Benton rules the trenches, trips Marion

VAN HORNE — Neither fumbles nor flags could deny Benton Community.

Tougher in the trenches all night, the Bobcats finally took the lead early in the fourth quarter and edged Marion, 17-14, in a non-district football game Friday night at Bobcat Stadium.

'There's not a lot of rocket science behind it: We played hard for four quarters,' Benton Coach Kal Goodchild said. 'Maybe we don't pass the eyeball test, but boy, these kids play hard.'

Benton (2-0) owned the line of scrimmage throughout, enjoying a 304-105 advantage in yardage. But a couple of first-half fumbles led to 14 first-half points for the Indians (1-1).

'I made two dumb mistakes. Terrible mistakes,' said Benton quarterback Spencer Touro, who rallied to complete 14 of 16 throws for 203 yards. 'I'm hard on myself, but I know how to fix it. And my teammates ... they're the toughest guys in the state.'

The Bobcats finally took their first lead on Matthew Davis' 13-yard touchdown run with 11:34 left in the game. And the defense made it stick.

'Last year, they really beat us,' said Benton lineman Derek Hammes. 'We were fully prepared tonight. And our line worked its butt off every single play.'

Goodchild considers this a throwback kind of team.

'Things have changed for a lot of teams, but we still do what we have to do, and the kids accept old-school coaching,' he said.

Marion's first three first downs of the second half came via personal-foul penalties on the Bobcats. But as it did with the penalties, Benton overcame.

The Indians turned it over on downs at the Benton 30 with 4:14 to go. Then the Bobcats corralled quarterback Trevor Paulsen for a sack and strip to clinch it with 1:07 left.

Marion turned two first-half takeaways into touchdowns — one directly, one indirectly — and took a 14-10 lead into intermission despite a 202-59 yardage disadvantage.

Touro fumbled it away on the second play from scrimmage, then the Indians marched 35 yards in four plays. Paulsen connected with Grant Meth for a 10-yard touchdown to get the guests on the board.

The Bobcats tied it at 7-7 on its next drive on Davis' 3-yard TD run, and were threatening for the lead before Alex Whalen stripped Touro and returned the fumble 70 yards for a score.

Vance Bartelt's 28-yard field goal made it 14-10, and that's how it stood at halftime.

Benton is at Cedar Rapids Xavier its Class 3A District 3 opener next week. Marion is at DeWitt Central in 3A District 4.

l Comments: (319) 368-8857; jeff.linder@thegazette.com