By TOMMY REZAC
St. Joseph Post
Lafayette scored the game's first touchdown midway through the first quarter and never trailed in a 26-14 win at crosstown rival Benton on Friday night at Sparks Field.
The win snaps a 15-game losing streak for the Irish, and it marks the program's 14 win over the Cardinals in the last 16 seasons.
"It's a family affair," Lafayette head coach Nate Daugherty said. "I've been pushing the hell out of them and told them every single time it's for a reason, and they're doing it. They're building a foundation. It's awesome."
Benton got the ball to start the game and was driving into Lafayette territory, but the drive stalled with a turnover on downs.
The Irish (1-2) cashed in six plays later, scoring on a 20-yard touchdown run by running back Tate Crabb. The two-point try failed, but the Irish led 6-0 with 5:36 left in the first quarter.
That score didn't change for quite awhile.
Benton (1-2) had a healthy drive going that started late in the first and stretched into the late minutes of the second quarter. The Cardinals had first-and-goal at the five, but the drive would stall on a fourth-and-goal at the four, as quarterback Jaxson Rich was stood up at the line by the Irish defensive front.
"I had all the faith in the world," Daugherty said of his defense. "I knew we could pull it off and knew we could do it. Corey (Bertini) has a great program going (at Benton). All the respect to him. These kids play hard for him, too. It'll be fun to see how it goes the next couple years."
Lafayette's final two drives of the first half ended in punt, and the Irish went into halftime up 6-0.
Lafayette got the ball to start the second half, but the drive went awry after just four plays, as quarterback Jackson Compton was picked off deep down the field by Benton's Deontre Howard.
The Cardinals weren't able to do anything with the game's first turnover. They took over at their own nine, and turned the ball over on downs after just six plays.
Taking over at the Benton 29, Lafayette took advantage just four plays later, as Compton made up for the interception with a 29-yard touchdown pass to Martavion Thuston. A successful run on a two-point conversion by Crabb made it 14-0 Irish with 4:50 left in the third.
Benton, at last, had the answer offensively on the ensuing drive. An eight-play, 48-yard march by the Cardinals ended with a five-yard touchdown run from Jaxson Rich. The two-point try failed, but Benton was on the board at 14-6 with 2:19 left in the third.
Lafayette threw another interception late in the third, this one picked off by Treigh Nowak, but again, the Cardinals couldn't turn the takeaway into points.
Taking over at their own 23-yard line with 8:21 to go in the game, Lafayette methodically marched down the field with an 11-play, 77-yard drive that ate six minutes of clock.
The drive ended with a 19-yard touchdown pass from Compton to Jake Danner, putting Lafayette ahead 20-6 with 2:18 to go.
Benton showed fight late, as Rich rushed to the end zone on a 44-yard run to make it 20-14 with 1:12 to go.
The Cardinals kicked an onside, but it was instantly recovered by Lafayette's Lucas Michel.
Three plays after that, Crabb called game with a 51-yard sprint to the end zone on a third-and-10, putting the Irish up 26-14 with 46 seconds remaining.
Crabb finished his night with 20 carries for 118 yards and two scores.
"Underperformance pains me so much," Crabb said. "It keeps me up sometimes, knowing I didn't perform as good as I could. When a situation like this is in front of you, you have to take it. There's no other option."
Compton completed 8-of-14 passes for 164 yards, throwing two touchdowns and two picks.
Thuston was the lead receiver with three catches for 81 yards and a score.
Rich was active all night for Benton, completing 8-of-15 passes for 94 yards. He also toted the rock 21 times for 115 yards and a pair of touchdowns.
Howard hauled in three passes for 36 yards in the loss for the Cardinals. Blakely Eaton had three catches for 50 yards himself.
It had been 700 days exactly since Lafayette had won a football game. To break the skid on the road against their biggest rival, and to give their 25-year-old, first-year head coach his first career win made it that much sweeter.
"Every day was stacking, stacking until finally...it shows," Crabb said. "All of that work finally shows. It's crazy what (Coach) Daugherty has done. He's turned this around completely."
Lafayette is home to Savannah next week. Benton stays home to face Lincoln College Prep.
Nate Daugherty, Tate Crabb interview
Full game broadcast
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