Chaminade’s Missed PAT Loses to Notre Dame, 14-13

When Jang Kim missed a point-after-touchdown kick in the second quarter, no one thought too much about it. It turned out to be very crucial.

The Chaminade kicker’s miscue enabled Notre Dame to come away with a 14-13 victory Friday night at Notre Dame in the season opener for both teams.

With Chaminade trailing, 7-0, Eagles’ wide receiver Randy Schieber caught a three-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Pablo Suarez with 4:40 left in the first half. But Kim’s kick hooked wide and Chaminade had to settle for six points.

Even late in the game, Kim’s kick didn’t look like it would hurt the Eagles. Behind Kim’s rushing (84 yards on 14 carries) Chaminade had a 13-7 lead and appeared to be in control.

But the Knights rallied.

With five minutes left, Notre Dame gained possession on its own 32, and 12 plays and 4 1/2 minutes later, quarterback John Benz dove in from one yard out, prompting a Notre Dame celebration and making Kim the loneliest player on the field.

Benz, a senior, scored both Knights’ touchdowns and completed 6 of 11 passes for 102 yards.

Notre Dame running back Nate Milone gained 98 yards on 21 carries. Much of the senior running back’s yardage came on second-effort lunges with several Chaminade tacklers holding on.

Schieber’s second-quarter touchdown represented the Eagles’ first points against the Knights in three seasons.

Chaminade 0 13 0 0 -- 13 Notre Dame 7 0 0 7 -- 14 ND--Benz 1 run (Greenfield kick).

C--Schieber 3 pass from Suarez (kick failed).

C--Clarke 25 pass from Suarez (Kim kick)

ND--Benz 1 run (Greenfield kick).