McEachern, Benet put up nice numbers at Carmel
After a couple of stalled drives and a missed special teams opportunity, Benet Academy turned to number 48.
Following a stout line, Alec McEachern worked the middle of the field on the ground to the tune of 170 yards on 18 carries with a pair of touchdowns as Benet held off Carmel Catholic 28-14 Friday in East Suburban Catholic action at Baker Stadium.
"Our O-line came out firing and we just figured out the way their defense was stunting," said McEachern. "We bounced it outside and did a great job."
Big gains on the ground complemented a strong passing effort from Jack Sznajder, who connected on 17 of 20 attempts for 174 yards and a score. On the flip side, where Benet (5-2, 3-2) found success Carmel (3-3, 3-2) struggled to find any footing with its option outside of Rondel Jamison's 103-yard rushing effort.
"Their offensive line did an excellent job against us," said Carmel coach Andy Bitto. "They controlled the game when they needed to and got first downs, (Sznajder) was pretty accurate on his seam routes. What really hurt us was the inside running game. They did a nice job chopping us up inside and getting the field to their advantage, and we couldn't get any consistency going with our option game."
The game was largely a game of chess until the opening drive of the third quarter as Sznajder moved the team through the air to set up a 41-yard field goal try from Ryley Guay.
Carmel speedster Sharief Bailey had other plans, bursting through the line with a block and scoop to the house to break the scoreless game with 8:16 remaining in the opening half.
Benet then turned to McEachern and the run game. The bruiser moved the chains on the following possession to set up a 9-yard burst into the end zone from Charlie Weidenbach to knot the game.
After snuffing out a fake punt attempt on the following Corsairs drive, the Redwings went back to work through the air with Sznajder hitting Weidenbach with a 23-yard strike and Robert Bordignon from 14 yards out only to find Karl Schmidt in stride on the very next play for a 16-yard score to take a 14-7 edge into the half.
"All around it was a great game," said Sznajder. "The line did their jobs and the passing and ground games opened things up for each other. It was just a great game for us on offense and defense."
The visitors picked up where they left off in the third quarter with a quick drive for seven, capped by a burst and sideline jaunt from 45 yards out by McEachern.
Carmel battled back on its first drive of the half with a heaping helping of Jamison, who single-handedly moved the team 71 yards with 11 carries, including a 2-yard pitch sweep to score.
After trading defensive stops, Benet rode the steady McEachern again through the end of the third quarter and into the fourth with a clock churning possession. The back moved the chains three times before plowing into the end zone from the one.
"We knew he was a great running back, but we didn't know if he could go both ways," Benet coach Pat New said of McEachern. "We had a plan and practiced him there this week. He did a great job for us.
"The lines did a great job for us tonight. I'm really proud of those guys."
The Redwings defense did its job on the following two Carmel possessions, leaving the Corsairs with a punt and a turnover on downs as time wound down.
With the two squads still jockeying for postseason footing Benet hosts Joliet Catholic next Friday, while Carmel visits Marian Central.
• Prior to Friday's game, as part of the National Football League's Super Bowl high school honor roll, Carmel was honored for producing a big game participant in 17-year veteran defensive lineman Jeff Zgonina - a member of two St. Louis Rams Super Bowl teams, including the 1999 world champions.