Richmond-Burton runs over Marengo for KRC victory

RICHMOND – Richmond-Burton rolled up 376 yards rushing and got big rushing performances from running backs Brock Wood, Nick Legnaioli and Rey Guajardo en route to a 23-7 Kishwaukee River Conference victory over rival Marengo on Friday in Richmond.

The Rockets improved to 2-0 overall and 2-0 in the KRC with the victory, while handing the Indians (1-1, 1-1) their first loss of the COVID-19-shortened season. Both teams recorded shutouts in Week 1 blowouts, but it was R-B that kept things going in the battle of the last year’s top two KRC teams.

Wood ran wild for a game-high 169 yards on 27 carries and two touchdowns. He opened the scoring with a 9-yard burst with 8:04 left in the first quarter and had 103 yards by halftime. He later scored the game’s second touchdown on an impressive 36-yard run with five minutes left in the first half, which pushed the Indians lead to 13-0.

Legnaioli added 93 yards rushing on 13 carries, while Guajardo had 105 yards rushing and a touchdown for R-B. Guajardo’s five-yard run on the opening possession of the second half were the only points in the final 24 minutes.

Marengo scored its only points on a one-handed grab in the end zone by wide receiverJack Heinberg, who corralled an eight-yard pass from sophomore quarterback Josh Holst. Holst accounted for 182 of the Indians’ 232 total yards of offense, completing 15 of 26 passes for 116 yards, a touchdown and two interceptions. He also ran six times for 66 yards.

Guajardo intercepted Holst on one of the final possessions for Marengo deep into R-B territory and finished with two interceptions. The Rockets had four takeaways, including fumble recoveries by Stephen Tower and Joseph Miller. Jacob Petersen added a sack on defense.

For Marengo, Collin Aubry and Zach Trotz both had fumble recoveries and Eli Garza had an interception. Josh Bibbings caught six passes for 54 yards to lead the Indians. Tyler Mirtl added five catches for 43 yards. Mitch Kunde had 42 yards rushing on nine attempts.

Jacob Huber finished 6 of 18 for 69 yards and the interception. Dylan Minzey led R-B with three catches and 29 yards. Legnaioli added a 30-yard field goal.

Richmond-Burton 23, Marengo 7

Richmond-Burton 7 9 7 0 – 23

Marengo 0 7 0 0 – 7

HOW THEY SCORED

First quarter

R-B–Wood 9 run (Legnaioli kick), 8:04

Second quarter

R-B–Wood 36 run (kick blocked), 5:00

Mgo–Heinberg pass from Holst (Slavin kick), 2:29

R-B–Legnaioli 30 field goal, 0:01

Third quarter

R-B–Guajardo 5 run (Legnaioli kick), 9:03

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING–Marengo: Stolz 8-16, Kunde 9-42, Holst 5-66, Team 1-minus 8: Totals: 23-116. Richmond-Burton: Legnaioli 13-93, Guajardo 14-105, Wood 27-169, Siegel 1-3, Huber 1-6. Totals: 56-376.

PASSING–Marengo: Holst 15-26-2-116. Richmond-Burton: Huber 6-15-1-68.

RECEIVING–Marengo: Bibbings 6-54, Jennett 1-7, Mirtl 5-43, Heinberg 1-8, Garza 1 -2, Kunde 1-2. Richmond-Burton: Petersen 1-12, Minzey 3-29, Legnaioli 2-27.

TOTAL YARDS: Marengo 232, Richmond-Burton 444