Football: Evergreen Park edges Reavis in SSC Red

By Steve Millar 
Correspondent

The back-and-forth battle waged against Reavis in Week 5 was the kind of game for which Evergreen Park prepares. It provided the Mustangs a chance to test how they would respond in an intense situation.

They passed the test.

“Resilience was the key,” Evergreen Park coach Jerry Verde said after the 28-21 South Suburban Red win. “We’ve been preaching resilience. We’ve been working really hard on conditioning, working really hard on discipline. This is a game where that all came together and we needed all of that and we’re proud of the way the kids battled.

“We still made mistakes, but for the most part we’re very proud of the way they battled.”

A 68-yard touchdown run from Mustangs junior quarterback Deijon Feliciano late in the third quarter was the difference.

“Coach preaches how we’re a family and we just have to stay together,” Feliciano said. “We can’t blame somebody, we can’t be down or betray someone. We can’t turn our backs when we want to. We have to stay together, and if we do that we’re going to pull out the tight games every time.”

Feliciano ran for 108 yards and two touchdowns on 13 carries and threw a 25-yard touchdown pass to Harry Measner.

Reavis’ Charles Campbell totaled 106 rushing yards on just eight carries, including a 60-yard touchdown. He added six catches for 73 yards (3-2, 2-1).

The game featured three ties. Both teams held leads with neither holding more than a seven-point edge at any time.

The Mustangs (4-1, 2-1) put together a strong opening drive, going 55 yards on eight plays, capped off by a 1-yard touchdown run on a quarterback sneak from Feliciano.

Reavis (3-2, 2-1) needed just one play to answer, scoring on its first offensive snap of the game as Campbell broke loose for a 60-yard touchdown run.

Both defenses settled in from there, but the Rams took their only lead early in the second quarter on a 3-yard touchdown run by Connor Whalen, a two-way player who made a big impact on defense as well, including coming up with an interception.

The game’s biggest momentum swing came over the final 69 seconds of the first half. Feliciano and Measner connected on a 25-yard touchdown pass to tie the game at 14 with 1:09 left.

Reavis then mishandled the ensuing kickoff and Evergreen Park’s Ke’Shaun Lee recovered. That set up a 3-yard touchdown run by Antonio Clay-Jones with 13 seconds left in the half, sending the Mustangs into the locker room with a 21-14 lead and plenty of momentum.

“I had to trust my teammates to do what they could do and they trusted me to do what I can do,” Clay-Jones said. “It’s just about us making sure we keep pushing. When we feel down, keep pushing harder.”

The Rams tied the game once again on a 1-yard touchdown on a quarterback sneak by Noah Caceres with 6:52 left in the third.

The Mustangs had the final answer, though, with Feliciano breaking free for a 68-yard touchdown run with 2:50 left in the third.

The Evergreen Park defense held on from there, with Asael Rubalcava making an interception and Jakob White coming up with a big sack.

Caceres did his best to keep Reavis in it on both sides of the ball. Playing a rare dual role of quarterback and linebacker, he had four tackles for loss and a sack.

“We play 10 guys both ways and when we have three guys get banged up, it’s tough,” Reavis coach Tim Zasada said. “Our guys really tried. We’re a running football team and they kind of shut that down between the tackles.

“We were able to get outside and do some gimmicks, make some things happen, but that’s only going to get you so far. You have to be able to run the football. They did a good job stopping that and they deserved to win the game.”