Headed to the Playoffs
The Cadets got rolling early on as Wyatt Estabrook picked off a pass from New Hampstead's Erik Hockman that was tipped up into the air. Three plays later, Cadet quarterback Stephen Cannon found Stanley Smart Jr. for a short completion that the junior turned into a 60-yard touchdown with a spectacular run after the catch.
Cannon, who has committed to Texas Tech, had another impressive performance behind center as he completed 12 of 18 passes for 223 yards and three touchdowns, while rushing for 61 yards and another score on 11 carries.
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Cannon, who has committed to Texas Tech, had another impressive performance behind center as he completed 12 of 18 passes for 223 yards and three touchdowns, while rushing for 61 yards and another score on 11 carries.
Stanley Smart Jr. was also effective running the ball with 62 yards on eight carries including a 10-yard scoring run.
Bubba Frazier, the senior who has committed to Notre Dame as a wide receiver, had three receptions for 28 yards and ran for 54 yards and an 18-yard touchdown on five carries. Josh Washington had four catches for 34 yards and ran for 18 yards and a score on four carries.
Eron Mallard had another big game in what has been a breakout season. The junior had four catches for 92 yards with touchdown receptions of 53 and 22 yards, and added 16 yards rushing on three carries.
"We have so many weapons in our offense it makes it hard for a defense to focus on just one guy," Cannon said. "We've got six guys who are playmakers — so I like to say we have a six-dimensional offense and the defense is forced to cover the whole field, and that makes things a lot easier for me as a quarterback. We weren't perfect tonight, and there are a lot of things we need to work on — but we've got a lot of confidence coming into the playoffs."Mallard entered the game with 660 all-purpose yards, which was third on the team behind Frazier (937) and Smart Jr. (696).
"Eron is a really special player and he's the second fastest guy on the team behind Bubba and just ahead of Stanley," Britt said. "Those guys were on the 4x100 and 4x200 meter relay teams that won state championships last year along with Cannon. We anticipated he (Mallard) was going to have a big year, and he has come on strong lately after being a bit banged up at the start of the season."
Benedictine's defense, led by defensive tackle Kam Cody, who has committed to Clemson, and LaDamion Guyton, the 5-star edge headed to Texas Tech, along with linebackers Larson Little and Jayden Houston and defensive back Micah Williams, held New Hampstead to 73 yards rushing.
