Bennett topples Lancaster, 48-31
AMHERST — Bennett High football has been a lightning rod for criticism in recent times. But one thing you can say about Steve McDuffie’s team: They know how to show up when the pressure is on and the spotlight is at its brightest.
The Tigers were an underdog against Class AA top seed Lancaster, which had beaten them by 17 points earlier in the season. But after falling behind by 10 points in the second quarter, Bennett put on a stunning offensive display and rolled to a 48-31 victory and a Section VI title at UB’s Broadview Stadium
Senior running back Dontre Hampton rushed for 304 yards on 30 carries for Bennett. The Tigers scored 28 unanswered points from the end of the second quarter through the middle of the fourth and rolled up 494 yards of total offense to capture their second straight sectional championship and fifth in six years.
The Tigers (8-3) will face the winner of tomorrow’s Section V final between Rush-Henrietta and Pittsford in the AA Far West Regional at 7 p.m. next Saturday. Lancaster isn't done. The Legends get to play as the wild card in the regionals because it's Section VI's turn to get an extra team in AA.
Hampton, who went over 2,000 yards for the season, scored four touchdowns, three in the second half. The last was the most dynamic, a 96-yard jaunt after the Tigers stopped the Legends on four straight runs inside their own 2-yard line.
Adriaon ‘AD’ Little, Bennett’s 6-foot-4 freshman quarterback, had a coming-of-age performance in the biggest game of his career. Little completed 11 of 22 passes for 135 yards and calmly engineered the go-ahead touchdown drive for the Tigers at the end of the first half.
The last sectional game of the week at UB turned into the most entertaining, as the Legends and Tigers combined for five touchdowns in a wild second quarter.
With Lancaster leading, 10-6, just 58 seconds into the second, quarterback Everett Fix delivered a perfect bomb down the left side, just before he got hammered in the pocket. Aidan Banks hauled it in over his shoulder and pulled away for a 71-yard touchdown catch that made it 16-6, Legends.
Bennett quickly answered, getting a 19-yard TD run from Hampton, who raced into the end zone untouched on a well-designed inside handoff. Little scampered in for the two-pointer, cutting the deficit to 16-14.
After forcing a punt, the Tigers got back to work. Little found Tyzjon Johnson on a big third-and-21. A few plays later, Hampton broke off a 36-yard run. Then Little stepped up in the pocket and delivered a 29-yard strike to Mahkai Morrison in the back of the end zone to give Bennett a 20-16 lead.
It lasted about eight seconds. Banks (who also kicked a field goal) bobbled a short kickoff at his own 30, recovered and raced 70 yards for a touchdown that lifted Lancaster back into a 23-20 lead after the extra point kick. Catch your breath, the scoring wasn’t finished yet.
Little, who completed only 44.7 percent of his passes for 9 touchdowns and 10 interceptions during the season, played like a veteran against a Lancaster team that had allowed just 34 points in its previous five games and shut down Jamestown, 32-7, in the sectional semifinal.
The freshman marched Bennett down the field in the last two minutes of the half, completing four straight passes as the clock wound down. With 13 seconds left, Little threw back across the field to Johnson, who hurdled into the end zone for a 16-yard TD that made it 26-23, Bennett, at the half.
As it turned out, the Tigers were just getting started.
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