PALM BEACH GARDENS – Four weeks ago, Benjamin suffered a very close 17-14 road loss to Cardinal Newman.
The result of Benjamin’s Week 9 defeat on the night of Friday, Oct. 20 resulted in two things:
- Benjamin ended up as the District 5-1M runner-up to Cardinal Newman
- Benjamin would have to go back on the road in the Class 1M-Region 3 semifinal round at Cardinal Newman
These facts alone have Benjamin (8-2; No. 3-ranked team in Palm Beach County) supremely focused on the mission right ahead.
“Cardinal Newman is a very well-coached team with a lot of talented players,” Benjamin junior quarterback Jayden Vega said. “Unfortunately that night they executed on a few more plays than we did. I like our game plan going into our rematch. It will be a great game.”
Benjamin junior athlete Jeron Atwater Jr. chimed in.
“The atmosphere was crazy high,” Atwater Jr. said. “I believe we really lost the first game ourselves and not get beat. Not taking anything away from them, but we will correct that tonight. We can’t come in focused on the last game because it’s over. The game is now win or go home for us.”
A key determining factor for tonight’s Benjamin-Cardinal Newman playoff tilt will be how senior running back, Georgia hard verbal commit, and U.S. Army All-American Chauncey Bowens fares on the gridiron.
In last month’s District 5-1M title game, Bowens was limited to just 14 carries for 21 yards on the ground and a 24-yard reception from Vega.
How will be different this time?
“Chauncey is a difference maker,” Vega said. “There’s a reason why he’s considered one of the best running backs in country. He’s big and strong, and he has great hands out of the backfield. We need to find a way to get him loose tonight.”
The Bowens factor will have a lot to do with how the offensive line performs as a unit, just like it has been in past games – regardless of the outcome.
“We need to be more physical than them on both sides of the ball,” said Benjamin junior offensive lineman Gage Wallace, who is making a reference to the trenches both ways.
“We have to use our technique that Coach Trent on OL and Coach V on DL have been working on all year long,” Wallace continued. “We need to create holes to oget Chauncey and Phoenix [Donghia] to the second level and give a good pocket for Jayden to make his reads when we are passing. On defense, we just need to disrupt their timing because they are fast. We need to slow them down and make things difficult for them.”
Benjamin’s passing game will be a determining factor as well.
In Week 11, Vega had five touchdown passes as lead Benjamin to a convincing 48-14 home win over King’s Academy. As a result of this effort, Vega was voted as our Offensive Player of Week 11.
“We had a really good plan heading into that week,” Vega said. “King’s brought a lot of guys in the box, leaving some of our receivers 1-on-1. We capitalized on our matchups and I was able to connect with our playmakers. We had four different receivers catch touchdown passes that game. Amaree [Williams] had two of them.”
What cannot go unnoticed is the schedule strength that could work in Benjamin’s favor.
Earlier in the regular season, Benjamin pulled off a hard-fought 27-21 win over previously state-ranked Clearwater Academy International, which was rated by MaxPreps as the state’s No. 11 overall team prior to the Week 3 tilt.
“We knew going into that game it was going to be a difficult test,” Vega said. “We played really well as a team and I made a few plays at crucial points, which assisted my team in that win.”
Most importantly, team chemistry can and will be the deciding factor in tonight’s win-or-go-home situation.
“I think this season has gone really well,” Vega said. “We went from 5-5 last year to 8-2. We are really close as a team, and I think we are getting better every week.”
Atwater can attest to this from both a personal and team standpoint.
“My first season has been going good,” said Atwater Jr., who transferred to Benjamin this past season with Vega and Wallace from Martin County.
“The boys welcomed me in well and made me feel like family,” said Atwater Jr., who caught an interception in Week 1’s 49-6 road win over John Carroll. “That made the transition on the field more comfortable and I was able to lock in early. Being able to come in and contribute to the team, it’s been showing them that I can play and that I will add value to the team. The coaches have embraced me and said to me that they know we will have a good season this year.”
Atwater Jr. provided a closing statement on tonight’s playoff game at Cardinal Newman.
“We are locked in and ready to let go,” the 6-foot, 186-pound athlete said. “We let the first meeting between us slip out our hands. We’re trying not to let that happen this time.”
PHOTO CREDITS: Daniel Calvelli
VIDEO CREDITS: Ken Stephens
