Mike Wymer’s instincts took over.
With Benet on the doorstep of tying Notre Dame late in the first half, Wymer was battling for his teammates and fighting for a few more yards.
But Xavier Buckley and the Dons had a different plan.
Buckley’s forced fumble at the 1-yard line turned momentum for good Friday night as the Dons earned a 24-7 East Suburban Catholic victory over the Redwings.
The fumble fell out of bounds in the end zone for a touchback.
“I thought I was at the goal line,” Wymer said. “I thought I was down, too. I just reached for the extra yards. I thought I had it, but (Buckley) popped it out. That was my fault.”
Inches away from a tie game after traveling 77 yards, Benet (3-1, 1-1) could only watch as Notre Dame (3-1, 1-1) capitalized.
On the first play following the turnover and a penalty, Julian Schurr ran 65 yards for a touchdown.
The Dons only managed three first downs in the first half against Benet’s stingy defense. Two came on long TD runs from Ty Gavin and Schurr.
Gavin’s 59-yard TD run down the left sideline opened the scoring with 4:58 left in the second quarter.
Gavin would later add a 8-yard TD run late in the fourth. He finished with 162 yards rushing on 16 carries.
“I think overall our defense was fine,” said Wymer, who’s primarily a linebacker. “It was just three huge plays that we have to execute.
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“Ty Gavin being (conference) MVP last year, it’s a tough task to take on. They’re a great team, but I think we beat us (Friday) — all of our mistakes.”
Gavin and Schurr combined to rush for 236 yards and three TDs as the Dons made eight first downs count.
Benet’s only scoring came courtesy of a 1-yard TD run from Wymer to end an 11-play, 67-yard drive midway through the third quarter.
Junior quarterback Colin Gillespie completed 19 of 31 passes for 187 yards, while Wymer added 64 yards rushing for Benet.
“We were trying to go fast,” Gillespie said. “We thought the D-line was kind of tired to just try to go fast pace. Try and catch them off guard. Lot of short, quick passes.
“We put a lot of good drives together. We just couldn’t execute in the red zone.”
Blake Baumgartner is a freelance reporter for the Naperville Sun.