Bloomington Jefferson took the lead 3 separate times against Benilde-St. Margaret's on Oct. 14, and BSM answered every one. Brandon Nyakundi's touchdown with 1:33 to play gave the Red Knights a 34-29 win. Jefferson falls to 3-4 and BSM moves to 5-2.
The Jaguars opened by grinding out a 7-minute, 15-second drive that ended in a 33-yard Marcus Denkmann field goal. BSM got that back almost right away: Mason Woods hit Finn Lang for a 76-yard touchdown. Later, Joe Moore found Brevan Tarter for 35 yards to reach the red zone, and that set up the first of King's 3 rushing scores.
Jefferson led 16-7 with 1:30 left before halftime, and then the half fell apart. Woods kept the ball on a delayed run up the middle and went 75 yards to make it 16-14. BSM then intercepted a Jefferson pass, and Woods hit Lang again to send the Red Knights into the break up 20-16. BSM gained 217 yards in the first half, and 175 of them came on 4 big plays.
"Opportunity was there in the first half and we didn't capitalize," Jaguars coach Marc Bachman said. "Then it forced us to make plays in the end." He pointed to drives that ended in field goals: "If we finish off that long eight minute drive with seven points that makes it a difference."
The fourth quarter went back and forth. Gavin Vanoverbeke took a pitch around the right side for a touchdown and a 23-20 Jefferson lead. Nyakundi rolled right and threw 22 yards to Lang, Lang's 3rd touchdown catch of the night, and BSM led 27-23. King scored from inside the 1-yard line to put the Jaguars back up 29-27 with 4:53 left. BSM answered once more when Nyakundi kept the ball and dove inside the front pylon.
BSM coach Shannon Currier said his team had changed its approach. "We've played some conservative football in the past," Currier said. "We had to spread it out more and take chances."
Jefferson's running game was strong all night. The Jaguars ran 45 times for 252 yards, 5.6 a carry, and King had 169 of those yards on 24 carries. Moore completed 11 of 13 passes for 105 yards with 1 interception and added 41 yards on 9 runs. Vanoverbeke caught 4 passes for 41 yards. The loss comes a week after the Jaguars' Pink Out Night win over St. Louis Park.
Jefferson is 3rd in the Northstar East-Maroon subdistrict at 2-2. Cretin-Derham Hall (7-0) clinched the subdistrict title by beating Mahtomedi 26-13. Next for the Jaguars is the crosstown game: they play Bloomington Kennedy at 6 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 21, at Kennedy's new on-campus stadium. BSM hosts Marshall the same night.
