Edgewood Football Player Leads Wildcats to Victory Wearing Jersey Honoring Brother Who Died in Wreck

By Gerri Miller

Staff Writer

When Joseph Benton took the football field Friday night with Edgewood Academy’s Wildcats defeating No. 5 Patrician Academy, he went out with a secret weapon.

Joseph wore the #69 jersey that belonged to his older brother Jacob Benton. Jacob was a member of the 2007-2009 Edgewood Academy football team and died in a car accident in March 2010 of his senior year.

Jacob’s death was the first in a string of unfortunate incidents for the Wildcats in 2010. Midway through the season, Jacob’s friend Mallory Garmon died in a car wreck and player John Mark Cosby’s father passed away from cancer.

Joseph finds his motivation through the memory of his brother “It meant a lot to me to be able to wear his jersey,” Joseph said. “We lost Jacob when I was six years old. He has always been my motivation on and off the field. He always motivates me to give it everything I’ve got.”

Joseph said he touches a photo of Jacob that hangs in the field house every day and before he goes out to play on the field. “Every play, and I was playing both sides of the field,  I knew that Jacob was looking down and seeing that number. It kept me going,” Joseph said.

Joseph and the rest of the defensive line stood tall at the goal line and secured a 35-34 victory in the first round of the playoffs, sending the Wildcats into the AISA-AA semifinals.

Joseph said the score was significant because 35-34 adds to a total of 69 points, the number on the back of the retired Benton jersey. The school was also located along route 69 and the temperature for Friday’s game was 69 degrees. 

Before the game, Patrician honored Joseph and the #69 jersey, as Joseph was the sole captain for his team. Joseph played one of the best games of his career, completing the stop for the 2-point conversion to lead Wildcats to victory.

Both of Joseph’s older brothers Jesse Benton, 24, and John Benton, 30, also played football for Edgewood Academy. Jesse also honored Jacob by wearing his jersey in a 2014 final regular season game.

Joseph has been playing varsity Wildcat football since eighth grade. He said he remembers dressing up in a child’s jersey and pads and watching his brothers practice football. “My dream was always to play football,” he said.

Friday night was the last time the #69 jersey will be seen on the field. There are no more little brothers to play football and the family is getting the jersey reframed to hang permanently in the Wildcat fieldhouse.

“My brother Jesse always talks about passing down a legacy for Jacob,” Joseph said. “I just try to live by that and know that I would make Jacob proud.”

Joseph will get another chance to shine in a rematch against Chambers Academy on Friday night in the state semifinals. The Wildcats beat No. 1 Chambers last month in their first game against them.