Week 3 Game of the Week: Benton vs. Lafayette
ST. JOSEPH, Mo (News-Press NOW) -- The Benton Cardinals are facing the Lafayette Fighting Irish in the Cardinals' home opener on their new turf, in News-Press NOW's Game of the Week.
Benton is 1-1 on the season and in fifth place in Class 4, District 8 after a blowout loss to the Central Indians on Saturday, Sept. 6, 43 to 6.
The Cardinals held the Indians to only 13 points in the first half, but the wheels fell off in the second half as the Cardinals were outscored 30 to 6.
Benton head coach mark Cole said he's looking for four quarters of consistency from his team this week.
"Biggest thing we've been preaching is 48 minutes of consistency," Cole said. "I thought we did a pretty good job for a half and part of the third quarter, then the wheels came off."
The Benton Cardinals will be debuting their new home field after their grass field was replaced over the summer. Coach Cole said the home opener gives the team the chance to prove to the fans who they are.
"With the home opener here at Sparks on the South End, what better way to come out and show your people who we are," Cole said. "It's all one great big awesome story and we get to be a part of it."
After Lafayette gave up three rushing touchdowns to the Richmond Spartans last week, Coach Cole said establishing the run game early is the key to winning any game.
"I think the key to success, no matter where you're at, is running the football," Cole said. "With our young team, we got to give ourselves a chance to be ahead of the chains on first down and try to control the clock."
Benton running back Xander Tiller said, "The run game is going to hit hard."
On the north side of St. Joseph, the Lafayette Fighting Irish are winless at 0-2 after two close losses to the Center Yellowjackets and the Richmond Spartans. They currently sit in fifth place in Class 3, District 8.
After a crushing 26-20 loss last week against the Richmond Spartans, Lafayette head coach Nate Daugherty said the team has started slow in the first half of both of their games.
Despite the slow start, Daugherty said the team has looked better week by week.
"We're seeing growth, we're a young team, so I think we're a good team," said Daugherty. "We just got to put all the pieces together and see the strides there."
To combat the slow starts in the first half, Lafayette quarterback Zander Klein said the team needs to start with a lot more energy.
"We need to pick that up because we lost two games," said Klein. "Our energy and focus need to be up in the first half."
In a highly anticipated matchup between crosstown rivals, be sure to tune in to News-Press NOW's Sports Zone at 10 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 12, for the full breakdown and highlights from the game.
