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Friday Night Drive

Seneca runs for 488 yards in win against St. Bede

Gunnar Varland (2) of Seneca celebrates touchdown in end zone on Friday, Oct. 10, 2025 at Seneca High School in Seneca.

Seneca came in with a plan to run down the heart of the St. Bede defense and remain undefeated on the season, and that’s exactly what the Irish did as they ran for 488 yards and came away with the 48-16 victory over the visiting Bruins to move to 7-0 on the season while St. Bede falls to 1-6.

Seenca’s first touchdown came on a fourth-and-3. Quarterback Gunner Varland called his own number for a 13-yard touchdown to put the Irish ahead 7-0.

The Irish picked up right where they left off after a three-and-out with another Varland keeper for a 15-yard touchdown run that pushed the lead to 14-0.

“I thought we kind of came out flat to be honest,” Varland said. “It was a little quiet in warmups which worried me a bit, but then as the game got going I thought we started to pick things up a bit.”

Brennen Hirst had a big kickoff return only to fumble the ball, giving it back to the Irish offense. On third and 14, Cam Shriey picked up 13 yards and then a 5-yard face mask penalty on the Bruins gave Seneca a first down. Shriey found his way in for a 20-0 lead later on the drive.

The Irish put their foot on the gas after another stop, taking just two plays to extend the lead as Varland broke free for 31 yards up the middle and then Shriey finished the drive off with a 2-yard touchdown run that made it 28-0.

“I was pretty happy that we played well on special teams getting that fumble,” Terry Maxwell said. “Offensively we had several guys step up and run the ball well. It’s tough to defend because you can’t key on one or two guys on a balanced team.”

With the half coming to a close the Bruins started to find success through the air although it got started with an 18-yard run from quarterback Gino Ferrari.

Ferrari found Drew Carboni for a nice 12-yard gain and then finished off the drive with a beautiful 33-yard touchdown pass over the middle to Jose De Le Torre and after the two-point conversion the Bruins trailed 28-8.

The Irish defense once again set the tone to start the second half as they sacked Ferrari twice and forced the Bruins punt.

On the first play from scrimmage on the next Irish possession Liam Knoebel went straight up the heart of the St. Bede defense for a 53-yard touchdown run that extended the lead to 35-8.

The Bruins went back to the air with Ferrari completing passes to Carson Riva and De Le Torre for 23 and 12 yards and then another 5-yard to Carboni, but on fourth-and-5 the pass fell incomplete giving the ball back to Seneca.

The big play offense was back in action again as Ethan Othon broke free for 84 yards on the first play that set up a 6-yard touchdown run from Varland to push the lead to 41-8.

“I thought we did some really nice things in the pass game tonight,” Bruins coach Jack Brady said. “As we continue to grow we will start making those plays more often and hopefully build something strong. But Seneca grinds it out and then hits a home run. They’re a very good team.”

Seneca once again did not waste any time as Matt Stach took the first play 36 yards for the touchdown and a 48-8 lead.

Hirst took the ball for a 30-yard run on the next Bruins possession before Ferrari scored on the 9-yard touchdown run and after the 2-point conversion made it 48-16 which is where the score would end.

“Overall pretty happy with the game,” Maxwell said. “With St. Joseph-Ogden coming in next week we have to clean up some of the pass defense, but overall both sides of the ball played well tonight.”

For the night the Irish were led by Othon with 160 yards on seven carries and two scores while Varland added 144 on 13 carries and three scores.

The Bruins were led by Hirst with 48 yards on eight attempts while Ferrari completed 12-21 for 11 yards and a touchdown.