After his fumble inside his team's 5-yard line allowed Holy Angels to score and take the lead late in the third quarter, Benilde-St. Margaret's running back Isaiah Smith came back to the sideline, in his coach's words, "madder than a hornet."
Smith spent the rest of the Class 4A, Section 5 playoff game Tuesday stinging the Holy Angels defense. The next time he carried the ball he ran for 49 yards. He went on to score two fourth-quarter touchdowns as the visiting Red Knights advanced with a 17-10 victory.
Smith's 149-yard effort put him over 1,000 yards for the season and helped Benilde-St. Margaret's (6-3) avenge a 34-17 loss to the Stars on Oct. 5.
"We had four turnovers the last time we played them, and we made some critical penalties that hurt us," Red Knights coach Jon Hanks said. "They're a good football team, and we had to come out and play well, take care of the ball and execute."
Smith's second score from 2 yards out gave Benilde-St. Margaret's the lead with 6:35 to go. Senior defensive back Mason James' interception ended the the season for Holy Angels, the defending 4A champs.
"I was pretty mad about that fumble," Smith said. "Most of the time I get down on myself when something like that happens, but I felt like I had to go back out this time and make up for it."
Stars quarterback Rook Rowe set up the first points of the game early in the second quarter when he ran for 4 yards on a fourth-and-2 play. Rowe followed that up with a 20-yard scramble, and three plays later Aaron Sanchez kicked a 21-yard field goal to put the Stars up 3-0. Rowe also found Mitch Hendrickson for a 5-yard touchdown pass.
After punting on their first three possessions, the Red Knights put together a drive to tie the score just before halftime. Louis Hyde capped off the 11-play, 50-yard drive with a 27-yard field goal with 37 seconds left.
