It’s been a turnaround season for the Perryville boy’s basketball team, with new head coach Chris Hahn working with the team that has been in the doldrums since 2019.
The Pirates’ 75-54 win over De Soto was particularly sweet. Perryville played its first home game since Dec. 13 in front of the largest crowd the Pirates have had come out for a game in a long time. Their fans were rewarded with an exciting first half and a second half dominated by the Pirates.
In an earlier interview with coach Hahn, he said, “This is a team that hasn’t been successful in a long time. Over the years, the players have gotten used to losing, and the people coming out to the games have gotten smaller, too.”
That is no longer the case. The team plays with excitement and, yes, pride. It’s something the fans have picked up on, and as they rolled up the points against De Soto, the crowd erupted with excitement, which was definitely a boost for the boys whose 27-point lead in a third-quarter rally was the point where the team took control of the game.
The week started with the Pirates scoring their first win over their crosstown rivals — the St. Vincent Indians — since 2019. After beating the Indians, they went on to win 55-49 against Jefferson on the road. It has made a big difference in the team now that it has a winning record after finishing another struggling season last year.
For Coach Hahn, this is familiar territory. He led Delta to a district championship in 2020-21. Hahn has rapidly turned the Pirates’ fortunes around in his first season with the team. The big reason for the team’s success? It is most certainly coach Hahn’s strategy to sub entire units rather than lean on just one or two players for a game.
One of the standouts is Karston Schilli, a junior who led the Pirates with 11 points against Jefferson while playing the entire fourth quarter. He also led the Pirates against St. Vincent with 18 points.
When you combine Schilli’s speed at the point with Waylon Huber’s 3-point shooting abilities and Jake Cissell, who is the school record-holder, it makes for a winning combination that syncs with the system Hahn has put in place at Perryville.
It’s called the “Grinnell System,” and it relies on players shooting 3-pointers, applying constant pressure with a full-court press and substituting players often to make up for the defensive effort. The system has been accepted by the seniors on the team — and that’s making a major difference on the scoreboard.
Hahn didn’t have much choice but to implement the system’s use of substituting players, as Perryville started the season with six losses out of its first eight games. It entered the Chester Tournament with a 2-6 record, a discouraging reminder of a team that won only 16 games over the past five seasons. However, since the Chester Tournament held on Jan. 14, the Pirates have improved their season record to 8-3, which included their second four-game winning streak this season.
Their next three games against Festus, Chaffee and Scott City led to tough losses, but the team was hoping for a comeback against Hillsboro on the 25th.
