MANSFIELD — Brian Benson confirmed what Lexington coach Taylor Gerhardt has suspected for years.
Calling plays for Mansfield Senior’s career rushing leader is a lot easier than designing defenses to stop him.
Benson quite literally ran away with the offensive Most Valuable Player award as the South rallied for a 24-20 win over the North in the North Central Ohio Football Coaches Association All-Star Classic at Arlin Field.
While no official stats were immediately available after the game, there was little doubt among press box observers that Benson had topped the 100-yard mark. His 69 yard run on the final play of the third quarter set up the third of Galion kicker Connor Moreton’s three field goals, a 29-yarder with 10:59 remaining in the fourth quarter that gave the South a 24-20 lead.
“We faced a lot of good backs this past season and, no disrespect to anybody, but I believe Brian Benson is the best back we faced,” said Gerhardt, who coached the South stars. “He’s such a likable kid and he’s a great teammate. He’ll do anything you ask him to do.”
The University of Findlay-bound Benson was even volunteering to do things Gerhardt didn’t ask him to do.
“I was in his ear the whole game asking to play linebacker,” said Benson, Senior High’s leading tackler each of the past three years. “It felt weird not playing defense.”
Early Score: St. Paul running back Colton Service gave the North an early 7-0 lead with a 1 yard run with 10:45 remaining in the first quarter. A pair of Moreton field goals (40, 36) cut the North’s lead to 7-6 after the first quarter.
“He is a weapon,” Gerhardt said of Moreton, the game’s special teams MVP. “He was kicking 60-yarders in practice. We knew if we got close — or even not so close — that we were going to come away with points.”
Lex receiver A.J. Nickoli’s 37 yard run early in the second quarter gave the South a 13-7 lead, but the North reclaimed the lead at 14-13 when Ashland’s John Wolfe hauled in a 15 yard scoring strike from Madison quarterback Tresten Vail with 3:51 to play in the second quarter.
Missed Opportunity: It looked like the North would extend its lead before halftime but a running play designed for Shelby defensive lineman Devin Williams resulted in a fumble that was recovered by Mansfield Seniors Brandon Myers.
“It was basically a goal line or short yardage front,” said Williams, who will play for Division II Walsh University next year. “That was the first time all week that I dropped the ball.”
Adding On: The North stars pushed the lead to 20-13 midway through the third quarter on Corbin Canter’s 14 yard pass from Zach Hoffman. The touchdown was set up by a Trenton Morrow interception.
The South took a 21-20 lead on quarterback Luke McCarrell’s 4 yard run and a McCarrell two-point conversion run with 4:47 remaining in the third.
A T.J. Gerhardt interception in the fourth quarter all but sealed it for the South. The North had a couple late possessions but couldn’t get anything going against a stingy South defense.
“It feels good to win this game before going off to college,” said Lexington defensive end Dana Shoulders, who was voted the game’s most valuable defensive lineman. “Having the opportunity to play with all of these guys from different schools was great.”
