Redbud Musketeers at Marquette Explorers Football
ALTON – Marquette Catholic had been closing in on its second win before Red Bud’s comeback. The Explorers led 14-0 at halftime and 21-13 late before the Musketeers scored twice in the final minutes.
Marquette coaches and fans disagreed with a call that was ruled roughing the passer instead of intentional grounding late in the game. Red Bud continued its drive after the call, and then Reubusch scored the winner.
“What I saw and what he saw are two different things,” Marquette coach Eric Dickerson said about the call after the game. “It is tough to have that come down to a play that was a factor in the outcome of the game.”
Dickerson also said the Explorers’ own mistakes contributed to the loss.
“We shot ourselves in the foot a lot and made mistakes,” he added. “We can’t make those kinds of mistakes against good quality teams,” Dickerson said. “We stopped ourselves a lot. We had false starts and little things that did hurt. One play, though, didn’t win or lose this game, and unfortunately we lost.”
Marquette opened the game with a 14-0 lead. Mark Osborne scored on a 9-yard run for the Explorers’ first score and Joe Stephan added the PAT.
Don’tay Longstreet caught a 23-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Toby Eberlin, and Joe Stephan’s second point-after kick made it 14-0 at halftime.
Red Bud answered in the third quarter. Reubusch hit Austin Easton with a 34-yard completion and followed with a 30-yard pass play to Ethan Powell, setting up first-and-goal at the Marquette 6-yard line. Reubusch then threw a 2-yard touchdown pass to Powell to cut the deficit to 14-7 with 9:08 left in the third quarter.
Red Bud’s Jackson Penseneau blocked a Stephan punt and returned it 29 yards for a touchdown. It was the Musketeers’ second blocked punt of the game. The conversion attempt failed, leaving Marquette ahead 14-13 with 4:29 remaining in the third quarter.
The Explorers increased their lead to 21-13 when Longstreet scored on a 44-yard run with 4:48 left in the third quarter. Stephan added the point-after kick.
Red Bud started its rally on its next possession. The Musketeers drove 68 yards in seven plays, getting within 21-19 with 2:37 left in the game on Reubusch’s 2-yard touchdown run.
Jhordyn Croft carried 27 times for 109 yards for the Explorers and was a top offensive performer.
Dickerson said he looks forward to getting back to work Monday with his players and preparing for Friday’s home game against Principia.
