11-06-2021
BY JACK BULLOCK
BENTON - It took just three plays for the Benton Rangers defense to take control of their second round playoff game at home against visiting Monticello.

An interception by senior defensive back Reid Baumgarte set the stage for the rest of the contest.

The Rangers scored on that possession and showed no mercy in a lopsided 42-12 win over the 8-3 Sages.

Benton, behind an outstanding effort on both sides of the ball, improved to 11-0 on the season.

Other than giving up one big play on defense, Coach Justin Groves' squad dominated a Monticello team that had averaged 31.6 points a game, including a 42-7 win over Greenville in the first round.

Benton held the Sages in check and made life miserable for Monticello quarterback Joey Sprinkle.

The 6-foot-3 senior was sacked four times, fumbled three times (losing two) and intercepted three times as Benton never let up on the pressure.

“If you lose the turnover battle, the percentages are not in your favor to win the game,” said Coach Groves. “We went out and put pressure on the quarterback and made the plays. And our offense capitalized, we were able to hit some big shots over the middle and our run game was working early. Our offense, our defense and our special teams were all good. All three phases we played well today,” said Coach Groves.

Keegan Glover, on the other hand, had a splendid day as Rangers' quarterback.

The 6-foot senior is now the all-time leading passer at Benton and he padded those yearly and career stats in leading his Rangers to the victory.

Glover was 18-of-24 for 291-yards and four touchdowns.

When he wasn't putting up yards in the air, the veteran leader was rushing 18 times for 124-yards and two more TD's.

Glover's favorite target on this day, and most days, is Baumgarte, a 6-foot-1 senior wide receiver.

Baumgarte is now the all-time leading receiver for Benton and he added to his career and season resume with six receptions for 157-yards and three touchdowns.

“We knew coming in to the game today we had a chance to break some school records. We prepared some in knowing how many yards that they (Glover and Baumgarte) needed and they were able to accomplish that and break the records,” said Coach Groves. “To hear that over the PA during the game is special. We have the best quarterback in the history of Benton High School and we have a couple of defensive kids who are in line for that same title on defense. I'm proud of our kids and we had a big day today.”

However the real story of this game was the Rangers' defense.

One early lapse on a pass play and a late game touchdown after the outcome was decided was the extent of the offense from Monticello on Saturday.

After Baumgarte leaped into the air and snagged the interception, Benton used nine plays to go the 44-yards to the end zone.

Glover completed three passes and ran the ball six times, with the final run up the middle for five-yards and a score.

The PAT from 5-foot-9 sophomore kicker Eli Hanson made it 7-0 Rangers with 8:24 left in the first quarter.

Despite an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty after the touchdowns that moved the Rangers kick off back to the 25, Monticello couldn't make much of its second drive.

A three-and-out came about on a run, an incomplete pass and the first quarterback sack of the day by senior linebacker Patrick Stanley.

Benton took over after a Monticello punt and after moving the ball into the Sages' territory, Glover punted on fourth down which was downed at the Monticello two-yard line.

At this point, the Rangers had their one and only defensive hiccup.

Sprinkle dropped back to pass and, for one of the few times during the game that, he had time.

He spotted 6-foot-1 senior wide out Peyton Scott on a post pattern.

Scott caught the ball in stride near the Monticello 45-yard line and sprinted the next 55-yards to pay-dirt.

Although the extra point kick by Sprinkle was no good, the Sages were back in the game at 7-6 with 4:37 left in the first.

“That is how they (Monticello) score. Big plays, trick plays. We told the kids this week that they are going to score. They're too good of a team to keep from scoring for four quarters. But when they do don't flinch. Be ready to go and do our thing,” said Coach Groves. “When you match intensity good things happen.”

For the Monticello faithful who drove 2.5 hours south to Franklin County, they wouldn't have much to cheer about for the rest of the contest.

It took the hosts just seven plays in just a little over three minutes to score again.

An 11-yard pass to junior running back Wyatt Upton and a 19-yard run by Glover put Benton in the red zone.

Three plays later, Glover scored his second five-yard touchdown run.

Another PAT by Hanson pushed the lead to 14-6 at the 2:45 mark.

From their own 30-yard line, Sprinkle was sacked again by Stanley, pushing the Sages back to their own 20.

But Monticello made it's best drive of the half by going 51-yards on four plays.

A pass from Sprinkle to senior Triston Foran for 38-yards and three consecutive runs by senior tail back Jacob Tackett got Monticello down to the Benton 29.

But the Rangers defense came up with another big play.

Sprinkle's pass over the middle was intercepted by Glover where he was downed at the Benton 27.

One play later, the Rangers scored.

Glover took a snap in the shotgun and found Baumgarte sprinting down the middle of the field wide open. Glover's pass hit him in stride.

The end result was a 73-yard touchdown pass with just :18.0 left in the quarter.

Another Hanson PAT made it 21-6 Rangers.

For the Sages, every time they got something going offensively in the first half the Rangers had a defensive answer.

Sprinkle fumbled on a run in the ensuing drive but Tackett managed to pick up the ball and get a gain out of it.

Sprinkle connected three times with Foran on passes, with the third one getting the Sages down to the Benton 31.

Once again, however, the Rangers forced turnover.

Sprinkle was hit on his next run and fumbled.

Benton senior defender Jadon Ford picked up the ball and returned it to the Benton 48.

Just as they had done a few minutes earlier, Glover and Baumgarte hooked up again.

Another post patterned turned into another long touchdown 'pitch and catch'.

The extra point was again good by Hanson as the rout was on at Tabor Field at 28-6 with 7:24 remaining until intermission.

Three Monticello plays on their next drive accounted for just one-yard.

After the two teams exchanged punts, the Sages would again turn the ball over.

With it second-and-15 from their own 49, after a sack by Benton junior linebacker Jacob Kinsman, Sprinkle was intercepted for the third time in the half, this time by Upton.

Upton returned the ball to the Benton 39.

A 16-yard run by Glover got things started on the Rangers' drive and the senior added runs of seven and 11-yards to get the ball to the Monticello 27 with :34.7 left in the half.

Following a Benton timeout, Coach Groves' club got on the scoreboard on its next play.

Glover rolled out to his right and bought some time for his receivers to work their way open.

His pass into the right corner of the end zone was snagged out of a crowd by senior wide receiver Zachary Howell.

Surrounded by three Monticello defenders, Howell came up with the ball for the Rangers' fifth touchdown of the half.

Another kick by Hanson made it 35-6 at halftime.

Getting the second half kickoff, Benton made one of its few mistakes of the game.

The Rangers' Kinsman fumbled on a run into traffic and Monticello recovered at its own 47.

As had been the case for most of the game, the Sages failed to move the ball against the Benton defense.

A holding penalty on Monticello pushed the Sages back and on a fourth-and-eight, Sprinkle gambled on a long pass down the right sideline to Foran.

Although Foran made a great effort, he couldn't hang onto the ball that was ruled incomplete.

Taking over the ball at their own 45, Benton put the outcome to rest on its next drive.

Eleven plays going 55-yards resulted in another Rangers' TD.

Glover connected on two more passes to Howell and one completion went to senior wide receiver Landon Bolen.

Aided by an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty against Monticello, Glover got the ball into the hands of Baumgarte one more time.

His 12-yard toss into the end zone on a crossing pattern gave Benton its largest lead.

For the sixth consecutive time in the game, Hanson hit the extra point.

Despite the extra point being deflected at the line of scrimmage, the ball still sailed through the uprights for a 42-6 lead with 4:34 remaining in the third quarter.

Monticello scored the games' final points with 11:12 left in the fourth quarter.

The Sages went 65-yards on just three plays.

A 15-yard pass from Sprinkle to Scott, then a 15-yard pass interference penalty on Benton and then a 35-yard run by Tackett ended the scoring.

Monticello failed on a two-point conversion making it 42-12.

The two teams played an uneventful final few minutes of the game.

Sprinkle was pestered the entire afternoon by the Rangers and his stats showed the damage done.

Although he was 15-of-32 for 227-yards and a touchdown, 98 of the yards came on one play.

Tackett rushed the ball 10 times for 70-yards and a score.

Scott caught five passes for 115-yards, including the 98-yard TD while Foran caught seven for 76-yards.

Benton's defense held Monticello to 0-of-10 in third down conversions while the Rangers offense had the ball nearly twice as many minutes than the Sages.

Glover completed passes to seven different teammates in the win.

Following Baumgarte in receiving was Howell with five catches for 62-yards and Upton with three receptions for 32.

“The last four weeks we've talked about ways to get better. We knew that our team had a lot of potential, and for whatever reason we weren't clicking on all cylinders earlier in the year. But we found a couple of ways to get better. Even this week I have a few things in mind I want to go back and look at and find some ways to create more opportunities for us,” said Coach Groves. “We made some mistakes today but anytime you can score 42 points on a well coached and fast team like Monticello, you have to be proud,” said Coach Groves. “I tip my hat to our seniors. They went out and laid it all on the line today.”

Benton will face unbeaten Mount Carmel next Saturday at 1 pm at 'The Snake Pit', the Home of the Golden Aces.

The Golden Aces made quick work of Carlinville, beating the Cavaliers at home Saturday afternoon 54-7.

The postseason history between Benton and Mount Carmel on the gridiron has been lopsided.

The Aces have won all four meetings between the two programs (1995, 2001, 2002, 2011) in the IHSA Playoffs.

“We are looking forward to playing them (Mount Carmel). Coach Brewer is a friend of mine and we spend time during the summer together with our teams. I think in the back of our minds that this game could happen and that we could have a shot at them,” said Coach Groves. “We're looking forward to the trip next Saturday.