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A triumph Benet can truly enjoy

Benet won its second game of the season Friday night but only the first the Redwings really felt they could celebrate.

Despite losing starting quarterback Colin Gillespie in the second quarter, Benet knocked off visiting Moline, the eighth-ranked team in Class 7A, taking a 28-19 victory in Lisle. It left them with a better feeling than the 28-21 win at Naperville North in Week 1 because the Huskies made a close game of it at the end, leaving the Redwings disappointed in themselves.

"Against Naperville North, even though it was a win it kind of felt like a loss with those three scores at the end of the fourth quarter," Benet senior linebacker Daniel Glimco said. "But we came out today, we played hard and it felt like a win, a really good win."

Glimco played a big role in stopping the powerful Moline offense in the fourth quarter to preserve the victory. His interception at the Moline 15-yard line on the first play of the period led to the Redwings' final touchdown. In the final eight minutes he was in on two tackles for loss on fourth-down plays to keep Moline (1-1) from mounting its own late comeback.

Benet (2-0) took a 14-6 lead with 5:12 left in the second quarter when Gillespie scored on a 1-yard run. But he appeared to break his nose on the play and did not return. Gillespie also passed for a touchdown.

The Redwings showed they are rich at the QB position when backup Michael O'Connor entered the game. The senior finished 7-of-13 passing for 99 yards and ran for TDs of 4 and 1 yards.

"Our second-string quarterback, he's ready to step up always," Glimco said. "He's one of my good buddies. He played quarterback for me in grade school and I depended on him and he never fails."

O'Connor admitted it took him a couple of plays to feel comfortable when he entered the game.

"I mean, yeah, definitely a little nervousness because it was a big game, it was a close game," O'Connor said. "I don't know. I just got it done."

"The cupboard is full at quarterback," coach Pat New added.

It helped that O'Connor and Gillespie both could rely on senior running back Sean Torres, who carried the football 24 times for 104 yards.

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