For nearly a week, Benet Academy football coach Tim Cederblad thought about giving his Redwings a blast from the past. Before the kickoff of Saturday`s homecoming game against West Suburban Catholic Conference rival Montini, Cederblad decided otherwise.
”I had a gimmick I used a few years ago–it was in 1976 or 1977,” said Cederblad. ”I asked the players to turn in their homecoming dance tickets prior to the Immaculate Conception game. I told them if they had confidence that they`d win, they wouldn`t mind doing it. I told them they`d get the tickets back if they won. Most of them gave me the tickets. We beat IC 7-0 and they got their tickets back.
”I thought about doing the same thing this year, but I figured why do it twice? Some of these guys may have heard about it somewhere down the line and figured it was old. This time, I did it differently. I told these guys that if they lost to Montini, they could forget about getting into the playoffs. Period.”
The Redwings didn`t need a pep talk to turn them on Saturday. Pete Gallo gained 98 yards in 23 carries, including touchdowns of 1 and 49 yards, and Joe Edwards kicked a 36-yard field goal to lead Benet to a 17-6 victory over the Broncos.
Montini`s lone score came on a 34-yard pass from Roger Ripp to Dave McCann with nine seconds left in the game.
”This was the most important game of the year,” said Gallo. ”This is the springboard for us. We came together. It was perfect timing. Everything we did all year pointed toward this game. It was a great emotional win for our team.”
Cederblad, who at game`s end told his players that they ”finally played a complete ballgame” agreed with Gallo`s assessment.
”This was the first game of the year that we put everything together on both offense and defense,” said Cederblad. ”Like last week, we didn`t do well in the first half, but came on in the second. We scored three times in the fourth quarter. During the week, I asked these guys `Why do you have to wait until the second half to turn it on? Try doing it from the start.` ”
Benet (4-1, 3-0) heeded Cederblad`s words. The Redwings scored on their first possession–a 15-play, 75-yard drive that ate up seven minutes and left Montini (3-2, 2-1) stunned.
”The opening drive frustrated us,” said Bronco coach Chris Andriano, whose team had possession a mere 14 seconds in the first quarter, due to an interception by Benet`s Pat New. ”Our kids were so antsy that they made mistakes and Benet dictated the tempo of the game.
”Benet`s good and they proved it today. We`ve got a good team, too, but Benet completely outplayed us.”
A key, according to Cederblad, was the play of quarterback Dave Casey. A junior, Casey was 11 of 18 for 139 yards and two touchdowns.
”Dave has been like 4 of 15 or 5 of 15 in some games this year,”
Cederblad said. ”We intended for him to get more throwing in, but rather than confuse the offense with trying to establish both the pass and the run, we figured we`d get the running game going first and then pass.
”We`ve been steadily progressing every game. The offense has been a roller coaster until today. Maybe it takes the homecoming, the pressure, the intensity. Whatever it was, these kids came ready to play.”
