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Thursday
November 11, 2021
SPORTS: Youth, High School, College, Recreational, Professional
Serving Goochland County Since 1955
Benedictine onslaught tames Wolves Cadets, Goochland to begin respective playoffs this week By Dave Lawrence Richmond Suburban News
GOOCHLAND — Neither Benedictine’s offense nor its defense showed signs of slowing down as its regular season came to an end Friday. The Cadets, who amassed 397 yards total offense, put visiting Saint John Paul the Great in a stranglehold as they walloped the Wolves 62-0. Benedictine (7-3) finished fourth in the Virginia Independent School Athletic Association Division I standings. The Cadets advance to the VISAA semifinals, where they will visit St. Christopher’s Saturday at 12:30 p.m. While the Benedictine offense piled up the stats, the defense set the tone — early and often. It started with two interceptions by Kamari Veney in the first quarter, both of which led to Cadet touchdowns. “It was a big boost, my first pick of the year — my first two picks of the year,” Veney said. “It helped set the tone early.” Veney’s interceptions were two of the three interceptions the Cadet defense had on the day. Nic Land had the other. The Cadets also recovered two Saint John Paul the Great fumbles. Benedictine did not give up any yardage to the Wolves. On the day, Saint John Paul the Great’s offense moved backwards by 3 yards. Benedictine’s defense was led by linebacker Henry Berling with six tackles total, including two sacks, and four assists. He finished with five tackles for loss. Defensive lineman T.J.
Photo by Dave Lawrence
Benedictine quarterback Tate Plageman (8) finds a hole in the Cadets’ 62-0 win over visiting Saint John Paul the Great Friday.
Baldwin finished with two tackles, including a sack, and seven assists. Defensive back Gary Lee Seigler finished with two tackles — both for loss — and two assists. Defensive lineman Dylan Faniel finished with a tackle and seven assists. While the Cadet defense
seemed a black hole sucking in any semblance of the Wolves’ forward progress, the Benedictine offense was like a supernova. The Cadets scored nine touchdowns, often aided by Saint John Paul the Great turnovers. Another key spark was quarterback Tate
Plageman. Plageman completed 7-of-8 passes for 130 yards and two touchdowns. He also ran 48-yards for another touchdown. All three Plageman scores came in the first quarter. “The offense was clicking well,” Plageman said. “Good
plays were being called. The guys we needed to execute were executing. The line was blocking well. I had protection back there. The running backs played well, wide receivers played well — just an all-around great win for us.” One of the Cadets quar-
terbacks’ main targets was wide receiver Leon Haughton. Haughton caught six passes for 118 yards and two touchdowns, the first an 8-yard pass from Plageman and the second a 40-yard pass from Wes Buleza. “He’s our biggest receiver — maybe, like, 6-4,” Plageman said. “He’s a senior. He’s been with us for four years. I would say that we target him the most. We trust him a lot. We try to get the ball in his hands as much as we can.” After Plageman spotted the Cadets to a 21-0 first quarter lead with his two touchdown passes — the first a 9-yard toss to Grayson Cannaday — and a touchdown run, Benedictine head coach Greg Lilly began subbing liberally. Buleza began taking over under center in the second quarter and connected with Haughton for his 40-yard TD pass. Leo Boehling added another touchdown on a 24-yard run to close out the first-half onslaught with a 34-0 lead. Plageman and Boehling each scored in the third quarter, Plageman on a 3-yard run and Boehling on a 34-yard scamper. Benedictine’s final two touchdowns came on a 17-yard run by A.J. Jackson and a 5-yard run by Easton Ogle. Through it all, Seigler proved a solid placekicker, converting on 8-of-9 pointer-after attempts. The Cadets and their Saturday opponent, St. Christopher’s, are joined in the VISAA Division I playoffs by
see Onslaught > 9
