Brian Hagberg
WARREN, Pa. – Tucker Lindell ran for three touchdowns, and the Knights defense forced four turnovers as Eisenhower topped Reynolds, 34-8, in their District 10 Class 1A quarterfinal at War Memorial Field on Saturday.
See the highlights:
Lindell scored on runs of 15, 16, and a school-record 99 yards, while Cole Kellogg had two picks and Caleb Jakubczak another to help Eisenhower to the victory.
“We just played as a team really well,” Lindell said during the Cole Orthodontic Associates interview. “We brought each other up. When they made plays, we came back and made big plays.”
See the full Cole Orthodontic Associates player interview
Eisenhower seized control of the game late in the first half.
Trailing 14-8, Reynolds drove to the Eisenhower one. The Raiders attempted a version of the “tush push” on fourth-and-goal. The Knights came up with a stop and two plays later, Lindell broke through a tackle and raced down the sideline for a 99-yard touchdown to put the Knights in front 20-8.
“It (the stop and score) is massive, absolutely massive,” Eisenhower coach Jim Penley said. “Tucker had a great game but Tucker’s been phenomenal for us all year. I feel like we’ve got three, four really good runners who can make some plays and tonight was Tucker’s night to shine.”
See Penley’s full interview
Eisenhower’s defense forced a turnover on downs on the opening possession of the game, but the Raiders recovered a fumble on the next play to get the ball right back.
Reynolds took advantage of the miscue and Gavin Alabran hit Parker Nay for a 42-yard touchdown. Alabran ran in the conversion to give the Raiders an 8-0 lead.
Eisenhower answered with a methodical drive that ended with Lindell running it in from 15 yards. The Knights kicked the extra point to keep Reynolds in front 8-7.
The Knights took the lead four minutes into the second quarter thanks, in part, to a fortuitous bounce.
Quarterback Shawn Pascuzzi was in the shotgun and the snap sailed over his head. He got the ball cleanly on the bounce and fired a pass to Kris Bunk. Bunk did the rest weaving his way into the end zone to give the Knights the lead.
Eisenhower got the ball to start the second half and marched down the field. Lindell capped the drive with a 16-yard touchdown.
Pascuzzi and Bunk connected again for a 53-yard touchdown on the first play of the fourth quarter to end the scoring.
Alabran was 16-27 passing for 200 yards with a touchdown and three interceptions. He had 11 carries for 59 yards.
Kevyn Malgieri had seven catches for 69 yards. Gabriel Minjarez led the ground attack with 13 carries for 63 yards.
Lindell ran for 181 yards and three touchdowns on 11 carries. Logan Penley had 72 yards on nine totes.
Pascuzzi was 4-6 passing for 99 yards and two touchdowns. Bunk had three catches for 86 yards and two scores.
Eisenhower will face Cambridge Springs, a 42-8 winner over Maplewood, in the semifinals on Saturday, Nov. 11 at a time and location to be announced.
