What is your favorite Reitz Football moment?

from Dan Rittichier: It was my junior year and our 1996 football team was on a roll, winning the first 4 games pretty handily. We were playing Castle at the bowl in the pouring rain. It rained from sun up to sun down that Friday. Those of you who knew how well the field "drained" the water, you knew that it was a sloppy night. Sloppy also described how we were playing. It was a grudge match the entire game, with a lot of "3 and outs." It was certainly a night for defense, as the offensive power house that we were that year was stifled by the mud and rain.

Anyway, I played junior varsity that year as I was the 2nd string "full back" behind Tyrone Browning, because the original 2nd string full back went down with an injury a couple games earlier. Tyrone was moved to tail back that night and I was put in at the full back position...all 5'10", 165 pounds, soaking wet. I was 165 pounds that night because I was soaking wet. It was my first "real" varsity experience...before that time I went in during the 4th quarter when the game was a blowout.

Again, it was a tight game and we were on about our 20 yard line. Myself and Senior John Dierlam were split out left, with a toss sweep play to the left called. John and I made our blocks on the defensive backs, and Tyrone took it off our blocks and ran it down the sideline 80+ yards for the touchdown. I recall running down the field trying to make blocks (not that it was necessary, because Tyrone was already long gone) and hearing the crowd just go nuts. It was a special feeling. I had never heard that from the field before. It was different from being on the sideline. I was thrilled to be a part of such a fantastic play, a play that proved decisive. We won that game 10-9.

I also threw an interception that game. I was the place kick holder for the field goal team. There was a bad snap, bad hold, and I was forced to yell "fire" which is the code word for the ends to "Get the heck open, because we just botched the snap." Spun to my right, tried to hit our man down the field and threw it in to the muddy hands of the wrong team.

I went down in the stat book that year in the passing category as 0 for 1 with an interception and a .000 passer rating. There went my shot at a scholarship with a Big 10 University.

GO BIG BLUE!