The Knights were not granted a break after their 35-0 beatdown on St Edwards last Friday. This week, they had to play strong and undefeated Benedictine on the road. With a combination of stellar offensive performances from seniors Shane Hamm, Kharion Davis and Victor Dawson and multiple crucial defensive stops late in the game, the Knights prevailed on top 31-24.

The first quarter started off slow, as both defenses began the game with a stop.  However, this changed on Hoban’s second drive, as it began with a great eight-yard run by Victor Dawson. Soon after, Kharion Davis made a 15-yard catch, followed by another run by Dawson to put them on the 15-yard line. Three plays later, Hoban scored their first touchdown of the game on a one-yard run-in by Shane Hamm.

The Benedictine Bengals responded with a touchdown of their own to start the second quarter. Senior quarterback Ronnie Schultz escaped getting annihilated by Hoban’s D-Line and threw a 31-yard touchdown. 

But the Knights came back strong. Junior Tyson Grimm made a great catch to move Hoban into Bengal territory. Sophomore Lamar Sperling put together a couple of runs landing the Knights in field-goal range, which led to junior Charlie Durkin easily drilling a 28-yard field goal, putting the Knights up 10-7.

Hoban’s defense showed why they are the best in the state with two sacks in one possession that kept Benedictine close to their touchdown, forcing them to punt. This gave the Knights fantastic field position to capitalize and they did exactly that. On the first play of the drive, junior Markim McKennie showed off his speed with a 42-yard touchdown. According to the announcers, “he shot out of a cannon”.  The Knights were now up 17-7.

However, the senior-heavy Bengals continued to fight, as Schultz threw his second touchdown of the night making it 17-14. But Hoban did not back down and their next play was huge. Back on their own 20-yard line, Hamm connected with Davis for an 80-yard touchdown putting the Knights back up by 10. With time left for only one possession, the Knights held Benedictine to a field goal, as senior AJ Kirk broke up a pass with a huge tackle to stop a run. The Knights went into the half with a 24-17 lead.

Benedictine started with the ball in the second half and the Hoban defense did not allow for them to get hot. Senior Alvin Stallworth Jr made a great stop, followed by a sack by senior Darryl Peterson. The Bengals tried for a field goal, but came up short. With the ball back in Hoban’s hands, the wide receivers started to move the chains. Senior Brayden Fox made a great play to start the drive and Hamm made a smart short pass to Davis to avoid a sack. Davis thes proceeded to pick up major yards. Victor Dawson finished the job, as he ran for 11 yards and a first down the next play. He would eventually score on a 3-yard run to put the Knights in a commanding 31-17 lead. The Hoban defensive had two game changing stops to end the third.

The fourth quarter was a cat and mouse game, as both defenses were not letting up.  A Hoban fumble gave the Bengals an opportunity to mount a comeback. They were able to score and make it 31-24. But the Knights defense held the Bengals after that, as Benedictine came up short on two straight, which featured a clutch sack from Peterson and a broken up pass to end the game by AJ Kirk. With the defense on lockdown late in the game, the Knights were able to come out victorious, with a final score of 31-24.