High school football: Passing connection leads Marian Central past Marian Catholic

CHICAGO HEIGHTS – With the Marian Catholic defense focusing on Emitt Peisert and the potent Marian Central rushing attack, Hurricanes quarterback J.R. Budmayr had his choice of receivers in one-on-one coverage all Friday night.

Budmayr's favorite target was Eric Ruschke and it quickly became clear that the Spartans couldn't stop them. At first it was quick out routes, then slants over the middle.

Budmayr and Ruschke connected for four touchdowns as Marian Central opened East Suburban Catholic Conference play with a 56-16 win on the road at Marian Catholic.

The pass game eventually opened up the run as Budmayr rushed for a touchdown as did Peisert and Jarryd Cabusao twice. The Hurricanes finished with 421 total yards on offense.

"We definitely knew they were going to play for our run game because the last two weeks have been 300-yard-plus running games," said Ruschke. "So that's what we took advantage of, the pass game."

All told, Ruschke caught 12 of Budmayr's 18 completions for 89 of his 160 yards.

Despite it being Budmayr's first year as the starter, the two have a long-standing connection.

"I've played with Chewy since I was in second grade, so we've been at it for who knows how many years, I've been used to him," Ruschke said.

The Hurricanes (3-0, 1-0 ESCC) fumbled on their first drive and the Spartans (1-2, 0-1 ESCC) led 9-7 after one quarter.

The first-quarter touchdown from Budmayr to Ruschke on an out route gave the blueprint though. Less than a minute into the second quarter, the two linked up again for a score, putting the Hurricanes out to a lead they never gave back.

"Once we recognized it early, we knew just to keep attacking It and it worked out," Budmayr said.

Unsung Hero:

Luke Tegtman, Marian Central, Sr. DB/WR

The two-way player had an interception on defense and caught one pass for 20 yards on offense.

The number: 4

touchdown passes from J.R. Budmayr to Eric Ruschke.

And another thing...

Despite the defense keying on him, Emitt Peisert finished with 112 yards and a touchdown.