MUSKEGON – Having a fresh pair of legs can make all the difference.

For the first four games of the season, Muskegon Catholic Central quarterback Elliot Riegler was playing on both sides of the ball. When he wasn’t calling signals on offense, he was playing cornerback on defense, and he was a pretty tired player.

Then last week, against Muskegon Heights, the coaches relieved Riegler of his defensive duties, he was able to take breathers when the offense was off the field, and it made a huge difference.

A well-rested Riegler has added an extra dimension to the MCC offense, which was obvious in Friday night’s 34-0 victory over Manistee

Riegler had a career game rushing for 130 yards on 11 carries and scoring four touchdowns. He had TD runs of 55, 26 and 14 yards, all in the first quarter, then added a nine-yard scoring burst in the second quarter.

Riegler also completed four of five passes for 120 yards, including a 61-yard scoring bomb to Sam Convertini in the second half.

“It was a lot of fun, just being able to go out there and do that on Homecoming,” said Riegler, who also had a good game last week against Muskegon Heights, rushing for 134 yards and two touchdowns and throwing five of seven passes for 90 yards and one touchdown.

Riegler, a first-year starting quarterback, was not a big offensive threat earlier in the season. His main job was to efficiently run the offense and hand the ball off to the Crusader running backs, particularly standout Joe Waller.

Then Coach Steve Czerwon and his staff dccided to take more advantage of Riegler’s speed and arm. They not only relieved him of his defensive duties, but started calling more plays that allowed him to roll out and have the option to run or throw the ball.

Suddenly Riegler became a another real offensive weapon for the 6-1 Crusaders, who have already wrapped up the Lakes 8 Conference championship,

“Earlier in the year they definitely game-planned more for the running backs,” Riegler ssaid.”I was playing both ways, and I was just gassed. But with fresh legs I’m a lot better, and it’s definitely showed the last two weeks.

“They knew that with fresh legs I could be better for the run game, and we had guys who could step in for me on defense. There are some aspects (about playing defense) that I miss, but it’s nice being able to go 100 percent on one side of the ball.”

Being a standout quarterback is a tradition in the Riegler home. Elliot’s father Andy Riegler was the quarterback of a state champion MCC team in the 90s, and Elliot says he grew up listening to his dad’s football stories, which made him want to be a QB at MCC himself.

On Saturday, Elliot’s dad was teasing him a bit, saying his son still hadn’t passed his career high of rushing touchdowns in a game, which was three.

“We just talked about that,” Riegler said with a chuckle. ‘He was saying that I still hadn’t beaten him in that part, but I reminded him that I had four, and he was happy for me.”

It took a while for Riegler to reach his goal of being the starting varsity quarterback. As a sophomore he was the junior varsity QB, then last year he was the backup to standout senior Max Price.

Riegler didn’t get much playing time for most of last season, then suddenly he was thrown into the fire in the biggest game of the year, a district playoff matchup against undefeated Montrague.

That game didn’t go well for Riegler and the Crusaders, and they lost 36-7.

‘It’s an understatement to say I was nervous in that game,” Riegler said. “I had been playing receiver all year, and I hadn’t had many game reps at quarterback. We really had to limit our offense against Montague, because I couldn’t do much besides hand the ball off. I was a receiver playing quarterback in that moment, but this year I think I’ve really come into my own.

“Over the last couple of weeks we’ve started passing a lot more, and we’ve really opened up the offense. That has allowed me to gain more confidence, because I’ve been able to throw and run a little more.”

Coach Czerwon said he always knew that Riegler had the tools to be good, when the time came.

“He only made one start at quarterback at the varsity level, prior to this year,” Czerwon said. “Like anything, it was just about getting more reps and experience. He’s coming along as you would hope any senior would do in that position.

“He’s got speed and good vision when he’s running. He’s had some real nice games. In the last two weeks he’s had some really nice efforts.”

Riegler and his friends on the team grew up watching the MCC football squad win state championships – four in a row, in fact, between 2012 and 2015. He said that he and the other seniors talk about how they would like to get the team back to Ford Field this year and bring state glory back to the school.

Czerwon said that kind of talk is premature, with tough games coming up against Centreville and Oakridge, and a field full of good Division 7 teams in the upcoming playoffs.

Riegler said he and his teammates have subscribed to their coach’s caution.

“That’s always been a goal for us, especially having a strong senior class this year,” Riegler said about a possible state title. “We talk about it a lot. But we like (Czerwon’s) mentality of taking it a game at a time, and not thinking about the week after that.”