Red Bud passed for over 300 yards in an impressive 27-7 win over Freeburg Friday night, but the victory was costly as the Musketeers lost all-state quarterback Jake Hoffman for the season with a torn anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) in his knee.
“It is tough to lose a kid like that,” said Red Bud coach Dave Lucht. “He is a key player in our offense and did a lot of things for us. He was one of the best players in the area and you just don’t replace someone like Jake overnight.”
Junior Zach Seibold will move into the starting lineup under center and posted some good numbers in the second half against Freeburg. He was 5-of-6 passing for 117 yards after Hoffman was injured on the first play of the third quarter.
“Zach had a nice game for us,” added Lucht. “We have confidence in him and he will only get better with playing time.”
The Musketeers took control early in the game as Hoffman tossed a couple of touchdown passes to Tyler Magruder in the first quarter.
Hoffman ran in a score with no time left in the first half to give his squad a commanding 20-0 lead at the break.
Tyler Hubert added to the Musketeers’ lead with a one-yard touchdown plunge on the first play of the fourth quarter.
Freeburg avoided the shutout as Nick McGraw tossed a four-yard touchdown pass to Camden Weber with under five minutes to play in the game.
Hoffman was 12-of-21 passing for 192 yards with two touchdowns and gained 76 yards rushing on nine carries.
Seth Heizer caught five passes for 106 yards, while Alex Phegley had four receptions for 108 yards.
Tyler Hubert rushed the ball 16 times for 70 yards.
“Freeburg stacked the front against us to try and stop our running game,” added Lucht. “We were able to find some open receivers and had a good game passing the ball.”
Red Bud improved to 5-0 on the season with the win.