By Josh Staloch
Correspondent
PULASKI – Pulaski running back Ben Redlin was a one-man show Friday, March 26, in the Red Raiders’ lopsided victory over Ashwaubenon.
Pulaski was able to shake off a slow start after watching the visiting Jaguars go ahead by two touchdowns.
Behind five rushing touchdowns and 257 yards on 21 carries from Redlin, the Red Raiders came alive in the second quarter to post a 62-20 win in the alternate-fall opener for both teams.
“It’s our line,” said Redlin, who also had a 56-yard touchdown reception and completed one pass. “They go hard and do their job. They do an amazing job, and I can’t thank them enough for how well they blocked tonight. It’s been a long time since we’ve been out here playing – it was fun.”
The first quarter wasn’t a lot of fun for the Red Raiders.
Following a three-and-out series on the game’s opening drive, Pulaski found itself on the wrong end of a big play, as Ashwaubenon quarterback Cadian Vang hooked up with Luke Schroeder on a nice pass that went for more than 50 yards and the game’s first score.
Things got worse for the Red Raiders on their ensuing drive.
Pulaski, working from its own 20, coughed up the ball on a third-down play, turning it over to Ashwaubenon on the 19.
A few plays later, on third and goal from the seven, Vang found Schroeder again with a precision pass to the corner of the end zone for a 14-0 lead after the extra point.
Pulaski started its next drive from the 20 and powered its way downfield with plenty of hard running.
On the second play of the second quarter, quarterback Nash Lemerond made a gritty play on fourth down by carrying it in himself from five yards out.
The extra point made it 14-7.
The Red Raiders’ defense came up big on the next series, as Eric Sperduto intercepted a Vang pass to set up his team in enemy territory.
Redlin found the end zone for the first time from six yards out to get his team to within one, 14-13, following a missed extra point.
It was only the beginning for the 6-foot-1, 195-pounder running back.
The senior scored on Pulaski’s next drive with a 56-yard touchdown reception to give the Red Raiders a lead they wouldn’t look back from.
“Once the guys got a feel for it, it clicked,” said Pulaski head coach Jerad Marsh. “It’s not always going to look that good. That was about as efficient as we’ve been. We’re going to see some good Division 1 programs this season, and hopefully, we can see some more of that.”
The Red Raiders ended the first half firmly in control at 41-14.
The third quarter saw the trend of offensive dominance continue.
Pulaski ran three plays, and each one of them found the end zone.
Redlin rattled off runs of 72 and 35 yards before teammate Maverick Cole punched in the team’s final score of the evening with a hard-fought run of his own to make it 62-14.
It’s worth noting, the Red Raiders opted to kneel the ball rather than run their offense with more than nine minutes remaining in the contest with a running clock.
Meanwhile, the Jaguars managed to put together a nice fourth-quarter drive that resulted in an 8-yard scoring run from Connor Ramage.