ANAHEIM — Hunter Benton scored four touchdowns in versatile fashion to ignite Kennedy to a 39-33 victory over Crean Lutheran on Thursday night at Western High.
Benton, a junior wide receiver, had 134 receiving yards and a pair of touchdown grabs, returned an interception for a touchdown, and rushed for 97 yards a TD, which came in the fourth quarter.
First-year head coach Dan Urbanos picked up his first win in the process and it was far from easy.
“To get the first win at home is special,” Urbanos said. “We had a tough couple of weeks (losses to Pacifica and Valencia), so to go out in front of our fans and our cheerleaders, our home stadium, and do what we did, I’m just proud of these guys, we’ve come a long way.”
Kennedy (1-2, 1-2) jumped out to a 10-0 lead after a pair of fumbles on kickoff returns by the Saints were cashed in for points. Richard Celis hit a 25-yard field goal, set up by Nathan Ferguson’s fumble recovery on the opening kickoff, and Benton added an 11-yard touchdown catch from quarterback Alex Herrera.
Crean Lutheran (1-3, 0-3) answered back and rattled off 19 consecutive points in the first half. Jack Fairchild, who finished with 12 catches for 157 receiving yards and four touchdowns, scored on a 31-yard pass from Gavin Rogers (249 passing yards) to open the scoring for the Saints.
Isaiah Obana added a safety and Connor Grace drilled a 28-yard field goal to give Crean Lutheran its first lead of the game, 12-10, with 7:30 left in the second quarter. Then Rogers found Fairchild again for a 28-yard TD catch to make it 19-10 Saints.
But Benton’s pick six with 3:38 left before halftime cut the Fighting Irish deficit to two points 19-17.
“We were down on the scoreboard and down on the sidelines (too),” Urbanos said of his team’s morale, “and Hunter is our sparkplug, and that (Benton’s pick six) sparked us and gave us a little bit of excitement.”
Kennedy took the lead for good in the third when Herrera found Benton for a 70-yard, go-ahead score that made it 24-19.
“Hunter made a great play and Alex (Herrera) found the best player on the field.” Urbanos said.
AJ Frieson added a 5-yard TD catch in the fourth to make it 32-19, but the Saints would not go away.
Fairchild scored again on a 14-yard reception to make it a one-score game, but Benton recovered the ensuing onside kick and scored on a 47-yard run on third-and-1 a few plays later.
Trailing 39-26, Rogers and Fairchild connected for a score again with 24 seconds left in the game, but Kennedy was able to recover the onside attempt and take a knee to end it.
Crean Lutheran was without coach Rick Curtis as he tended to a personal family matter.
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