Sep 6, 2024 2 min read

ELLSWORTH – Ben Hays broke free for a tiebreaking 57-yard touchdown run with 9:16 remaining that gave Bentworth a wild 35-28 nonconference victory over Charleroi on Friday night.

The game was originally scheduled to be played at Charleroi but because of construction work on the atheltic track it was moved to Bentworth.

Charleroi (0-3) took a 6-0 lead late in the first quarter on a 17-yard touchdown run by Nate Rock.

Less than a minute later, Watson threw a 64-yard touchdown pass to Anthony Washington and Caden Hackinson’s conversion put Bentworth up 7-6.

The Bearcats made it 14-6 on the first play of the second quarter when Ty Watson scored on a six-yard run up the middle. Charleroi, however, tied the score when Noah Fletcher hauled in a 30-yard scoring pass from Jackson Keranko and the latter ran in the two-point conversion.

Bentworth went back on top midway through the second quarter when Benjamin Hays threw a 58-yard halfback pass to Lucas Burt, who had gotten behind the Cougars’ secondary.

An interception in the final 30 seconds of the first half gave Bentworth terrific field position and the Bearcats cashed in when Watson scored on a one-yard plunge with only six seconds left in the opening half.

Charleroi forced another tie, at 28-28, by scoring the first 14 points in the second half. Keranko threw a pair of five-yard TD passes to Fletcher. The first came after Charleroi converted a first down on a fake field goal. The second came on fourth down and was set up by the Cougars recovering a Bentworth fumble at the Bearcats’ nine-yard line. Keranko passed to Connor Luckock for the two-point conversion that tied the score.