The soundtrack for Benedictine’s Division III, Region 10 semifinal against Padua at North Royalton ran the gamut of eras. Beatles from the 60s. Led Zeppelin from the 70s. B-52s from the 80s. The great R&B of the 90s. It all fit the bill: All you need is Love. Whole Lotta Love. Love Shack. To the Bengals, following a massive year-over-year improvement, that part sounded like a broken record. Despite another memorable evening from Benedictine standout Chris Maloney, counterpart Rod Love had the final say as the Bruins prevailed, 42-28, in a steady, misty rain Nov. 15. Maloney was outstanding, with 22 carries for 256 yards and three touchdowns on the ground, along with a late 20-yard TD catch as the Bengals mounted one last comeback bid. But Love was even more brilliant, accounting for 261 yards on 33 carries, including a backbreaking 60-yard TD scamper in the fourth to essentially seal the outcome. “Yeah, he’s a good player,” Maloney said. “You can prepare for good people. But the only way you’re going to be able to take him down is just playing with your heart. They didn’t play with more heart than us. It just didn’t go our way.” Before any further questions could be asked of Maloney about his performance and the team’s laudable 10-3 campaign, an adult approached, pointed Maloney toward the locker room and ended the interview. Benedictine coach Joe Prevesk could not be immediately located to be interviewed. Beyond the understandable lament as their season came to a close, the Bengals did have opportunities to climb back into the game after digging an early hole, down, 21-7. Maloney ripped off a pair of long TD runs in the second quarter, one for 40 yards and another from 59 yards out, to tie the game, 21-21, with 5:06 left before halftime. Almost immediately, Padua (8-5) had a response. Nick Barker bought time rolling out and connected with a wide-open Riley Cervenka for a 58-yard scoring strike, giving the Bruins a 28-21 halftime advantage. The duo had earlier hooked up for a 40-yard TD late in the opening quarter. The third was much less frenetic, with the 28-21 scoreline standing. But a battle-tested Padua squad was knocking on the door on the Bengals’ 5. On the first play of the fourth, Love found paydirt on a 5-yard run, making it a 35-21 game. The resilient Bengals, one of The News-Herald coverage area’s turnaround tales of the fall after going 4-6 in 2023, gave themselves one last window. They embarked on a nine-play, 80-yard drive. That was finished off by Matthew Furst wheeling around and finding Maloney in the flat for a 20-yard TD on a fourth-down play, pulling Benedictine within 35-28. Chris Maloney 20 yard TD pass from Matthew Furst on 4th & 10 keeps Bene alive Padua 35-28 7:08 left pic.twitter.com/hpmebxMidS — Chris Lillstrung (@CLillstrungNH) November 16, 2024 The window was slammed shut from there. Love, elusive all night with first-class bounce ability to the outside, displayed that trait again on a 60-yard TD jaunt, his fourth score of the game and 24th of the fall. Benedictine got down to the 2 in the waning minutes. But a fumble was recovered by the Bruins’ Devin Shaw-Mason. Maloney, with his four TDs, concludes a breakout senior season with 26 touchdowns. Also a Division II state track and field qualifier last spring in the 200-meter dash, he came into the game with 1,692 rushing yards. Chris Maloney from 13 yards outBene ties it 7-7 5:22 1Q pic.twitter.com/UnkRFwxkGD — Chris Lillstrung (@CLillstrungNH) November 16, 2024 THE SCORE Padua 42, Benedictine 28