Elgin’s late drive comes up short in narrow playoff loss to Reavis

Trailing by three points late in the fourth quarter, Elgin’s comeback attempt fell short in Friday’s Class 7A opening round game against Reavis at Memorial Field.

With less than a minute on the clock and facing a third-and-four on Reavis’ 34-yard line, Elgin quarterback Jacob Rufino lofted a pass to Dan Beckett, who was racing toward the endzone. The junior’s leaping catch just across the goal line was ruled out of bounds.

Reavis then thwarted the Maroons’ fourth-down attempt to seal a 31-28 victory, the team’s first playoff win in 10 years.

Play earlier in the game also had a big impact on the outcome. After jumping out to an early first quarter lead, the Maroons turned the ball over three times in the second quarter preventing Elgin from extending its advantage.

“In the first quarter, we put our foot down on the gas and went,” Elgin coach Anthony Mason said. “We on verge of pulling away but it didn’t turn out that way because of the turnovers.”

Elgin, a 29th seed, started its rally in the third quarter.

Leading 17-14 at the start of the second half, Reavis extended its lead to 24-14 on a 1-yard keeper up the middle by quarterback Dardan Nreci with 8:49 left in the third quarter.

Elgin (5-5) responded with back-to-back TDs to pull in front early in the fourth quarter. Rufino connected with Luis-Angel Hernandez for a 3-yard score on the Maroons’ last drive of the third quarter. They then pulled ahead 28-24 on a 75-yard LaMarin Powell run that ended the team’s first drive of the fourth quarter.

The lead was short-lived as 36th-seeded Reavis pulled back in front on its next drive that ended with a 12-yard left side sweep to the end zone by Ahmed Everette.

Elgin scored on its first possession of the game on 1-yard pass from Rufino to Jayden Edgar. Rufino completed 15 of 23 passes for 187 yards.

The Maroons ended Reavis’ first drive with a 93-yard interception return by Ja’Miere Moore. The junior also caught six passes for 89 yards.

The Rams roared back scoring two touchdowns of their own on a 10-yard Christian Del Bosque (16 carries for 123 yards) run and an 8-yard Brandon Seymore scamper. Reavis (5-5) pulled ahead 15-14 at the end of the first quarter with a successful 2-point conversion.

The second quarter featured two interceptions by both teams, an Elgin turnover on a fumble and a safety. Reavis was awarded two points after a bad snap on an Elgin punt.

Reavis, located in Burbank, will travel downstate and face perennial powerhouse East St. Louis next Saturday.

“We got a big beast in front of us but it’s a life experience our kids are ready to take,” said Reavis coach Josh O’Shea.