Reed-Custer wins rain-drenched 42-36 ICE shootout over Streator

BRAIDWOOD – In a game that was played entirely in rain and at times a heavy downpour, Reed-Custer was able to outlast Streator 42-36 Friday at Comets Stadium.

Reed-Custer (3-5, 2-4) led 14-0 after one quarter, 26-14 at halftime, and 34-20 heading to the final quarter.

The Comets had a great performance from senior running back Rex Pfeifer, who carried the ball 29 times for 189 yards and four TDs and also caught a 48-yard TD pass from quarterback Jacob Reardon to open the game’s scoring.

Fellow senior Travis Bohac finished with 123 yards on the ground on 14 tries and a score, while Reardon posted 78 yards on eight carries. Reed-Custer registered 438 yards of total offense.

“First of all, credit to coach [Kyle] Tutt and his guys,” Reed-Custer coach Gavin Johnston said. “When we went up 20 [34-14] early in the third quarter and the rain really started coming down, they could have packed in it, but they didn’t. It felt like in the first half, any time we’d go up two scores they’d come right back and cut it to one. They just kept hanging, and we couldn’t ever get in a position where we were comfortable.

“We wanted to keep our run game going, and the weather, I feel, helped us a little. [Streator QB Christian] Benning was putting the ball in really good spots, but the ball was wet and very tough to catch. We made enough plays tonight in tough conditions, so all in all, we are really happy to get the win tonight and work this week on closing things out next week on a high note.”

Benning had a great night himself, as he ran 14 times for 110 yards and three TDs, caught a 60-yard pass from Isaiah Weibel and passed (14 of 34) for 152 yards for a pair of scores – one each to Matt Williamson (five catches, 37 yards) and Zach Schultz. Weibel also rushed for 51 yards on six carries and had three receptions for 60 yards for the Bulldogs.

Streator finished with 365 total yards.

“The wins are going to come, we all know that. Tonight there were a number of times the guys could have just moved on, but they stuck with it until the final play.”

—  Kyle Tutt, Streator football head coach

“The culture in this program is something our guys continue to strive to change in positive ways,” Streator coach Kyle Tutt said, his club falling to 2-6 over and 1-5 in the ICE. “The wins are going to come, we all know that. Tonight there were a number of times the guys could have just moved on, but they stuck with it until the final play. We will continue to fight and get ready for next week.

“Give credit to Reed-Custer for playing well, especially early on. I think in the second half we did a better job of playing defense as a unit instead of everyone trying to make individual plays. Guys started giving up their bodies, took on blocks and started playing football the way I know they can.

“We just couldn’t find a way to get that even or go-ahead score after the opening quarter.”

Both teams close out their respective seasons next week. Streator hosts powerhouse Wilmington, while Reed-Custer travels to Lisle.

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BOX SCORE

At Comet Stadium, Braidwood

Reed-Custer 42, Streator 36

Streator (2-6, 1-5) 0 14 6 16 — 36

Reed-Custer (3-5, 2-4) 14 12 8 8 — 42

Scoring by quarter

First quarter

RC — Rex Pfeifer 48 pass from Jacob Reardon (Tristan Randall kick), 7-0, 9:53

RC — Rex Pfeifer 1 run (Tristan Randall kick), 14-0, 4:57

Second quarter

S — Matt Williamson 11 pass from Christian Benning (pass failed), 14-6, 9:19

RC — Rex Pfeifer 8 run (kick blocked), 20-6, 5:23

S — Zach Schultz 5 pass from Christian Benning (Anthony Dominic run), 20-14, 1:06

RC — Rex Pfeifer 26 run (run failed), 26-14, :01.9

Third quarter

RC — Rex Pfeifer 36 run (Travis Bohac run), 34-14, 9:42

S — Christian Benning 4 run (pass failed), 34-20, 3:05

Fourth quarter

S — Christian Benning 2 run (Isaiah Weibel run), 34-28, 11:08

RC — Travis Bohac 39 run (Travis Bohac run), 42-28, 8:09

S — Christian Benning 1 run (Jake Hagie pass from Christian Benning), 42-36, 1:27

Team statistics

Streator Reed-Custer

Total plays: 59 61

First downs: 19 22

Rushes-Yards: 23-153 56-390

Passing yards: 212 48

Total offense: 365 438

Comp-Att-Int.: 15-36-1 1-5-0

Third downs: 5-of-13 7-of-11

Fourth downs: 2-of-5 0-of-3

Fumbles-Lost: 4-0 4-1

Penalties-Yards: 5-65 5-50

Punts-Avg.: 2-29.0 1-26.0

Time of possession: 19:55 28:05

Individual statistics

RUSHING – Streator: Christian Benning 14-110 (3 TD), Isaiah Weibel 6-51, Isaiah Brown 1-0, Jake Hagie 2-(minus 8). Reed-Custer: Rex Pfeifer 29-189 (4 TD), Travis Bohac 14-123 (TD), Jacob Reardon 13-78.

PASSING (C-A-TD-INT-YD) – Streator: Christian Benning 14-34-2-1-152, Isaiah Weibel 1-2-0-0-60. Reed-Custer: Jacob Reardon 1-5-1-0-48.

RECEIVING – Streator: Matt Williamson 5-37 (TD), Isaiah Weibel 3-60, Jake Hagie 3-30, Anthony Mohr 2-20, Christian Benning 1-60, Zach Schultz 1-5 (TD). Reed-Custer: Rex Pfeifer 1-48 (TD).

INTERCEPTIONS — Streator: none. Reed-Custer: Travis Bohac.