Burdine-Rodriguez connection carries Red Knights to big win over McCaskey
(This story will be updated later tonight with additional details and postgame reaction.)
By Mike Mitchell Jr. — MikeDragoSports.com correspondent
Amier Burdine threw four touchdown passes to Ruben Rodriguez, passed for 216 yards and rushed for 133 yards and a TD to lead Reading High to a 38-0 Homecoming victory over McCaskey Friday at Albright’s Shirk Stadium.
Reading (1-3, 3-4) outgained McCaskey (0-3, 2-4) 434-68 in the Lancaster-Lebanon Section 1 match-up and caused eight McCaskey fumbles, recovering five en route to the mercy-rule victory.
The meeting was the 100th of the series, which began in 1892.
Rodriguez had 11 receptions for 166 yards, tying the program record for catches in a game set by Mike Riley in 1976, against Coatesville. His four TD catches tied a program record set by Tony Hardy against Gov. Mifflin in 1989.
Burdine threw a swing pass to Rodriguez at the 27-yard line, and Rodriguez used his excellent speed and athleticism to finish the catch and run into the end zone for the first score at the 8:30 mark of the first quarter.
Later in the first, Ryan Roman sacked Tornado quarterback Matthew Remash on a tenacious blindside hit, causing a fumble that was recovered by Braxton Coombs-Lopez for the Red Knights.
Burdine then hit Rodriguez down the seam in stride for the duo’s second touchdown connection of the night, this time from 19 yards out. Burdine ran in the two-point conversion to make the score 14-0 Red Knights.
After another Red Knight sack on a fourth-down play by Braxton-Coombs Lopez and Gabriel Laws, Burdine hit Rodriguez on the exact play for their third touchdown of the first half from 39 yards out to make it 20-0.
After a McCaskey punt, Burdine went to work late in the first half. After hitting Kahlil Samuel for a 9-yard completion, Burdine scampered 28 yards to the McCaskey 12 yard line with 3 seconds to go in the first half. Burdine smartly ran out of bounds to give the Knights one last play.
A McCaskey player hit Burdine late out of bounds, which caused a fight to break out between the two teams. The coaching staffs of each team, the officials and the game security staff made sure the fight did not get out of hand. After a long discussion the officials wound the clock and the half ended.
Because of two unsportsmanlike conduct penalties, a player ejection and an illegal procedure penalty on the second half kickoff, the Red Knights kicked off from their own 3-yard line. On the third play from scrimmage the Tornado fumbled and Rodriguez recovered, stopping McCaskey deep in Red Knights territory to preserve the shutout.
The Knights marched 91 yards, with Burdine scoring on a 7-yard run. The key play in the drive was a 30-yard completion to tight end Gabriel Laws.
After a McCaskey punt, Burdine flipped a forward toss to Rodriguez at the 16-yard line. Rodriguez appeared to be surrounded by Tornado players with nowhere to go. He shifted and juked several players to score to make it 32-0.
Coombs-Lopez was at it again the next defensive possession, recovering a fumble and returning it 43 yards to the McCaskey 2 yard line. Alexis Alvarado then ran it in for the final margin. After the game excellent leadership and sportsmanship were shown by the Reading High and McCaskey coaches, each having the teams take a knee facing one another at the 50-yard line. Both head coaches spoke to the other team and the players put the halftime incident behind them.
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Final | |
| McCaskey | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Reading High | 6 | 14 | 12 | 6 | 38 |
Scoring summary
| 1 | Reading High | Rodriguez, 27 pass from Burdine (Kick failed) | 8:30 |
| 2 | Reading High | Rodriguez, 19 pass from Burdine (Burdine run) | 5:22 |
| 2 | Reading High | Rodriguez, 39 pass from Burdine (Run failed) | 1:34 |
| 3 | Reading High | Burdine, 7 run (Run failed) | 5:42 |
| 3 | Reading High | Rodriguez, 16 pass from Burdine (Run failed) | 4:11 |
| 4 | Reading High | Alvarado, 2 run (Kick failed) | 6:40 |
Team statistics
| McCaskey | Reading High | |
| First downs | 8 | 15 |
| Rushes-yards | 27-(-11) | 28-217 |
| Passing yards | 79 | 217 |
| Total yards | 68 | 434 |
| Passes | 5-17-0 | 15-23-0 |
| Fumbles-lost | 8-5 | 4-2 |
| Punts-average | 1-29 | 4-28 |
| Penalties-yards | 7-73 | 18-198 |
Individual statistics
RUSHING
McCaskey: Lavender-Grey 13 – 19, Morales- Monzon 2 – 10, Rivera 3 – 5, Jones 1-2, Quimeak 1-2, Cintron 1- (-2), Remash 3 – (-20), Team 3 – (-27).
Reading High: Burdine 11-133, Alvarado 8-44, C. Small 6-36, Gaskin 1-6, Hernandez 2- (-2).
PASSING
McCaskey: Remash 4-13-0-68, Cintron 1-4-0-11.
Reading High: Burdine 15-23-0- 217.
RECEIVING
McCaskey: DeSanctis 3-52, Cox 1-16, Rivera 1-11.
Reading High: Rodriguez 11-166, Samuel 4-51.
