The Message photo by John Rohlf
By John Rohlf, The Message assistant editor
Reitz Memorial and Mater Dei both earned wins on the gridiron ahead of the Sept. 12 Hunger Bowl matchup between the two Evansville diocesan high schools.
Reitz Memorial 44, Evansville Central 6
Reitz Memorial (3-0) remained unbeaten with a 44-6 road win over Evansville Central (1-2) Sept. 5.
The Tiger defense held Evansville Central to 57 yards of offense in the road win. They also kept the Bears off the scoreboard for the first three quarters. They recorded two interceptions by Connor O’Donohue and Jake Brackett and one fumble recovery by Brady Combs.
Reitz Memorial’s offense scored three first quarter touchdowns to take control of the game. All five of Reitz Memorial’s touchdowns came on the ground. Senior Dylen Kendrick led the way with 134 yards rushing and four rushing touchdowns. Junior Gene Aimone added one rushing touchdown on the ground.
Quarterback Luke Brown went 16-23 for 219 yards through the air. Maxx Anslinger hauled in a team-high 5 receptions for 73 yards. De’Andre Fellows added 56 yards receiving for the Tigers.
Mater Dei 21, Vincennes Lincoln 6
On the night they honored the 2000 state champion football team, Mater Dei got back into the win column ahead of their matchup with Reitz Memorial.
Mater Dei (2-1) pulled away in the second half in their 21-6 win over Vincennes Lincoln (1-2) Sept. 5. Mater Dei outscored the Alices 14-0 in the second half in the win.
They led 7-6 at halftime, with their first-half score coming on a rushing touchdown by Caden Thacker. Quarterback Tate Mallory scored twice on rushing touchdowns in the second half.
Mater Dei and Reitz Memorial square off in the Hunger Bowl Sept. 12 at Enlow Field at Bosse High School. Kickoff is at 6:30 p.m. CDT.