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player ready...Reavis wasn’t going to alter a script that’s been successful this season. Of course, Rams coach Tim Zasada still had a few tricks up his sleeve Friday against Eisenhower.
However, the main ingredient to Reavis’ success has been quarterback Isiah Alpuche. That didn’t change against the Cardinals in a first-place showdown in the South Suburban Red.
Alpuche rushed for two touchdowns and passed for two more to lead Reavis to a 35-7 win over visiting Eisenhower.
The Rams (7-1, 4-1), Cardinals (6-2, 4-1) and Richards (5-3, 4-1) are tied atop the Red with a week to go.
“There’s a lot of great players in this conference, but I wouldn’t trade No. 2 (Alpuche) for any of them,” Reavis coach Tim Zasada said. “He can do it all. Run off tackle, scramble, throw a pass. He’s been unbelievable.”
A 3-yard touchdown run by Alpuche (8-for-9, 142 yards) with 1:57 remaining in the second quarter accounted for all of the points in the first half and gave Reavis a 7-0 lead after the first of five extra-point kicks by Mike Koscielniak.
The scoring drive was made possible by some Rams trickery. Faced with a fourth-and-8 from the Eisenhower 43, punter Marc McClinton found David Evariz on a 19-yard pass, which deflected off a Cardinals defender.
“It was a big play,” Zasada said. “It wasn’t exactly how we drew it up, but it was effective.”
Eisenhower wasted a golden scoring opportunity on the first series of the game. The Cardinals marched 53 yards and ate 8:16 off the clock, only to turn the ball over on downs at the Rams 12.
The second half belonged entirely to Reavis. The Rams scored three touchdowns in a span of 4:41 to open up a 28-0 lead.
Khalid Norvell’s 6-yard TD run at 8:36 of the third quarter made it 14-0.
Matt Beach then recovered an onside kick at the Rams 49. On the very next play, Alpuche lofted a 51-yard TD pass to a wide-open Travis Liszewski for a 21-0 spread.
On Reavis’ ensuing possession, Alpuche scored on an 8-yard run for a 28-0 advantage with 3:55 left in the half.
“We knew we had to string some points together,” Alpuche said. “We had to execute. We were fired up in the second half.”
The Rams offensive line, led by Vinny Vertucci, Tommy Dalzell, Anthony Wojciechowski and James Rapacz, provided plenty of space for Alpuche to work some magic.
“All the hard work paid off,” Rapacz said. “I know we could do it. This team is filled with grit.”
Wojciechowski, Rapacz and George Torres produced a steady rush in the Cardinals backfield and limited the running attack to 54 yards.
A 47-yard TD pass from quarterback Cortez Jackson (6-for-20, 166 yards) to Kenny Scott late in the fourth quarter helped Eisenhower avoid the shutout.
“We have to get back to fundamentals,” Eisenhower coach Travis Moore said. “Reavis did an excellent job of executing their game plan. We have to be ready for Evergreen Park.”
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