On the field and off, Burdine-Rodriguez connection is making Red Knights a winner
By Mike Mitchell Jr. — MikeDragoSports.com correspondent
Amier Burdine and Ruben Rodriguez are the best of friends on and off the field.
“We see each other every day,” said Rodriguez. “I pick him up for school every day, we practice together every day; we see a lot of each other.”
The best buddies and basketball teammates were in sync on the football field Friday night, connecting for four touchdown passes and leading Reading High to a convincing 38-0 Lancaster-Lebanon League Section 1 victory over McCaskey in the 100th meeting between the two schools.
Rodriguez, a two-time All-State pick in basketball, 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.
“Ruben is a true, dynamic threat,” said Burdine. “He always finds a way to get open and create something from nothing. I have complete confidence in him every time I throw it to him.”
With the ultra-talented duo of Burdine and Rodriguez, the Red Knights have great leadership.
“They are athletes who find a way to make it happen,” said Reading High coach Troy Godinet. “They are great leaders, come from great families, and want to go out and compete. They trust each other and believe in each other and all of their teammates and coaches.”
Burdine hit Rodriguez in stride on a swing pass and Rodriguez used his speed and athleticism to get the Red Knights (1-3, 3-4) on the board from 27 yards out in the first quarter.
Later in the first, Ryan Roman sacked Tornado’s 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 dynamic duo’s second touchdown connection of the night, this time from 19 yards out. Burdine then ran in the two-point conversion to make the score 14-0 Red Knights.
McCaskey (0-3, 1-6) went for it on fourth down. Coombs-Lopez came up big again, teaming with Gabriel Laws to sack Remash again.
Reading coaches liked what they saw on their last possession and called the same play from the same formation. They used a Shotgun, no-back set with trips on one side and twins on the other. Rodriguez lined up as the inside trip and ran a seam to the opposite hash.
McCaskey was rotating their its safety up to the twins side leaving a linebacker to try and run with the speedy Rodriguez. Burdine hit Rodriguez (11 catches for 166 yards) in stride for their third touchdown of the half from 39 yards out to give the Red Knights a 20-0 lead.
“Coach (Sean) Gaul is amazing,” Godinet said of his Offensive Coordinator. “He knows exactly how to work with the talent we’ve got and put the players in position to be successful.”
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 Mc Caskey 12-yard line with 3 seconds to go in the half. Burdine smartly ran out of bounds to give the Knights one last play.
A McCaskey player hit Burdine late, which caused a fight to break out between the two teams. The coaching staffs of both teams, the officials, and the game security made sure the fight did not get out of hand. After a long discussion, the officials wound the clock and the half ended with the Red Knights up 20-0.
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. On the third play from scrimmage the Tornado fumbled and Rodriguez recovered for the Red Knights, stopping McCaskey deep in Red Knight territory to preserve the shutout.
The Knights marched 91 yards, with Burdine scoring on a 7-yard touchdown run to increase the lead to 26-0. The key play in the drive was a 30-yard completion from Burdine to tight end Gabriel Laws.
“The guys did a great job of battling back from adversity tonight,” said Godinet.
After a Mc Caskey punt, Burdine (who ran for 133 yards and threw for 217 yards) 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 McCaskey players for an incredible touchdown catch and run to extend the Red Knight lead.
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.
“It felt really good to beat McCaskey tonight,” Rodriguez said. “They beat us last year. This team is young, but we are really starting to come together.”
After the game, excellent leadership and sportsmanship were shown by the Reading and McCaskey coaches 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.
