The downpour of rain that drenched Pirate Field in the fourth quarter was probably an accurate representation of just how Perryville football coach Brent Roth and his team felt following the game.
The Pirates offense was stuck in the mud for much of the contest as they fell 28-0 to visiting Potosi at Pirate Stadium on Friday night. It was the second straight game that Perryville has failed to produce any points and marked the 11th loss in the last 12 games for the Pirates against the Trojans.
“I don’t think it’s a mental thing or that we are intimidated tonight,” Roth said. “For the most part they have outplayed us for the last 12 years.”
Roth feels as if the sputtering offense has become an all too familiar story, and one he knows needs to change quickly. Perryville accounted for 111 total yards in the loss. Quarterback Aiden McGarvey completed 5-26 passes for 117 yards and one interception
“I don’t know if it’s my fault, if it’s the scheme, or personnel with us not having the guys in the right spot,” Roth said. “I’m going to do everything to fix it, even if we have to start from ground zero.”
However, it wasn’t as if Perryville didn’t have opportunities to get points on the board. Potosi started three offensive drives inside the five-yard line in the first half after punts and started multiple drives at midfield or even in Trojan territory.
Roth wanted to win the field position as much as possible until either offense had the chance to breakthrough for points, as the game remained scoreless for much of the first half.
“I was trying to be smart with it,” Roth said. “We were trying to take a couple shots downfield, but we didn’t want to turn the ball over. Our defense was playing really well. We missed an opportunity at a scoop and score in the second quarter. We wanted to ride our defense for as long as we could. Until we could catch a break.”
That break came after the Pirates took over on the Potosi 37 and Perryville quarterback Aiden McGarvey hit Alex Sanders with a pass down to the 2-yard line.
Sanders was a bright spot for Perryville accounting for two catches for 87 yards on the night.
However, that was as close as the Pirates would get to the endzone. On the next play, Perryville had a false start and ended up being forced to attempt a field goal from the 13-yard line.
The first attempt was good, but Potosi called a timeout before the snap and forced Perryville to try again. On the second try, the kick hit the crossbar.
Just a few plays later, Potosi receiver Gavin Portell caught a pass over the middle of the field from quarterback Blake Coleman and raced 87 yards for a touchdown to give the Trojans a 7-0 lead. Portell led the Potosi offense with four catches for 160 yards and two touchdowns. Coleman was 17-31 for 346 yards and three touchdowns as the Trojans gained 480 yards on the night.
“That would have been huge to get points on the drive and maybe that changes things,” Roth said. “Again, it’s a familiar story with us giving up big plays. I thought we played really well in the first half, but again we have to be able to score.”
Perryville looked as if they had taken some momentum into the locker room at halftime though as they stopped Potosi three times from inside the five-yard line in the final minute of the first half to keep the score at 7-0.
Unfortunately, that was not the case.
Potosi took the opening kickoff of the second half and put another touchdown on the board, and again it was Portell from 26 yards out to go up 14-0 with 9:23 left in the third quarter.
The Pirates had one more chance later in the game as the Trojans went for it on their own 18-yard line and was stopped on fourth and short. The Pirates went backwards however, as a pass from McGarvey to Cameron Young fell incomplete.
Potosi added scores late in the game as the rain settled in for the night with about seven minutes to go in the contest.
Perryville will take on Ste. Genevieve in another tough test for the Pirates this Friday. The Dragons fell to Park Hills Central 28-14 last week and it is yet another school that Perryville has struggled with in the past, losing the last 12 meetings.
“Ste. Genevieve figures out how to get it done year after year,” Roth said. “They have a great program. We are a capable team, but you can’t win if you don’t score. That’s what we have to figure out this week.”
