Benedictine was in a bit of trouble early in the Cadets game with visiting Toombs County on Friday night as Omari Burse got ready to punt on the Cadets first possession from their 26-yard line.
The senior's punt went up high into a strong headwind that stopped itat its peak and when the ball hit the turf it took a hard bounce back about 20 yards toward the Cadet line of scrimmage.
It looked like Burse might have a chance to down his own punt, but Bulldog junior Nick Carroll was there to snatch the ball and turn for a 25-yard sprint to the goal line for an unlikely punt return that set the tone for the disappointing night for the Cadets.
Toombs County took the lucky break and then proceeded to throttle Benedictine in a 58-21 non-region victory at
Memorial Stadium.
The Bullodgs, who reached the Class A Division I finals last year, where they lost to Worth County 17-13, dominated in every phase of the game. Senior running back Donterrius Mincey, who has committed to play at Georgia State, ran for 166 yards and 19 carries with all four of his touchdowns coming in the first half. He was picking up big yardage going straight up the middle on nearly all of his carries.
"This win means everything for us because the whole city doubted us and didn't think we would win tonight," Mincey said. "But we practiced hard and took everything we did there into this game and executed like we wanted to. This gives us a lot of confidence because we know Benedictine is a good team."
Senior quarterback Joseph Owens was 13 of 15 passing for 243 yards with a 66-yard touchdown pass to Brandon Stevens, who took a screen in the flat and sprinted home untouched. Stevens had five catches for 112 yards and Carroll, whose offers include Georgia and Alabama, had four receptions for 71 yards.
The Bulldogs are stacked with talent with a lineup that includes junior defensive lineman Jamarcus Johnson, who holds offers including Georgia and Florida State. Senior linebacker Kareem Palmer is headed to Auburn and safety Alex Scott is committed to North Carolina State.
The Cadets rushed for 87 yards, led by senior Stanley Smart Jr., who had 60 yards on 15 carries. Quarterback Omari Burse ran for a pair of touchdowns and was 4 of 14 passing for 111 yards, including a 50-yard touchdown to Eron Mallard at the end of the first half.
Benedictine coach Danny Britt told his squad he loved them, but didn't mince words when evaluating their performance in the Cadets season opener.
"That was a butt kicking," he told the team gathered on the field around him after the game. "I knew they could beat us, but I wouldn't have thought in a million years they would beat us like that. But we're going to get back to work and figure out a way to get better. We didn't play physical tonight, and we weren't in shape and ready to play ― and that's on me. We'll get back to practice and get back to work on Monday."
Dennis Knight covers sports for the Savannah Morning News. Contact him at Dknight@savannahnow.com. Twitter: @DennisKnightSMN
This article originally appeared on Savannah Morning News: How Toombs County dominated host Benedictine in football season opener
