General | August 26, 2023 | 18:24
St. Xavier dominated Division 3 champion Detroit Martin Luther King Saturday at the Xenith Prep Kickoff Classic at Wayne State's Tom Adams Field.
King looked searching for answers on offense, giving the Bombers great field position on their three first-half scoring drives in the visitors' 44-8 victory.
Brady Bennett dominated the King secondary with TD catches of 12, 10 and 46 yards.
"I thought playing the week before really helped us,'' said Bennett. "Last week we had a hard time scoring in the red zone. I thought their (King) defensive backs weren't physical.
"The whole week we've been rehearsing our plays. When I get out there it's second nature. I kind of got through their DBs and used my speed. Our offensive line did a whole lot better this week.''
For the first time in four years King was breaking in a new quarterback with Dante Moore (UCLA) graduating. Senior Nathan Edwards got the start and looked shaky early, being sacked by Gordy Sulfsted and appearing indecisive.
"We still have all of our goals in front of us,'' said King coach Tyrone Spencer. "We have 40 new players on varsity. As a coaching staff we've been through this, but the players haven't. How we resound is the key. I didn't think Nate played that bad. I think there are some things we can do with him and (Darryl) Flemister down the road.
"I think this was good for our team. You have to get a butt kicking to understand how it goes. That's why we schedule these games. They'll get better, I think. We have to do little things right and we have to make sure these guys are prepared. Build them up, watch the film and see how they respond. We have to go to Carmel (Ind.) and deal with that adversity. It'll be interesting to see how the coaches and players respond.''
After a shanked punt Jack O'Malley scooped up the loose ball and raced to the King two.
Three plays later Steven Napier blasted in from the one to give the Bombers a 7-0 lead.
Junior Chase Herbstreit, the son of former Ohio State quarterback and college football analyst Kirk Herbstreit, scored from two-yards out with 2:08 left in the first quarter to give St. X a 13-0 lead.
Herbstreit hit Bennet for a 12-yard score with 2:08 left in the first have to give the visitors a 20-0 lead against the outmatched Crusaders.
Herbstreit finished 8 of 17 for 143 yards and three scores.
King mustered less than 100 yards in total offense in the first half.
Herbstreit opened the third quarter with his second TD pass to Bennett to increase the lead to 27-0.
King finally had something go its way offensively when Edwards spotted Kavon Mathews down the left sideline for a 54-yard TD pass with 5:53 remaining in the third.
Marvel Eggleston's two-point conversion made it 27-8.
The Bombers responded with a time-consuming drive, resulting in a 1-yard TD by Napier, his second of the game, for a 34-8 lead.
Herbstreit hooked up with Bennet again on a 46-yard bomb, giving the winners a 41-8 lead.
