Bennett Rushes Past Niagara Falls to Bolster Playoff Seeding

Bennett coach Steve McDuffie speaks highly of his running back tandem of D’Jae Perry and Justin Campbell. He believes they’re one of the best.

The backfield duo proved why their coach may be right on Friday night, as Perry and Campbell combined for over 200 yards and all three touchdowns in a 22-0 Bennett win over Niagara Falls at All High Stadium.

“I think we got the best one-two punch in Western New York, probably in the state,” McDuffie said. “They’re very tough … those guys share the ball, they block for each other, and the offensive line did a great job too. I’m really proud of those guys.”

Perry, who surpassed 1,000 rushing yards on the season late in the fourth quarter, got on the board first, as he capped off the Tigers’ opening drive with a two-yard rush to put them up 6-0.

Then, after an impressive punt return set the Bennett (4-3, 4-2) offense up deep in Niagara Falls territory, Campbell extended their advantage to 14-0 with a six-yard scamper on the first play of the second quarter.

“Me and D’Jae in the backfield – that’s a dangerous sight,” said Campbell, who scored the final Tiger touchdown late in the fourth quarter. “I love my boy. We both congratulate each other on good plays, bad plays. We got the best backfield in Western New York.”

While the rushing attack was strong all evening, the Tiger defense was just as dominant, as they held the Wolverines (4-3, 3-3) to under 50 total yards of offense and did not allow them to move the ball effectively whatsoever.

The Niagara Falls defense managed to force three Bennett turnovers, but their offensive struggles proved to be their downfall.

“In order to be successful, we have to control the line of scrimmage, and tonight we just couldn’t,” said Niagara Falls coach Donald Bass. “They were more physical than us up front so we couldn’t get it clicking at all.”

With playoffs looming next week, both the Tigers and Wolverines will be keeping a close eye on what transpires in Saturday afternoon’s Clarence vs. Hutch Tech clash.

With Niagara Falls locked in as the No. 6 seed, a Clarence win will vault Bennett into the No. 3 seed, resulting in a scenario where the Tigers and Wolverines will play one another once again just seven days after their initial matchup.

“I don’t know who we’re going to play, but I’m not looking forward to seeing that Niagara Falls team again next week,” McDuffie said. “That was a hell of a physical football game, both teams played really hard.”

“Well if that’s what it is, then we’ve got to reload,” Bass said on a potential rematch. “Now we know exactly what they bring and we’ve got to know exactly what we can bring. We have to match their intensity. We have to match their physicality. Tonight we just didn’t do that.”