Benion, GW run all over Patrick Henry in WVD opener

ROANOKE – DeVaughn Benion rushed for a career-high 198 yards on 11 carries and added three touchdowns as George Washington spoiled Patrick Henry’s homecoming with a dominating 31-0 victory Friday night at Patriot Stadium in the Western Valley District opener for both teams.

The Eagles (4-3, 1-0 WVD) scored on three of its four second-half possession and posted its first shutout since 2005 – which also came in Roanoke against Patrick Henry.

“We just wanted to come out here and start our district off like we know we should,” said GW junior defensive lineman Victor Lanier, who finished with two sacks and two fumble recoveries. “When you talk about field position, it’s real good. That’s big because we get to give the defense a break and the offense a chance to get back on the field.”

GW scored three times off Patrick Henry (2-5, 0-1 WVD) fumbles. The Patriots were hampered by numerous bad snaps from center out of the shotgun formation. The Patriots lost 58 yards on three of those bad snaps and PH fumbled the ball at the GW 6-yard line early in the second quarter in what proved to be the Patriots’ only opportunity to put points on the board.

Patrick Henry was held to 21 yards rushing on 32 attempts and finished with a paltry 106 yards of total offense, bolstered by 37 yards passing on the final drive.

Benion rushed for 139 of his yards in the first half, which included a 67-yard touchdown scamper midway through the second quarter to give the Eagles a 12-0 advantage. The Eagles as a team rushed for a whopping 430 yards on 45 attempts and wore down Patrick Henry as the second half wore on.

“That’s something we haven’t been able to do lately and that’s finish the job,” GW coach Dan Newell said. “For us to finish these drives is very important. Tell you something else that was really important to us tonight that we haven’t had here recently was the big play. To be able to take the big run and we had three long touchdown runs … we were happy and tickled that we had the big play we’ve been searching for.”

Tim Moore, filling in for Kevin Shuler in the second half, took a QB-option on the second play of the fourth quarter and raced down the sideline 47 yards for the game’s final score.

Terrance Jackson rushed for 79 yards on a team-high 13 carries. Khary Wiles added 41 yards on seven carries.

The GW defense forced a Matt Wood fumble at the Patrick Henry 36-yard line late in the first quarter. The Eagles scored on the next play, as Shuler took a QB-keeper to the right side, following his blockers down the field to the end zone, giving the Eagles a 6-0 lead.

Patrick Henry had the ball first and goal at the GW 3-yard line, but a bad snap was scooped up by GW’s Victor Lanier at the 6-yard line. The Eagles scored three plays later on Benion’s run.

Benion, who PH coach Brad Bradley called a ‘fast joker,’ added another touchdown later in the third quarter on a hard five-yard run that gave the Eagles a 24-0 lead.

“I didn’t run all over them, but I did what I had to do,” Benion said. “The offensive line blocked and gave me protection I needed and I just made it happen.”

Zach Cochran set Patrick Henry up in scoring position midway through the first quarter with a 46-yard punt return to the GW 10-yard line. A 24-yard loss on a botched snap, a 10-yard holding penalty, a 5-yard false start penalty, a sack and delay of game had the Patriots facing a third and 65 from their own 35-yard line.

Wood finished with 85 yards on 7 of 17 passing. Cochran rushed for a team-high 37 yards on eight attempts and caught five of Woods’ passes for 68 yards.

“At the end of the day, we were right there fighting with a great football team,” Bradley said. “GW-Danville’s been tested, they’ve had some great competition. I thought we stood toe-to-toe with them for a long time. We self-destructed.”

George Washington 31, Patrick Henry 0
GW 6 6 12 7 - 31
PH 0 0 0 0 - 0
First quarter
GW – Shuler 36 run (kick failed), :16
Second quarter
GW – Benion 67 run (kick failed), 8:53
Third quarter
GW – Benion 14 run (pass failed), 7:56
GW – Benion 5 run (kick blocked), 5:19
Fourth quarter
GW – Moore 47 run (Campbell kick), 11:16
Team statistics
GW PH
First downs 15 10
Rushes-yards 45-430 32-21
Yards passing 2 85
Passing 1-4-0 7-17-0
Total offense 432 106
Fumbles-lost 2/2 4/3
Penalties-yards 7-38 8-65
Punts-average 1-32 5-27.8
Individual statistics
Rushing: GW – Benion 11-198, Jackson 13-79, Moore 1-47, Wiles 7-41, Shuler 2-37, Gibson 7-20, Ham 3-13, Team 1-(-5). PH – Cochran 8-37, Wood 13-28, Church 2-11, Carter 6-3, Team 3-(-58).
Passing: GW – Shuler 1-4-0 2. PH – Wood 7-17-0 85.
Receiving: GW – Petty 1-2. PH – Casey 5-68, Cochran 1-13, Walker 1-8.
Records: George Washington 4-3, 1-0 WVD. Patrick Henry 2-5, 0-1 WVD.