Benedictine may have fallen off the last few weeks with losses to Bishop Ireton and Midlothian, but the Cadets didn’t go quietly against Fork Union Saturday afternoon.
Fork Union prevailed, however, picking up a 20-14 victory that may have kept the Blue Devils’ season alive as the squad moved to 4-5 and kept their playoff hopes alive before a clash with fellow Prep League power Woodberry Forest this Friday.
Christian Hackenberg threw for 182 yards and two touchdowns on 17-for-30 passing while Jay Gafford gave the Blue Devils a needed boost in the ground game with 121 yards and a touchdown on just 10 touches. Gafford also hauled in 54 yards through the air.
Isaiah Wright was Hackenberg’s favorite target on the day with 66 yards on six catches.
Benedictine leapt out to a 7-0 lead but a short D.J. Randle El touchdown run cut the lead to one in the opening quarter. Tyrone McDade then put Fork Union up 12-7 on his lone catch of the day, a six-yard touchdown from Hackenberg in the second quarter.
A fourth quarter scoring pass from Hackenberg to Gafford pushed the Fork Union lead to 20-7.
The Fork Union defense created a lot of pressure on Benedictine’s backfield and rang up four sacks on the day while picking off a pair of passes.
Fork Union battles Woodberry Friday at 3 p.m. on the road.