Saturday’s showdown reaffirmed a belief Veritas Christian football coach Doug Bennett holds dear: Two-point conversions DO matter, even in an offensive shootout.

Veritas topped Wichita Trinity, 46-32, on Saturday at Westwick Rugby Complex, keeping up with Trinity’s physical offense and shooting past the Knights two itty-bitty points at a time.

The Eagles (4-1) converted five of six two-point conversions on the day. The Knights usually got their clocks cleaned in similar situations, converting just one of five. That led to a comfortable Eagle victory, even though Veritas scored just one more touchdown than Trinity.

“We talk about it all the time,” Bennett said. “When you give up a touchdown, you can’t lose heart. You’ve got to step up and stop those two-point conversions. It’s the same on the other end — you can’t be too elated that you scored a touchdown.”

The Eagles understood, converting their first five two-point attempts either on carries by senior Paul Kempf or by exposing a height mismatch with 6-foot-4 tight end Mark Randtke, who caught two conversions from Casey Woods on quick slants.

On the other end, Veritas was great at stopping Trinity’s attempts, succeeding after each of the Knights’ first four touchdowns. It led to a 24-all tie at halftime — despite Trinity scoring four touchdowns to Veritas’ three.

“We kept our heads up after they scored,” Randtke said. “We didn’t let up at all. We held them back, and that was the difference in the game.”

After halftime, Veritas slowly pulled away, grabbing a 32-24 lead on a six-yard run by Jesse Schultz and taking a 40-32 lead later in the third quarter on a 20-yard run by Schultz.

Trinity was shut out in the fourth quarter, thanks in part to a big defensive stop with four minutes to play. Knights quarterback Jon Lippoldt was under pressure on second down and unleashed a pass that was picked off by Veritas sophomore Ben Reynolds and returned to the four-yard line. Kempf scored on the next play to give the Eagles the 14-point lead that held up.

Veritas Christian defender Paul Kempf, right, wraps up Wichita Trinity's David Kempin during the first half. The Eagles beat Trinity, 46-32, at Westwick Rugby Complex.

“We spent more time this week on our defense than we did on our offense,” Bennett said. “Eight-man is a tough game to defend, but when you can have the big stands late in the game, it’s a huge confidence builder. It’s something we can really build on.”

Kempf and Schultz provided a large bulk of the Eagles’ offense, combining for 309 yards rushing on 55 carries. Kempf (23 carries, 165 yards) had three touchdowns, and Schultz (32 carries, 144 yards) had Veritas’ other three.

The Eagles hit the road for three weeks, starting Friday night against Tyro Christian.

Veritas Christian's paul kempf (4) stiff-arms Wichita Christian defender David Penner during the first half. The Eagles won, 46-32, Saturday at Westwick Rugby Complex.