MILWAUKEE, WI - The Benedictine University football team set more records in a wild 51-49 back-and-forth season ending win at Wisconsin Lutheran filled with big plays.
Starting at the 10-yardline on their first possession, Benedictine marched 90 yards on six plays to open the scoring. Sami Ayash caught a 54-yard pass as part of the drive, which was finished on a nine-yard run by Gregory Hoard with 10:31 left in the opening quarter. Wisconsin Lutheran countered to tie the score and opened a 14-7 edge by finishing a 79-yard drive early in the second.
Anthony Senerchia caught a 40-yard pass during a 10-play drive as Benedictine pulled within 14-10 on a 32-yard field goal from Tanner Mateus. The hosts jumped ahead by double figures with a counter punch of a 65-yard drive to take a 21-10 lead with just over five minutes left in the third. Tyler Jarnagin completed four passes and scooted for a 15-yard rush to help Benedictine draw within 21-17 on a seven-yard touchdown pass to Ryan Weninger just before halftime.
Receiving the ball to open the second half, Jarnagin broke free for a 58-yard run before hitting Deandre Holliday on an eight-yard touchdown to give Benedictine a 24-21 lead less than two minutes into the second. The advantage reached 10 points at 31-21 after forcing a three-and-out. Senerchia caught a 15-yard pass and Holliday a 49-yard strike. Senerchia found paydirt with a five-yard reception with 9:58 remaining in the third.
Needing just over three minutes to counter, Wisconsin Lutheran pulled within 31-28 and drove 86 yards to take the lead again at 35-31 early in the fourth. Utilizing the ground game, Benedictine answered with a seven-play drive to go ahead 38-35. Jarnagin ran for 39 yards in the drive and Hoard scored on a 12-yard run with 12:22 left. The hosts countered again, needing just five plays to score and take a 42-38 lead with 9:43 to go.
Benedictine did not face a third down in moving 80 yards on nine plays to lead 45-42 when Senerchia snared his second touchdown of the day from six yards out with 5:48 remaining, setting up a frantic finish. Wisconsin Lutheran took the lead with just 1:22 left following a 10-play drive. Benedictine needed just 30 seconds to take the lead on three plays. Hakeem Hartford caught a 26-yard pass and Holliday a 28-yard touchdown as Benedictine led 51-49.
Tommy O'Malley intercepted a pass to seemingly end the game, but Wisconsin Lutheran used all three timeouts while forcing a three-and-out to have one more chance. The hosts completed three passes but ran out of time at the 42-yardline.
Jarnagin broke the single game record for passing yards that he set last week, totaling 508 yards on 33 completions to seven different receivers to go with five touchdowns. The totals helped Jarnagin, who leads the nation in passing yards, set single season records for passing yards and passing touchdowns. The senior threw for 1,009 yards in the final two games of the year. The 508 yards are the third most in a game by anyone in Division III this season. Jarnagin also ran for 132 yards on 12 carries. With 640 total yards, Jarnagin logged the most in a single game in Division III this season and set a conference record. Jarnagin finished the year with 3,625 yards to break the conference record set in 2019. Jarnagin also set single season school records for pass attempts and completions.
Holliday surpassed 200 yards receiving in a second consecutive contest, catching 11 passes for 238 yards and two touchdowns. Holliday finished just shy of the single season records for receptions and yards and totaled 519 receiving yards in the final two games. Ayash caught seven passes for 97 yards.
Benedictine piled up 733 yards of offense with 225 on the ground and 508 through the air. O'Malley recorded a pair of interceptions. Tyler Walker led the defense with eight tackles.
Benedictine closed the year with an 8-2 record and a 7-1 mark in conference play.
Benedictine Shatters Records in Season Wnding Win
/seasons/2021/boxscores/20211113_ontf.xml
2021
Benedictine
51
Wisconsin Lutheran
49
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | T |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Benedictine (8-2) | 7 | 10 | 14 | 20 | 51 |
| Wisconsin Lutheran (3-7) | 7 | 14 | 7 | 21 | 49 |
Nov 13, 2021