Bucktail can’t solve Lourdes

COAL TOWNSHIP - Patrick Bendas was switched from the defensive line to outside linebacker to take advantage of his ability to rush the quarterback.

On Friday night Bucktail signal-caller P.J. Paloskey must have thought the Lourdes' senior was part of the visitors' offensive backfield.

Bendas registered a game-high 15 tackles and collected five sacks while blocking a punt and recovering a fumble in helping the Red Raiders down the Bucks, 28-6, in All-American Conference football action to cap off a victorious Homecoming matchup at Leo A. Mulhall Stadium.

"Our defense has been getting better each week and tonight Bendas just happened to shine a bit more than the rest of his teammates," Lourdes head coach Mike Klembara said. "He has made a successful transition from playing in the line to linebacker and is only going to improve as the year goes on.

"He had a great first half and along with the rest of the defense helped keep a very good Bucktail offense in check."

Bendas provided the Red Raiders with excellent field position when he recovered a fumble at the Bucks' 29. Michael Bastian, who collected 93 yards rushing in the win, raced 13 yards around left end to the 16 and Matt Bendas broke a pair of tackles for a seven-yard gain to the nine. Three plays later, Bastian ended the drive with a one-yard run to paydirt for a 6-0 lead. Bendas kicked the first of four PAT extra points for a 7-0 advantage with 6:45 remaining in the period.

In the early minutes of the second quarter, Bendas again provided the home team with a solid chance to score when he blocked a punt and recovered the ball at the visitors' 22.

Freshman quarterback Jacob Kleman combined with Chad Varano to steal the offensive highlights the rest of the game with the first of three touchdown passes to the senior wide receiver with a 12-yard toss at the 8:27 mark for a 14-0 edge.

Matt Gilger came up with the next big defensive play for the Red Raiders (3-3, 1-1) when he came up with the first of two pass interceptions to stop another Bucktail drive while returning the ball 24 yards to the 19.

Kleman connected with Varano on the very first play following the interception for a 19-yard TD that helped the Red Raiders take a 21-0 bulge into halftime.

"We didn't help ourselves having our starting fullback-linebacker go down in the first quarter," Bucks head coach Bruce Ransom said. "However, Lourdes just did a great job defensively of containing our quarterback in the first half and we kept shooting ourselves in the foot with penalties after big gains and they took advantage of our mistakes."

Bucktail finally got on the scoreboard on its initial offensive series of the second half as Paloskey rushed five times for 15 yards and Derek Tripp added eight on two rushes to move the pigskin down to the Red Raiders' 21 before hitting Mike Bingaman with a 21-yard TD strike to cut the deficit to 21-6.

However, Bryan Komara, Dylan Lawrence and Jacob Lyash combined to get a big rush on Paloskey's two-point conversion pass that went sailing out of bounds.

Lourdes answered right back as Bastian returned the ensung kickoff 29 yards to the 47. He carried twice for 13 yards before Varano caught a 14-yard pass for a first down to the 29.

Bastian followed with a 15-yard gain on a screen pass and a late hit by the defense moved the ball to the 19 where on the next play Kleman found Varano again for another 19-yard TD catch to cap the scoring in the contest.

"Our defense deserves so much credit for putting us in position to grab the lead early," Klembara said. "The offense did its job and we had a nice balance of pass and run tonight."

Varano finished the night with four catches for 64 yards and three touchdowns and Kleman had six completions for 74 yards and three TDs. Lourdes returns to play Saturday on the road against Carson Long.

LOURDES REGIONAL 28, BUCKTAIL 6

B 0 0 6 0 - 6

L 7 14 7 0 - 28

Scoring Summary

First Quarter

LR - Mike Bastian 1 run (Pat Bendas PAT kick) 7-0

Second Quarter

LR - Chad Varano 12 pass from Jacob Kleman (Bendas PAT kick) 14-0

LR - Varano 19 pass from Kleman (Bendas PAT kick) 21-0

Third Quarter

B - Mike Bingaman 21 pass from P.J. Paloskey (pass failed) 21-6

LR- Varano 19 pass from Kleman (Bendas PAT kick) 28-6

Team Statistics

B LR

First downs 20 14

Rushes-yards 42-88 35-110

Passes (Att.-Comp.-Int.) 9-24-4 7-14-0

Passing yardage 118 85

Fumbles-lost 1-1 3-0

Penalties (No.-Yds.) 15-151 8-85

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

Rushing: Bucktail - P.J. Paloskey, 20-32, Shane Casper, 4-25, Mike Bingaman, 1-3, A.J. Morgan, 2-3, Jake Risley, 3-5, Derek Tripp, 11-40, Team, 1-(-23). Lourdes - Jacob Kleman, 3-(-10), Michael Bastian, 16-93, Joe Gownley, 2-0, Zack Chesney, 2-4, Matt Bendas, 8-15, Matt Gilger, 1-(-1), Martin Williams, 1-3, Dylan Lawrence, 2-6.

Passing: Bucktail - Paloskey, 7-18-3-83; Morgan, 2-6-1-35. Lourdes - Kleman, 6-12-0-74, Gownley, 1-1-0-14, Bastian, 0-1-0-0.

Receiving: Bucktail - Taylor Hyser, 1-1, Steve Fantaski, 2-46, Risley, 1-2, Pat Smith, 1-23, Bingaman, 2-31, Josh Cowfer, 2-15. Lourdes - Chad Varano, 4-64, Gilger, 1-(-5), Steven Kenney, 1-11, Bastian, 1-15.