Waukesha Catholic thumps Antioch

The Catholic Memorial Crusaders crossed state lines to face the Antioch Sequoits at their home field Friday night.

For the Sequoits' home opener, the student section filled up the bleachers dressed in their beach theme apparel.

But it was the Crusaders who had the most fun on the night, winning in convincing fashion, 44-8, to improve to 2-0 on the season.

Crusaders coach Bill Young liked how his young players performed in the dominant win.

"We had a lot of young guys last year and you're going to make a lot of mistakes," Young said. "But this is a solid group. We've got a lot of growth to continue to become better."

One of those young players that stepped up was junior running back PJ Reynolds, who started since the top two running backs didn't play due to injuries.

"I just had to step up and be the leader of the team," Reynolds said. "I just needed to go all out every play."

Reynolds had 14 carries for 98 yards and had a rushing touchdown on the night.

The Crusaders started the game by giving up just 18 yards on the opening possession. Then Catholic Memorial's offense scored on its first possession, with senior wide receiver Kenny Piacsek's 34-yard touchdown run.

Then it was all Crusaders the rest of the half.

Catholic Memorial senior quarterback Rory Fox scored on a run from the 5-yard line. However, Fox did leave the game in the second quarter after he tried to hurdle a defender. Tucker added to the Crusaders lead with his 1-yard touchdown two possessions later.

Late in the second quarter, Antioch's offense had two straight possessions end in fumbles off a mishandled handoff.

The Crusaders capitalized on both turnovers with touchdowns, and, by halftime, the score was 37-0.

Antioch coach Brian Glashagel said there are some valuable lessons that can come out of these types of games.

"One thing we learned is when you're playing a team with their caliber, you need to be crisp and sound," Glashagel said. "We shot ourselves in the foot more than we needed to and against a team like that you're just not going to come back."

Catholic Memorial scored a touchdown on its first possession of the second half to make it a running clock the rest of the way. Second-string junior quarterback Isaiah Nathaniel found junior wide receiver Bennett McCormick for an 11-yard score.

Antioch, 0-1, was able to avoid the shutout. Junior running back Aiden Lennon reached the end zone on a 29-yard run with just under two minutes remaining in the game. And the Sequoits were successful on the two-point conversion.

Despite the lopsided loss, this was Antioch's first fall football game in nearly two years. That, according to Glashagel, is something to be happy about.

"Listen, we got thumped tonight," Glashagel said. "But in a weird way, glass half full, what a blessing to be able to be here playing a football game in the fall."