The star guard for the Blue Devils struggled to get open and find a rhythm as John F. Kennedy hounded the junior all over the court on Saturday. Lucky for McDonald, Rasile’s teammates were ready to fill the void.

Three other players scored in double figures, the Blue Devils forced 27 turnovers and used a huge third-quarter run to pull away from JFK, 78-63.

Tied at halftime, McDonald (2-3) outscored the Eagles 22-4 in the third quarter. While Rasile has carried a young Blue Devils team to start the season, averaging more than 30 points per game, he had just five points in the decisive quarter. Sophomore Dominick Carkido scored eight and fellow sophomore Jake Portolese put in five more. Each finished in double figures for the game (Portolese had 20, and Carkido had 13).

“We had kids in the third quarter step up that haven’t stepped up regularly all year, (they) made some big shots, and that was the difference in the game,” said McDonald coach Jeff Rasile, Zach’s father. “Clearly, their gameplan was to stop Zach, and I get it, but when you stop Zach and you leave some of our guys wide open, they can make those shots.”

Tribune Chronicle / Joe Simon John F. Kennedy’s Gianni Eaton (4) reaches for a rebound along with McDonald’s Parker Higgins, second from right, in the second half of their game Saturday in McDonald.

That hadn’t always been the case in the first four games.

Much of the supporting cast was inconsistent to this point, which wasn’t surprising to coach Rasile. Most of them have not played varsity basketball until now, and a tough schedule to begin the season didn’t make their transition easy.

A home win over an area school in front of a hostile crowd was just what they needed.

“We knew this was going to be an interesting year for us, especially the beginning of the year, and then when we open up with Waterloo and Springfield, the two best teams in our conference, both undefeated, it’s not easy,” Jeff Rasile said. “When you lose those games, you start to doubt yourself a little bit. We’re not used to losing.”

Neither are the Eagles (2-5).

Tribune Chronicle / Joe Simon McDonald coach Jeff Rasile reacts to a play during the Blue Devils’ 78-63 victory over John F. Kennedy on Saturday in McDonald.

They, too, have been a traditionally successful program, and similar to the Blue Devils, they’re battling youth and inexperience. While JFK held Rasile to 23 points (16 of which came on free throws), it struggled against the Blue Devils’ press defense. The Eagles committed 10 turnovers in a miserable third quarter.

“That’s our Achilles’ heel right now, the third quarter,” JFK coach Mark Komlanc said. “I think we’re averaging like five points a game. We just go brain-dead, but they’re teenagers, and we did a lot of things better today than what we have in the previous six games.”

The Eagles matched the up-tempo style of McDonald quite well at times and forced turnovers of their own, but the third-quarter collapse was too much to overcome.

Chris Williams paced JFK with 23, including 13 in the fourth quarter, but Zach Rasile made sure there wasn’t a comeback. He sank 9-of-10 free throws in the fourth to put away JFK, which pulled to within 13.

The sweet-shooting junior was thrilled to see his teammates come through. He said this could be a big step in the learning process for the Blue Devils.

“It’s huge,” he said. “It’s a confidence-builder, and we’ve got to get some momentum going, so I think it’ll help us.”

His father couldn’t agree more.

The longtime McDonald coach isn’t overly concerned about the early losses in the conference (Waterloo, Springfield and Mineral Ridge). In fact, he’s not overly concerned about the conference at all. He said the Blue Devils have different aspirations.

“Our No. 1 goal is always a district championship,” he said. “League championships, I think we’ve won nine out of 10 or something like that, that’s all great, but there’s no signs on the wall for league championships. We want district championships around here.”

They may have taken a step in that direction on Saturday.