Round 3 Game Review: Benton at Mt. Carmel
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A massive crowd attended The Snake Pit on Saturday afternoon in Mt. Carmel, Illinois. The atmosphere in the pit was electric; fans surrounded the entire field on both sides of the end zone. They’re playing some Tom Petty; the stands…
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Continue ReadingA massive crowd attended The Snake Pit on Saturday afternoon in Mt. Carmel, Illinois. The atmosphere in the pit was electric; fans surrounded the entire field on both sides of the end zone. They’re playing some Tom Petty; the stands are packed on both sides. Mount Carmel home side seating is epic with vertical seating straight up the hillside, fully packed and loud ready for a crisp 38° playoff game in November.
Benton vs. Mt. Carmel Game
Mt. Carmel won the toss elected to defer.
The game opened up in a defensive battle where both teams punted back and forth, then Benton mounted a drive late in the 1st quarter scoring on a 14 yard TD pass from Keegan Glover Keegan Glover 6'0" | 170 lbs | QB Benton | 2022 State IL to 2023 WR Isaiah Ward with 2:48 left in the 1st the score, 7-0. Benton scored on end with their fans, and the pop they had was something else when they scored.
End of 1st 7-0 Benton
Blayne Sisson Blayne Sisson 6'2" | 190 lbs | DB Mt. Carmel | 2024 State IL tosses a half back screen pass to Zeke Hadra Zeke Hadra 5'10" | 175 lbs | RB Mt. Carmel | 2022 State IL for 9 yard touchdown with 9:19 left in the second making the score, 7-6 Benton
After a solid defensive stop from the Golden Aces mounted an impressive drive top off with a Blayne Sisson Blayne Sisson 6'2" | 190 lbs | DB Mt. Carmel | 2024 State IL 8yd TD run with 3:05 left in the 2nd making the score 14-7.
The Rangers put their 2-minute offense to work, moving down the field quickly and efficiently. Keegan Glover Keegan Glover 6'0" | 170 lbs | QB Benton | 2022 State IL makes an exceptional pass to the corner pie line to Reid Bamgarte, who makes a toe-tapping catch for a 14 yard TD pass with 48 seconds on the half, making the score 14-14.
The first half of this game was a dog fight, and nothing was given up lightly; every yard was hard-earned, and these student-athletes were giving it their all.
Tied at Half 14-14
The Golden Aces opened up the half with the ball. Blayne Sission put together a long drive that ended on Benton’s 29 yd line with a missed 4th down conversion with 7:38 left in the 3rd.
The Rangers didn’t get anything started on the ensuing drive.
With 6:30 left in the 3rd, Blayne Sisson Blayne Sisson 6'2" | 190 lbs | DB Mt. Carmel | 2024 State IL scores on a QB sneak for the TD making the score 20-14 Mt. Carmel.
Defense leads the way for the remainder of the quarter with no more scores.
20-14 Golden Aces End of 3rd
With 6:00 left in the 4th, Keegan Glover Keegan Glover 6'0" | 170 lbs | QB Benton | 2022 State IL and the Rangers mounted a long drive to the five yd line where Mt. Carmel was fortunate to get a couple of simple mistake penalties, and critical dropped pass in the endzone that backed them up and forced a field goal attempt that went wide right.
The Golden Aces took advantage of the momentum swing, mounting a 74-yard drive leading to a Blayne Sisson Blayne Sisson 6'2" | 190 lbs | DB Mt. Carmel | 2024 State IL 11 yd TD run with 3:00 to go making the score 28-14.
2022 DL Eli Swanson made big plays on the defensive line through the game and finished it with safety to seal to end any hopes of a comeback officially.
Final Mt. Carmel 30 Benton 14
2022 WR Zach Allen Zach Allen 6'2" | 170 lbs | WR Mt Carmel | 2022 State IL Mt.Carmel i s a talented player that made his presence known throughout the game making big plays to keep drives alive. 2022 OL/DL Luke Laws was all as expected and more with his drive blocking and rentless rush when on defense.
The score does tell the story of this game. It was a brawl from start to finish without any let up on either side. The closing of the Benton Ranger season and Mt. Carmel Golden Aces move on to the final four teams in the 3A IHSA playoffs to face #1 seed Tolono (Unity) 12-0.