By CHUCKIE MAGGIO
Will Benjamin’s tooth felt better on Friday night.
Benjamin did not play in last Saturday’s win at Monroe due to a toothache, but made up for lost time with three first-half touchdowns against Rush-Henrietta. The senior added another score in the fourth quarter as the Irish handled the Royal Comets 50-22 at home to improve to 5-0.
“Everything was feeling better,” Aquinas coach Derek Annechino acknowledged. “And he was ready to go.”
The Lil’ Irish rushed for 386 yards, led by Benjamin’s 184-yard tally. The senior also caught a touchdown, part of a 44-yard receiving effort. Junior Eimaj Giddens ran for 157 yards and two touchdowns himself as Aquinas scored over 40 points for the third time in the last four games.
Aquinas has compiled 1,424 over its first five games.
“We just wanted to get our dogs the ball,” Annechino noted. “We have some good running backs and they can carry us if they need to. Obviously they did.”
The first half was all Lil’ Irish, as they raced to a 26-0 halftime lead, which included a Mykel White passing touchdown to Jahlil Johnson. Rush-Henrietta responded after halftime by outscoring Aquinas in the third quarter, with Tyler Brent scoring on a 29-yard reception and OJ Singletary adding a rushing touchdown. Aquinas managed just a field goal in the period.
“To get where we want to be, we’re gonna have to get a lot better,” Annechino explained, “and we’re gonna have to stop shooting ourselves in the foot with penalties and making careless mistakes. We’ve just gotta get better and that’s what we do. We’re a young football team and we’re still learning, so we’re gonna keep working hard and trying to get better.”
Benjamin, who was not heavily used in the second half, scored two minutes into a fourth quarter where the Irish regained control. Giddens showed his power on his first rushing touchdown and his speed on the second, a 62-yard burst to bring AQ to the half-century mark.
Royal Comets sophomore Nasir Patton turned a short pass into a 54-yard touchdown, another highlight in an encouraging second half for Rush-Henrietta. The Comets were shut out against McQuaid last week, but even recovered an onside kick with 4:50 to play.
Freshman linebacker Lucas Leone contributed 11 tackles for Aquinas, three for a loss, while sophomore Trent Hill added nine tackles and junior Ben Kingsley chipped in seven. Senior safety Sam Gizzi intercepted a pass near the end zone.
“It’s a good win,” Annechino remarked. “We’ll take it, obviously.”
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