Benton Community rolls to 41-13 victory over Marion in a Week 2 high school football game

MARION — Benton Community football is big boy football.

The Bobcats prefer that hard-nosed style of play.

“We’re physical,” Benton senior offensive lineman Carter Holmes said. “We’re tough. We’ll get at you and we’ll just go.”

Away they went against Marion. The Bobcats ran roughshod, amassing 342 rushing yards in a 41-13 victory in a non-district high school football game Friday night at Marion Stadium. Brenden Heying rushed for 165 yards on 18 carries and Dylan LeFebvere added 151 on 18 attempts for Benton, combining for four touchdown runs.

“Our strength is up front,” Benton co-head coach Jeff Zittergruen said. “We have a lot of seniors up there that have played a couple years. They do a good job displacing the line of scrimmage. I think you saw that tonight.

“Having Brenden Heying and Dylan LeFebvere in the backfield, we definitely have a lot of physicality back there the way they run the ball.”

Heying and LeFebvere were able to gobble yards in chunks. They produced 14 rushes of double-digit gains. Most were between or just off tackle. Perfect for two downhill runners.

“They were holding their blocks and getting to their assignments,” Heying said. “Dylan and I were hitting the hole hard and kept running our feet.”

Benton (2-0) built a 20-0 lead in the first half. The Bobcats established the run early, going 68 yards on 10 plays and burning 4:56 off the clock. Heying scored on a 17-yard TD to cap their first possession.

“We like running the ball,” Heying said. “If we can do that, it opens up other things in our game.”

Success on the ground yielded passing opportunities two possessions later. A 22-yard LeFebvere jaunt reached the Marion 34. On the next play, Heying connected with a wide-open Dawson Rozek down the seam on a play-action pass for a touchdown and 17-0 lead with 9:35 left in the second quarter.

“We had it in practice,” Heying said. “We identified it. The free safety comes down because they have to stop the run somehow. It just opens up the pass game.”

Kicker Elijah Kupka played a big role in the first-half advantage. He connected on field goals from 22 and 31 yards, making it a three-score game with 5:31 before the break. His foot is a key asset.

“It was a huge confidence boost for him to see those two go in,” Zittergruen said. “He has had a good start to the year and hopefully he keeps that confidence going.”

The Bobcats returned to the ground-and-pound attack in the second half. They went 65 yards on seven rushes on the opening drive of the third. LeFebvere scored on a 7-yard run. He added a 2-yard score in the fourth, closing the scoring with 2:09 remaining.

Heying scored on a QB sneak from the 1 in the third. He finished with 89 passing yards, stepping in at quarterback for Carson Nolan, who missed the game due to an injury suffered in Week 1.

The offensive line, which includes two returning starts, takes a little pride in the production.

“It means we’re doing our job,” Holmes said. “We’re working. We’re doing things right.

“It’s all about getting the running back the ball and running up the middle.”

Kaleb Diers rushed for 102 yards and a TD for Marion (0-2). He also passed for 71 yards, hitting Matthew Danninger for an 8-yard score with 22 seconds before halftime to make it 20-6 at the break.

Benton Community 41, Marion 13

AT MARION STADIUM

BC MAR

First Downs 20 13

Rushes-yards 42-342 35-154

Passing yards 89 71

Comp-att-int 3-7-0 12-26-0

Total yards 431 225

Fumbles-lost 2-0 2-0

Punts-avg. 0-0 4-28.8

Penalties-yards 3-15 0-0

Benton Community 7 13 14 7 -- 41

Marion 0 6 7 0 -- 13

BC– Brenden Heying 17 run (Elijah Kupka kick)

BC – FG Kupka 22

BC – Dawson Rozek 34 pass from Heying (Kupka kick)

BC – FG Kupka 31

MAR – Matthew Danninger 8 pass from Kaleb Diers (kick failed)

BC – Dylan LeFebvere 7 run (Kupka kick)

MAR – Diers 1 run (Landon Tilkes kick)

BC – Heying 1 run (Kupka kick)

BC – LeFebvere 2 run (Kupka kick)

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING – Benton Community: Heying 18-165, LeFebvere 18-151, Logan Upah 3-27, Brody Timmerman 1-0, Team 2-(-1). Marion: Diers 20-102, Aden Nicholls 11-43, Creighton Wheeler 3-12, Danninger 1-(-3).

PASSING – Benton Community: Heying 3-7-0-89. Marion: Diers 12-26-0-71.

RECEIVING – Benton Community: Timmerman 2-55, Rozek 1-34. Marion: Aiden Baley 6-48, Danninger 3-17, Myles Gatrelle 1-8, Daegon Michaels 1-0, Nicholls 1-(-2).

Comments: kj.pilcher@thegazette.com