Dons come back to top Benet

Updated: March 22, 2011 4:14PM

Notre Dame overcame an 11-point, early fourth quarter deficit to

defeat Benet 35-31 on Friday on a memorable Homecoming night Niles.

The Dons (3-1, 1-1) trailed 25-14, but showed signs of life when senior

receiver Jack McAndrew made an acrobatic 32-yard touchdown catch with 7:27

left in the contest.

Notre Dame then took the lead for good when senior Nick Bascom blocked a

punt and senior Conner Gavin scooped up the ball and ran it 15-yards into

the end zone, giving the home team a 28-25 advantage with 3:44 remaining.

ND added to its lead when senior quarterback Tim Whalen (three touchdown passes)

connected with senior Connor Thomas for a 21-yard touchdown with 1:34

remaining.

"We had the best week of practice we've ever had. I don't know if it was

just because the (Homecoming) dance, but the guys worked hard. We talked

about belief a lot. That's what we did. We believed, and we won," Thomas

said.

Benet (2-2, 0-2) added a touchdown with 8.7 seconds remaining when EJ Howe

caught a three-yard touchdown pass from backup quarterback TJ Rickert, who

had taken over after starter Nick Mankowski injured his foot two drives

earlier.

But for a second straight week, the Redwings felt they let a winnable game

get away. Last week, they gained twice as many yards as Marian, but fell

14-13.

"It sure is frustrating. I don't think it could be any more frustrating than

right now," Benet head coach Patrick New said. "Those are two games we

could have won. We could be 4-0 right now. It hurts."

Notre Dame led 7-0 at halftime on Friday. But a bad snap on the Dons' first

play from scrimmage in the third quarter resulted in a fumble, and soon a

Benet touchdown.

The home team increased its lead to 14-6 on a 33-yard run by senior Jeremy

Burgos.

But Benet got right back into the game on senior Pat Boyle's 25-yard

touchdown run.

Then, Benet star receiver Connor Nelligan started to take over the game. The

senior dove to catch a 29-yard touchdown pass from Mankowski, giving his

team an 18-14 lead.

On the Redwings' next possession, Nelligan caught a short pass from his

quarterback and exploded for a 56-yard score in the first minute of the

fourth quarter.

Benet, leading 25-14, appeared in command. But Notre Dame thought otherwise.

The Dons return to action at 7:30 p.m. Next Friday at Marian Catholic. Benet

hosts Glenbard South in a non-conference game at 7:30 p.m. next Friday.

© 2012 Sun-Times Media, LLC. All rights reserved. This material may not be copied or distributed without permission. For more information about reprints and permissions, visit www.suntimesreprints.com. To order a reprint of this article, click here.