Reagan bounces back from disappointing loss with rout of Roosevelt

Sophomore kicker Jacoby Hartofelis lined up to kick a field goal to give Reagan another positive play heading into the locker room, but the ball ended up in senior tight end Russell Reed's hands for something even better.

With four seconds left until halftime, Hartofelis was set for a 28-yard field goal attempt. A bad snap still ended up in holder and senior linebacker Nate Ramos' hands, and he quickly leaped into the air and tossed the ball to Reed for an 11-yard touchdown.

Reagan demonstrated some unexpected creativity on offense to defeat Roosevelt 52-0 Friday night at Comalander Stadium in the penultimate game of the regular season.

"They executed it, but that's not really what we intended," Reagan coach Preston Meyer said of the unexpected score.

Reagan came out firing on all cylinders against Roosevelt, a week after taking a tough 50-7 loss to rival Johnson.

"It shows how much we can face adversity and how much adversity helps a team like us," Reagan senior two-way athlete Ayden Fernandez said of getting back into the win column.

The Rattlers got on the board with a 32-yard rushing touchdown by junior running back Jericko Espinosa in a quick two-minute, five-play drive. Fernandez, Reagan's leading rusher, punched in his first score of the night on an 8-yard rushing touchdown with 7:27 remaining in the second quarter. He recorded his second score of the night with a 31-yard rush to open the scoring in the third quarter.

"We looked very clean," Fernandez said of Reagan's offense. "No mistakes."

Even Reagan's special teams got in on the scoring action before the break. Senior defensive back Landon Herrera returned a punt for a 80-yard touchdown with 3:38 left in the second quarter, minutes before the field goal unit stole their own touchdown.

Senior defensive lineman Colt Galan recovered a loose ball on Roosevelt's 5-yard line in the third quarter after the Rough Riders tried to punt it away. Espinosa quickly ran the ball into the end zone on the ensuing play for a quick score.

"I can't say enough about our kids," Meyer said. "We had a tough one last week, and they came back ready to go to work this week, and we came out and got it done."

Reagan junior kicker Dylan Sage extended the Rattlers' lead with a 37-yard field goal to start the final quarter. Senior running back Alexander Tritch scored Reagan's final touchdown of the night on a 6-yard run with 5:48 to play.

Looking ahead, Reagan is in line for a second-place finish in District 28-6A and has a spot in the playoffs locked up.

"We're going to try and go execute the best we can and get ready to get a good one in the playoffs," Meyer said.

Fernandez hopes the Rattlers will use their final regular season game as a tune up. Reagan takes on Clark next Thursday at Farris Stadium to close out the regular season, while Roosevelt faces Churchill next Friday at Heroes Stadium.

"We've got to play a really clean game," Fernandez said. "Because in playoffs, no mistakes or you lose."