Monroeville loses Benfer to injury in second-round loss

MONROEVILLE — The momentum shift wasn't hard to notice. After Monroeville standout two-way senior Evan Benfer made six Warren John F. Kennedy defenders miss on his way to a 42-yard touchdown run, the Eagles led JFK by a 13-7 score with 5:16 left in the second quarter. But Benfer left the game with a shoulder injury and did not return to the Division VII Region 25 second-round playoff game Friday night at Marsh Field. On top of being the focal point of the Monroeville offense with over 2,000 total yards and 34 touchdowns, Benfer is also an All-Ohio safety on defense. With him out of the game, JFK reeled off 21 unanswered points and fended off any Monroeville comeback threats down the stretch of a 28-19 win. The host Eagles finished the season at 10-2, while JFK — the No. 5 seed in the region — advanced to the third round to face Cuyahoga Heights (7-4), which upset top-seeded Berlin Center Western Reserve Friday night. "We had some adversity there, but our underclassmen stepped up," Monroeville head coach Tylor Nester said. "We came up a bit short, obviously. They were doing a lot of stunting and moving around, and we just couldn't get any consistency going." The Benfer touchdown run was his second of the game, after he had capped a 9-play, 56-yard drive to open the game with a 1-yard score with nine minutes left in the first quarter. JFK had put together an impressive 19-play, 72-yard drive that took 9:59 off the first half clock to take a 7-6 lead before Benfer and the Eagles answered in just five plays. Monroeville had another chance to score late in the half after Landin Hershiser recovered a fumble at the JFK 12, but a 36-yard field goal attempt to end the half was no good to keep the hosts up 13-7. JFK wasted no time to start the second half. Four plays into their drive, Jaylen Murray broke loose for a 66-yard TD run after the visiting Eagles had converted a 14-yard pass on a third-and-10. The extra point made it 14-13. Monroeville then fumbled at its own 10 just two plays into the next drive, and JFK recovered. Two runs by Murray — the last from the 4 — gave JFK a 20-14 lead. The run for two points failed, but JFK had scored twice in three minutes by the 8:58 mark. Monroeville looked to answer with a lengthy drive, but a critical chop block penalty moved the ball from the JFK 5 back to the 20. A 32-yard field goal attempt was then no good with 3:58 left in the third. JFK responded by driving 80 yards over eight plays, with quarterback Freddy Balchalk scoring on an 8-yard run. JFK added the 2-point pass for a 28-13 lead with just 10 seconds left in the third. But Monroeville had one last run in it. After Monroeville turned it over on downs at the JFK 15, it got the ball back and Derek Ackerman held on for an impressive 27-yard TD catch from Colt Clark up the left sideline.. The extra point was no good, however, with 5:11 left in the game to keep the deficit at 28-19. But Monroeville then recovered the ensuing onside kick and got the ball down to the JFK 15, but an interception with 3:08 left ended the threat and JFK ran out the clock on the win. "They had some chunk plays here and there, but we also had some key penalties that we gave up," Nester said. "But for the most part we limited their big-play abilities, which was the game plan coming in." Clark ran 15 times for 44 yards and was 9-of-20 passing for 81 yards with the TD to Ackerman. Connor Bores ran eight times for 47 yards, while Ackerman caught two passes for 33 yards and Hershiser had three catches for 27 yards. The Eagles, who also lost standouts Jaxson Hedrick (offensive line) and Landen Roeder (running back and linebacker) to various injuries in recent weeks, went from 0-10 in 2022 to 10-2 this season. "We thanked our seniors for the past four years because they showed how you battle through adversity and what you can accomplish if you put your mind to it," Nester said. "You understand the process and you stay focused on it, and that was evident with our underclassmen fighting through some of that adversity we had talked about." The Eagles also won a share of their first Firelands Conference title since 2020 and won their first playoff game since 2016. "It obviously hurts right now for the seniors, the whole community and the whole program," Nester said. "But when you look back, they set themselves up for success and fought through adversity as freshmen and sophomores. "They got us back on track last year, and then this year will speak for itself. We just have to stay the course and move forward." Warren JFK 0 7 21 0 — 28 Monroeville 6 7 0 6 — 19 MON — Evan Benfer 1 run (kick failed) JFK — LeMarcus Provitt 8 pass from Freddy Bolchalk (Bolchalk kick) MON — Benfer 42 run (Landon Stein kick) JFK — Jaylen Murray 66 run (Bolchalk kick) JFK — Murray 4 run (run failed) JFK — Bolchalk 8 run (Marcus Komora from Provitt) MON — Derek Ackerman 27 pass from Colt Clark (kick failed)