Rich East high-flyin' behind Byrd

Rich East players celebrate with the SouthtownStar Rival Trophy after beating Rich South.
(Matt Marton/SouthtownStar)

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When Rich East was presented with the "Sauk Trail Super Bowl" trophy Saturday afternoon following its win over Rich South, Reggie Byrd fought his way through several teammates to make sure he was one of the first to get a hand on it.

None of the Rockets seemed to mind, considering it was Byrd's monstrous effort that helped pave the way to victory.

Byrd, a senior running back, found the end zone four times as he ran for 280 yards on 23 carries, powering Rich East to a 41-14 triumph over its longtime nemesis in a SICA South battle in Park Forest.

The trophy and rivalry, which get their names because both schools are located on Sauk Trail Road, have been on Byrd's mind for quite some time.

"Winning this game and getting this trophy really means a lot to us," Byrd said.

"We came into this game on a two-game losing streak and our team is mostly seniors. We knew we wanted to win this game, and I'm really glad we got the chance to. We didn't want to roll into the playoffs with three straight losses."

Rich East (7-2, 3-2) also received a strong effort from Daniel Harris (12 carries, 34 yards) and Josh Dyer (2 catches, 40 yards, TD).

Byrd opened the scoring for the Rockets with a 19-yard scamper with 5:57 to go in the second period.

Elliot Salinas hit the first of his three PATs and the Rockets led 7-0.

The Stars (4-5, 2-3) responded on their next possession. Quentin Boyd caught a swing pass from quarterback Kellen Argue and rocketed 63 yards to the end zone with 5:01 left.

Jeremy Lewis--caught the 2-point conversion attempt from Argue and Rich South led 8-7.

Rich East quarterback Stephen O'Neal hit Dyer with a 10-yard touchdown pass with 2:29 remaining in the half and the Rockets went into the intermission up 13-8.

Byrd opened the third quarter with a bang as he ripped off an 85-yard TD gallop with 11:34 to go. He also ran in the 2-point attempt as Rich East stretched its lead to 21-8.

The 6-foot-1, 190-pound Byrd then scored from five yards out with 3:38 left.

The Rockets extended their advantage to 35-8 with 2:23 left in the period when cornerback Logan Coan intercepted an Argue pass and took it 55 yards the other way.

Rich South cut into the lead with 1:27 left when Argue fired a 57-yard scoring pass to James Blair.

Byrd had a 60-yard scoring run with 5:35 left in the fourth quarter to complete the Rockets' scoring.

Rich East coach Barry Reade was certainly pleased with his team's effort.

"I thought we did some really good things today in a lot of different areas," Reade said. "Winning this trophy is great for our kids and big for our community too."