SAVANNAH — A steady drizzle caused wet conditions Friday night at Memorial Stadium, making the traditional Gatorade bath impractical for the Benedictine players who wanted to celebrate with coach Danny Britt after a 45-23 win over Cairo. 

But the Cadets improvised and came up with a fitting alternative as they surrounded their coach and handed him a bottle of maple syrup — Britt took a healthy swig as his players went wild following the win over the Syrupmakers. 

Benedictine improved to 8-2 on the season as the Cadets advance to the Class 4A quarterfinals. BC will host Riverdale, a winner over NW Whitfield, on Friday at Memorial Stadium. 

“I was proud of the way we fought back – we played physical and we played hard,” Britt said. “We made a lot of mental mistakes, but our defense shut them out in the second half. And Holden (Geriner) and Trent (Broadnax) showed why they are two Division I players the way they played in the second half.” 

Things didn’t start out well for the Cadets as Tay Solomon returned the opening kickoff 66 yards, and Cairo scored three plays later on Kevin Speed’s 5-yard touchdown run. BC had a three and out, and Cairo went up 10-0 as Noah Jones drilled a 52-yard field goal with 5:27 left in the third quarter. 

Cairo had a 68-yard scoring drive bridging the first and second quarters capped by defensive tackle Ty Glenn’s 1-yard scoring plunge. The Syrupmakers took a 17-3 lead with 9:51 left in the half and the Cadets had their backs against the wall. 

But BC responded with fire. LeShon Brooks (16 rushes for 69 yards) capped a 50-yard drive with a 5-yard touchdown run. And on the next possession, BC defensive lineman Bryce Pashke picked off a Speed pass and made a nice hesitation move en route to a 15-yard touchdown. His third score in the last two seasons tied things up at 17 with 3:12 left in the half. 

“That play gave us all the momentum,” Britt said. 

Justin Thomas kept the surge going as he intercepted Speed just three plays later, with a 30-yard return setting up a touchdown on a Geriner sneak on a key fourth down conversion. BC led 24-23 at the half, and scored 21 unanswered points after intermission to put things away. 

Solomon broke one down the left sideline for a 69-yard touchdown with 49 seconds left in the half as Cairo closed within 24-23, but the Syrupmakers tried a trick-play on a two-point conversion that was turned back and never found the end zone again. 

Solomon had 132 of his 134 yards on 14 carries in the first half. Speed had 41 yards on eight carries, but the Cadet defense stepped up after intermission and held Cairo to three yard rushing in the second half and 217 yards of total offense. 

In the second half, Geriner got in a groove. He was 9 of 11 after intermission for 181 yards, and finished the night 16 of 26 for 269 yards.  

On the first drive of the second half, Geriner hit his favorite target, Duke-bound Broadnax, over the middle. Broadnax made one man miss and was off to the races for an 80-yard touchdown. 

The Cadets next series was a 19-play, 73-yard drive – as Geriner hit Broadnax for a pair of third down conversions before connecting with him for an 11-yard scoring strike that put BC up 38-23 with 2:22 left in the third quarter. 

“Holden and I didn’t have a great connection last year, but we worked all summer and before and after practices — and now we have great chemistry,” said Broadnax, who had seven catches for 143 yards and the two scores. “We put in a lot of work, and now it’s paying off.” 

Thomas had another great game for the Cadets as the junior rushed for 67 yards on 13 carries and added four receptions for 55 yards, including a 26-yard yard touchdown catch, adding the interception while playing excellent defense. 

Cairo coach Steve DeVoursney thought his squad missed an opportunity, but looked back on the season as a success. 

“We just made too many mistakes, made too many turnovers that gave them two touchdowns,” DeVoursney said. “They’re too good of a team to make those kind of mistakes with. They have a good football team and we thought we had a chance to play with them. 

“It was a crazy year and we didn’t start out well, but we won five in a row to get here. I don’t think the long bus ride helped us, but hats off to BC – they played a great game.” 

 

KEY PLAY 

Pashke’s pick six was the pivotal play that fired up the BC sideline and turned the game around. 

STATS OF THE NIGHT 

After Solomon rushed for 132 yards and a touchdown for Cairo in the first half, he was held to two yards on two carries after intermission. Geriner completed 7 of 14 passes for 88 yards in the first half, but showed his skill set after intermission – completing 9 of 11 attempts for 181 yards as he finished 16 of 25 for 269 yards and three scores on the night. 

WHAT IT MEANS 

BC advances to the state quarterfinals for the sixth time in 10 years under Britt, who led the Cadets to Class AA state crowns in 2014 and 2016. 

GAME BALL 

To Broadnax, who had seven catches for 143 yards and two touchdowns. He had six receptions for 124 yards and both scores in the second half, and also played excellent defense. 

WHAT’S NEXT 

The Cadets will host Riverdale (8-2) Friday in a Class 4A quarterfinal at Memorial Stadium. 

THEY SAID IT  

“I thought we had better conditioning and we showed it in the second half,” BC linebacker Holden Sapp said. “I think we wore them down. Their running back No. 3 (Solomon) was really fast, but we made adjustments and shut him down in the second half.”