Benson burns Cleveland 46-28

By Steve Brandon

The Portland Tribune, Sep 25, 2009, Updated Oct 30, 2009

L.E. BASKOW / THE PORTLAND TRIBUNE

Benson junior Matthew Dodier breaks up a pass intended for Cleveland junior Terrell Johnson. The Techmen won 46-28 at Cleveland.

When they're good, they're very good. When they're not, they're drawing penalties or missing some assignments.

But the Benson Techmen were much more good than bad on Friday, as they showed off their improving football team and rang up seven touchdowns in a 46-28 victory at Cleveland.

Benson improved to 2-2 and will have a bye week off before opening PIL 6A league play Oct. 8 at Lincoln.

"We go on streaks where we execute well and put points on the board," Benson coach Anthony Davis said after the nonleague win over PIL 5A Cleveland. "We're really explosive. But we play in peaks and valleys. We need more peaks and fewer valleys."

Even in Friday's start-to-finish win, the Techmen sputtered at times. Cleveland cut a 19-0 deficit to 19-16 and had a drive going with five-plus minutes left in the game that could have pulled the Warriors to within less than a touchdown of Benson.

The potential comeback bid ended, though, when senior Darray Frazier stepped in front of a Warrior pass for an interception and clear sailing some 65 yards for a Benson touchdown that made the score 46-28 with 4:53 remaining.

The at-times wild game – which took nearly three hours and 10 minutes – saw 0-4 Cleveland score 22 more points than it had put on the board in its first three games combined.

The Warriors showed some spark in their passing game and then began to pound the Techmen with big running back Nelson Franks against a tiring Tech defense.

But Benson was up to the task of making big plays on both sides of the ball, with the threat of track star Freddy Jackson at tailback helping open things up for others.

Quarterback Zac Fuentes, a senior, engineered the Benson offense with his ability to roll out as well as hit a nice array of receivers. Fuentes finished with two touchdowns on the ground and passing for three more TDs.

Benson took a 6-0 lead on its first possession, with Fuentes capping a short drive with a one-yard plunge.

The Techmen, who have added the no-huddle to their arsenal in Davis' second year as coach, made it 12-0 midway through the first quarter on a 17-yard touchdown pass from Fuentes to senior wide receiver Carlos Johnson.

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