Frazier scores late TD to stay unbeaten, upend Bentworth
ELLSWORTH – Nothing turned out as predicted in Friday night’s football game between Bentworth and Frazier.
Most expected an offensive shootout, fueled by the spread offense of Bentworth and the strong-armed passing of Frazier quarterback Hunter Patterson.
What transpired was a game filled with missed opportunities, great defensive play and very little scoring.
In the end, Frazier produced a fourth-quarter touchdown, not on Patterson’s arm, but his legs and that stood for a 7-3 victory over Bentworth in a Tri-County South Conference game.
The win pushed Frazier to 3-0 overall and in the conference. Bentworth, which has not beaten Frazier since a 16-13 win in the 2007 season and was shut out the past three encounters, is 2-1 overall and in the conference.
Frazier had outscored its first two opponents – Jefferson-Morgan and Avella – by a combined 93-0. Not only did the Bearcats ground Frazier’s offense to a near standstill, but they scored the first points of the season against the Commodores, taking a 3-0 lead into the final minutes of the game.
Maybe that’s why the Bentworth coaches were praising the effort in the group meeting after the game.
“It surprised me the score stayed down,” said Benworth head coach Ron Skiles. “Both teams can move the ball up and down. That’s a credit to Frazier.”
The critical series in the game came after the Bearcats stopped Frazier on a fourth-down pass with 7:29 left to play, taking over at their own 37. A first-down run by Ethan Tush, who finished with 63 yards on 11 carries, gained eight yards. But those next two yards proved to be the toughest of the game. A run by Tush gained a yard but another by Riley Nickerson gained nothing. On fourth down, Skiles decided to go for it. But Frazier stuffed Nickerson on a toss play to the left for no gain.
“Without knowing it, our tailback was not in the game,” said Skiles. “That was my fault. Punting was an option but I thought if we could get that first down, we could put the game away. Two plays to get one yard.”
Patterson completed a 16-yard pass to Cameron Roebuck out of the backfield then scurried for 12 more to set up a first-and-goal at the two. Patterson bulled his way in on the next play. Josh Cox kicked the extra point and Frazier had a 4-point lead with 2:58 to play.
The Bearcats dominated the first half but could not score. They intercepted Patterson but stalled at midfield. Four other drives ended in Frazier territory.
“Early in the game, they controlled the field position and put our defensive backs against the wall,” said Frazier head coach Mike Steeber. “Both defenses played a tremendous defensive football game. We haven’t had that for a while.”
It was 0-0 at halftime but Frazier had to feel relieved. Frazier had 26 yards and 65 penalty yards in the first 30 minutes. Bentworth had nine yards and minus-32 rushing. It got better in the second half but the Bearcats needed a score.
“It was huge,” said Skiles of the first half. “If we get a touchdown down there, we win this game. We never expected this to be a low-scoring game. Our kids played well. I’m proud of how they played. Frazier is just so far ahead of his in weight training and all that. They are very physical.”
Bentworth finally got on the board when Levi Jordan kicked a 22-yard field goal on the first drive of the second half. The score was set up on Tush’s 42-yard run and a 25-yard completion to Noah Peternel.
“We had some missed opportunities,” said Steeber. “That was the biggest thing early.”
Quarterback Josh Hughes completed 18 of 28 passes for 102 yards for Bentworth. Patterson finished completing 7 of 17 passes for 52 yards. Lucas Klorczyk rushed for 44 yards, 36 in the second half.