As if Sandburg’s Sean Ruisz wasn’t nervous enough about making his varsity debut against district rival Andrew, throw in a shoulder injury that sidelined him from practice for the entire week.
The junior quarterback wasn’t even sure until a few hours earlier before kickoff that he would be able to play in Friday night’s game. But he made sure to stay ready in his mind.
“I knew my first varsity game as a junior was a big step up,” Ruisz said. “I just took a ton of mental reps, watching film and going through the walkthroughs. I was just like making visions.
“Visions sometimes come true.”
Ruisz could not have dreamed up a better start. On his first varsity pass, he threw an 80-yard touchdown to Quinn Durkin, sparking the visiting Eagles to a 31-9 win over Andrew in Tinley Park.
Ruisz completed 6 of 7 passes for 183 yards and two TDs, both to Durkin — who finished with four catches for 160 yards. Luke Basiorka ran for 124 yards and two TDs on 17 carries, while Jaden Weaver led a dominant defense for the Eagles (1-0).
Camden Maniatis ran for 78 yards and a TD on 22 carries for Andrew (0-1), while Troy Culbertson added a fumble recovery.
Ruisz, meanwhile, banged up his shoulder in Monday’s practice and did not throw again until Thursday after practice.
“There was, for sure, doubt on Thursday night about if I was going to play,” Ruisz said. “It was a little tough throwing Thursday night, but Friday morning I threw some more and I was like, ‘It’s go time.’
“I knew I couldn’t miss this game. No matter the pain, I had to come to play.”
Ruisz’s dream-worthy first pass came on a third-and-10 on Sandburg’s opening drive.
He broke out of the pocket and considered trying to run for the first down before unleashing a deep pass to Durkin, who reeled it in and raced all the way to the end zone.
“I felt so nice,” Ruisz said. “It was just joy going through my body. Not only my first touchdown pass but on the first drive.
“It was third down and I could have ran or threw but I know that boy Quinn has speed so I was just like, ‘I’ve got to let it fly.’”
Sandburg coach Sheamus Murphy, though, was screaming for something different.
“It was funny,” Murphy said. “I was yelling, ‘Run, run, run.’ It was one of those things where I put my hand back in my mouth.
“That’s Quinn Durkin and Sean Ruisz doing what they’ve been doing since they were kids. You really saw that connection.”
Indeed, Ruisz and Durkin — a junior receiver/running back — go back a long way.
“We’ve played together basically our whole lives, since second or third grade,” Durkin said. “I’ve got a great quarterback throwing me the ball, so that helps a lot.
“He’s incredible. I’m excited to see him in the future.”
Ruisz and Durkin hooked up again on a 51-yard TD pass midway through the second quarter as the Eagles built a 28-0 halftime lead on the way to avenging last season’s 42-27 loss to the Thunderbolts and giving Murphy a win in his debut as Sandburg’s head coach.
“Last year was bad,” Durkin said. “This year, it’s just completely different. The energy around this team and this coaching staff has been phenomenal. We waited all summer for this game.”
And Ruisz waited even longer for his varsity debut. He sure made it count, injury or not.
“It still hurt a bit (Friday) morning but the adrenaline kicked in and I didn’t feel a single thing during the game until the end,” Ruisz said. “I was ready.”