HERRIN -- Three turnovers led to scores for Herrin, along with a fake punt that led to another scoring drive, as the Tigers upended Benton, 52-22, here Friday night.
"Turnovers that led to touchdowns and we had to have dropped 10 footballs in the first half," said Benton coach Bob Pankey. "Those balls were right where they needed to be and our offense doesn't work very well when we don't catch footballs."
Senior running back Jase Gosha was the workhorse for Herrin's offense, rushing for 130 yards and scoring four touchdowns. Three of the TDs were recorded in the first half as Herrin raced to a 31-0 lead.
Gosha actually fumbled on Herrin's opening possession. Benton could not capitalize on that turnover and punted from midfield. Starting from its 17, it took the Tigers nine plays to punch in their first score -- a 7-yard pass from quarterback Chance Karnes to running back Tate Johnson.
Benton quarterback Hamilton Page was intercepted on the Rangers' next possession. Gosha scored his first touchdown from 5 yards out in the closing seconds of the opening quarter.
A fake punt set up Herrin's third score. Punter Trenton Stucker scooted 25 yards on the play, keeping a Tigers' drive alive. Gosha made it 21-0 on an 8-yard run from scrimmage. The Rangers then fumbled the ensuing kickoff and Gosha scored from 25 yards out on the first play of the drive.
"Those kind of things against good teams like Herrin make a huge difference," Pankey said.
A 34-yard field goal from Herrin sophomore Jake Baumgarte as time expired resulted in the halftime lead.
"It was 31-0 at halftime, and obviously, we had a hard time stopping them in what they wanted to do, but it shouldn't have been that far out of hand at halftime," Pankey said. "Because of the turnovers and the scores they got off turnovers and because we couldn't catch the football tonight (made the difference)."
Benton put up 22 points in the second half with Page rushing for two touchdowns and throwing a 34-yard strike to Cade Thomas on the Rangers' first possession of the half. Joey Craig caught the two-point conversion.
Gosha scored his final TD from 9 yards out midway through the third quarter. Teammate Jackson Yates added a 45-yard run for the Tigers. The Tigers then got a running clock near the quarter's end when senior cornerback Robert Anthony intercepted a Page pass and scored from 53 yards out.
Page retailiated with a 42-yard run on Benton's next possession. The senior signal caller also scored on an 11-yard run late in the contest.
Page finished with 100 yards rushing on 10 carries. He was 13-of-30 via the air with three interceptions. Page threw to six different receivers with Neal Carlton leading the way with four catches for 56 yards. The Rangers were outrushed 350 to 161 as the Tigers had 416 total yards to Benton's 303.
The Rangers fell to 2-2. They will travel to West Frankfort at noon Saturday for Franklin County bragging rights.
