Benet dominates Washington

Benet’s Jack Toner ushered in the 2012 campaign in style when he returned the opening kickoff 95 yards for a touchdown.

It was just the type of fast start the Redwings were looking for, and it helped pave the way for a 62-0 victory against Washington on Friday night at Benedictine University. Washington High School is located on Chicago’s southeast side.

“We’re hungry to get some wins and this gets us going in the right direction,” said Toner, who not only returned kicks, but also saw time at defensive back and wide receiver. “The blockers did a great job of opening things up and it was a great way to get things started.”

Benet running back Porter Ontko added two rushing touchdowns on his first two touches, one from 1 yard and another from 78 yards, helping the Redwings to a 34-0 lead after the first quarter and 55-0 at halftime. In the dismal 1-8 campaign a year ago, the Redwings scored a combined 43 points.

“We came into this game pretty mad,” Ontko said. “We plan on taking that type of attitude throughout the entire season. It feels really good to be on this side of this type of outcome.”

Washington competes in the Chicago Public League Windy City Conference and was outmatched from the start. The Patriots never moved the ball inside the Benet 40 and struggled to get much of anything going. The disparity between the two teams really showed on special teams where the Redwings blocked two punts to go along with Toner’s kickoff return.

It was Washington coach Jimmy Smith who sought out Benet to schedule this one-time meeting.

“I just wanted my guys to get out and see something different because a lot of the inner city kids live so much of their life 10 blocks from their houses,” said Smith, who played at Mt. Carmel. “We wanted to get out and have the boys experience some different things and broaden their horizons a little bit. We’ll learn from this.”