and one interception.
The Knights will begin their quest through the OSHAA playoffs Friday night when they host the Garfield Heights Bulldogs (7-3) on Friday night at 7:00. Garfield Heights is coming off of a 22-20 win against Madison Friday night.
