3 takeaways: Benjamin football blasts John Carroll Catholic in season opener
FORT PIERCE — The Benjamin Buccaneers opened up the regular season with a dominant display, blowing out the John Carroll Catholic Rams 49-6 on Thursday night.
Amaree Williams dominated on both sides of the ball, opening the scoring with an 80-yard touchdown reception and putting the game well out of reach with a 90-yard pick six.
Junior quarterback Jayden Vega threw for two touchdowns in his dominant regular-season Buccaneers (1-0) debut after transferring from Martin County High School.
“All summer long, we were doing seven-on-sevens and throwing sessions and those guys were at it the whole summer,” Buccaneers coach Eric Kresser said of his new QB-WR duo.
“That’s been going on and that’s just the first time it’s happened in a game. But those two guys, they have been clicking for a while now. It’s more about putting on the pads, playing against another team putting it all together.”
John Carroll’s defensive line swallowed up Benjamin’s first two rushing attempts before Vega uncorked a long pass to Williams to open up the scoring 1:32 into the game. After forcing the Rams (0-1) to go three-and-out, the Buccaneers went back on the attack quickly, with Chauncey Bowens exploding for a 50-yard rushing touchdown with 3:18 to go in the first quarter.
After a penalty and a failed onside kick gave John Carroll Catholic in plus territory for the first time on the night, Benjamin’s defense forced another three-and-out to set up another scoring drive. Vega led the Buccaneers down the field as Phoenix Donghia capped off the drive with a one-yard rushing touchdown two seconds into the second quarter.
A 20-yard rush by Johnny Raneri — capped off with a face mask penalty — got the Rams into the Red Zone for the first time with 10:21 to go in the second quarter. But Williams’ 90-yard pick six of Jaxon VanName less than a minute later put the Bucaneers up by four scores.
Under the lights: An essential guide to Palm Beach County high school football
Free: Check out our high school sports newsletter!
“Amaree is a physical specimen. He can do a lot of different things and running is one of them,” Kresser said of Williams. “He is a fast kid.”
VanName redeemed himself on the following drive with an 80-yard touchdown pass of his own, hitting Jaden Mackey to give John Carroll its first score of the night. But an interception by (#6) set up Bowens for his second score of the night to restore Benjamin’s lead with 5:35 to go in the second quarter.
Lily White made her Benjamin football debut at kicker after winning girls soccer player of the year, hitting all seven of her extra point attempts in the process.
Here are three takeaways from Thursday night’s game:
Jacob Cosby-Mosley shines at wide receiver and defensive back
After starting for Benjamin at quarterback last season, Jacob Cosby-Mosley continued to make an impact after switching positions.
He first opened up the second half with a 40-yard catch and run to put the Buccaneers up by five scores. He then secured an interception on the following drive to put his team in prime positon to continue the rout.
“Jacob can play any positon on the field,” Kresser said. “He is our punter, he is our holder, he starts on offense and defense. He can play running back, quarterback, receiver, whatever. The guy has a professional mindset and he is going to be playing football for a long time.”
Chauncey Bowens drove Benjamin offense after slow start
While John Carroll’s defensive line seemed to have been getting to him on the first two drives, Chauncey Bowen quickly took over after his opening 50-yard score.
He kept drives alive with a slew long runs and capped the game off with three touchdowns of his own to help Benjamin secure the victory.
“He hit a stutter move on that long run that froze a couple of guys and that’s what opened it up for him,” Kresser said. “He is quick and he’s fast, so if he can get a guy to freeze or turn the wrong way, he’s gone. That’s what he did right there.”
Jayden Vega quickly takes control of Benjamin offense
Making his presence shown through the air and on the ground, Jayden Vega has quickly taken control of the Buccaneers offense.
Benjamin was humming down the field all game through the combination of Vega’s strong arm and fast legs and Bowen’s powerful runs to the tune of six scoring drives.
“Over the last three weeks, we had training camp and the preseason game and he is getting more comfortable each day,” Kresser said. “He looked really good today. He was good throwing the ball, running the ball and he made a bunch of good reads. For the first game, I was really impressed.”
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Benjamin football blasts John Carroll Catholic in 2023 season opener
