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PIASA – Southwestern came out on fire in the first half of a confrontation at home against a state-ranked Greenville club, taking a 32-6 lead, but the Comets recovered in the second half.
The Piasa Birds hung on for a 52-44 triumph.
Coach Aaron Fricke said it was one of the biggest wins for the Birds in several years.
“It was a huge win,” Fricke said. “From what I have been told in the community, we haven’t beaten Greenville in football for 16 years. To take a step like that and bounce back from last week’s loss against Hillsboro it is one of the biggest wins in recent school history. I didn’t expect to go the way it did, but we played good football in the first half.”
Sophomore quarterback Caleb Robinson tied a school record for most touchdowns in a game with his five-touchdown performance. He ties Andrew Frye, a 2015 graduate in that passing category. He also threw for 270 unofficial yards and reaped praise from Fricke who said, “Caleb is not the typical sophomore quarterback” and he had “an outstanding game.”
Ryan Paslay amassed 215 yards rushing and also had a magnificent game. Speedster receiver Scott Kasting caught three touchdown passes and totaled 130 yards with his catches. Jacob Ritzhaupt also had a pair of scores for the Piasa Birds.
The crowd base was “phenomenal” Fricke said in both the student section and general fans, lined along the Southwestern side.
The future looks very bright for the 1-1 Piasa Birds, Fricke said after the big win.
