Reitz football enters postseason riding momentum after beating Mater Dei

The first half was where the Panthers (8-1) made most of their damage. Quarterback Hunter Moers found three different receivers for touchdowns: Elijah Darrett, Lee Steele and Mason Bailey.

And of course, Amyr “Juice” Wilford showed up in the running game with two touchdowns of his own. Juice’s first touchdown was exceptional. At one point during the play, it seemed as if he had nowhere to go.

But the sophomore had his own idea.

Juice bounced the play back to the left side of the field and found his opening — the end zone was in sight. Reitz went on to take a 28-0 lead into halftime.

It was an eye-opener for most, but for Reitz coach Cory Brunson, not even a little bit.

“Never surprised (with Juice),” Brunson said. “He finds those holes, takes hits and does a great job.”

Defensive lineman Humphrey Graves also stood out. The sophomore had a sack and recovered a fumble in the first quarter.

A crushing half for Mater Dei

Mater Dei (7-2) showed more fight in the second half, but it was a similar tune to its Week 4 performance against Memorial.

The Wildcats came into the night on a four-game winning streak, including a couple of one-possession games on the road against Jasper and North. Reitz is an entirely different challenge, though. Mater Dei coach Cody Hess put the performance on him.

“We need to be prepared more,” Hess said. “You look at two of our losses on the year, in both, we didn’t play a good half tonight and against Memorial. If you want to be successful, especially come tournament time, you have to be able to play all four quarters and sometimes more.”

Mater Dei’s first touchdown was scored on the ground by Ty’Rie Compton in a short-yardage situation. Then, after a turnover on downs in the red zone, the Wildcats defense forced safety.

Hess liked how his team competed in the second half. His group now looks forward to their Sectional 32 opener against Princeton (1-8). With the winner of Mount Vernon-Corydon Central as a potential semifinal opponent, the pathway to the championship game appears straightforward.

Regardless, Hess is looking for his team to respond once again after a less-than-ideal performance heading into the postseason.

“We’re going to have to figure out what type of team we want to be moving forward,” Hess said.

Reitz is entering Sectional 24 united

Moers has been growing into his own in his first season as Reitz’s starter. Brunson said he has noticed the sophomore’s improvements with each passing week.

The disappointment after the Memorial loss in Week 7 was high. Moers took accountability for his role in the outcome.

But this group has rallied together, not allowing the result to define what has been a stellar regular season. Lessons were learned on October 2.

“That (loss) told us that we’re not the greatest out here,” Moers said. “You can’t just walk in and beat anybody. It showed us that we need to work harder. That’s what we’ve been doing these last couple weeks.”

Reitz opens Sectional 24 with another trip to Enlow Field to face Bosse (0-9) with the winner of Heritage Hills-Jasper to follow. It is certainly a favorable matchup to start, but the mindset Moers laid out will not be determined by the opponent.

The sophomore understands the task at hand going forward.

Brunson said he treated Week 9 like a sectional week. Well, Week 10 is one.

The seventh-year coach is motivated, as is his team, to bring the program its second sectional since 2016.

“Everybody is 0-0 and you’re playing for even more,” Brunson said. “You lose, you go home. I’m not ready to go home. I think our team’s not ready, too.”

Markos Tsegaye is a sports reporter for the Courier & Press. He can be reached at mtsegaye@usatodayco.com. Follow him on X @10_Markos_.

This article originally appeared on Evansville Courier & Press: Reitz football enters postseason riding momentum after beating Mater Dei