Prep football: Benicia rolls past Maria Carrillo, 34-6

In a football game highlighted by a series of ?first-half miscues by Benicia High and a goal-line stand by the Maria Carrillo defense against a potent offense, the second half defined the better team ?rather quickly.

Benicia sprinted from a two-touchdown halftime lead to a five-touchdown advantage, running away for a 34-6 defeat of the Pumas at Maria Carrillo on Friday night.

A scoreless first quarter for both teams appeared to be a promising start for Carrillo (0-2). It was highlighted by a Pumas interception in the end zone by Jacob Link on third down to stop a promising Panthers drive.

“We had some bright spots we’re really happy with that we can build upon; we just need to tighten our game up,” Pumas coach Jay Higgins said.

The Carrillo defense then topped off that early stop with another fourth-down stop early in the second quarter.

However, the Pumas went three and out, resulting in a 23-yard punt return by Kameron Lane that put the ball at Carrillo’s 40. It took two plays for the Panthers to reach the end zone with a Daniel Lane 9-yard touchdown run, set up by a 26-yard scamper by Kendall Lane, for an early 7-0 lead.

The teams then exchanged turnovers.

Carrillo’s defense was able to force Lane to fumble inside the Pumas’ 40, giving the ball to Carrillo, who then handed it right back when Brodi Harris was intercepted by Daniel Morgan.

On the subsequent drive, Benicia (2-0) went on their best offensive drive of the game. The Panthers drove 71 yards in 12 plays and 4:34, and culminated the drive in the most unique of ways.

On fourth-and-10 from the 21-yard line, quarterback Tyson Wallace was able to scramble to the 1-yard line, appeared to attempt to hurdle into the end zone and fumbled before he crossed the plane of the goal line.

Wallace was saved by wide receiver Miles Bailey, who fell on top of the ball in the end zone to make it a 14-0 contest.

Carrillo was able to get the ball deep inside Panthers territory to start the second half, ending a drive at the Benicia 23, but that’s as close as they would get. On the very first play of the ensuing Panthers drive, Armani Moore-Talton dashed 77 yards to the end zone, putting Benicia up 21-0.

The Panthers would score twice more in the third quarter to put the game away for good.

“We need some consistency from start to finish,” Higgins said. “We can’t have a mistake here, then another mistake there. It’s like a moving target. We have to get everyone on the same page consistently.”

Jack Sherman was responsible for the only Pumas touchdown of the night, a 76-yard dash with a little more than a minute to go in regulation to avoid the shutout.

The Pumas host Casa Grande next Friday at 7 p.m.