Pirates fall to Bearcats

If a person were to have looked at how the teams stacked up before Friday nights game, one would have thought that Perryville and Dexter would have matched up nicely, and possibly been a competitive game.
Dexter made sure that wasn’t the case.
Dexter jumped out early and sustained that momentum in handing Perryville a 35-7 loss at Dexter High School. The loss was the Pirates fourth consecutive defeat and it was the most Dexter had scored in the last two-plus years
“We did some decent things on offense and made some big plays, but just couldn’t find ways to sustain those drives and put the ball in the endzone,” Perryville football coach Blane Boss said. “We just had a lot of missed opportunities.”
Dexter, on the other hand, did not.
After an opening drive that resulted in three straight penalties, Dexter coach Aaron Pixley had to take an early timeout. The Bearcats came back with a 41 yard run by Dexter running back Kaden Kennedy to take a 7-0 lead and the Bearcats controlled the game from there.
Dexter forced a fumble and turned it into points with a short touchdown run by Logan Josupait, widening the Dexter lead to 14-0 with less than one minute to go in the first half.
That lead would eventually grow to 28-0 at the half after a 62 yard touchdown catch by Peyton Driskall.
“Defensively we aren’t a very good team right now,” Boss said. “We like to tackle high and had a couple of blown coverages. It’s just the same old story for us with giving up the big play.”

Perryville mustered 188 rushing yards on 41 carries as a team.
Quarterback Evan Daugherty led the way with 105 yards on 13 carries, while Dawson Camden added 33 yards on 11 carries and Dylan Holt chipped in 26 yards on five rushes.
Through the air, Daugherty threw for 122 yards with one touchdown and one interception. Camden caught three passes for 63 yards, while Ethan Blythe caught two passes for 38 on the night.
“What we have to do is be able to stay on the field, and control the ball offensively,” Boss said. “that way our defense isn’t on the field for much of the game. Friday night I thought that we looked a little tired defensively late in the game.”
One thing that Boss was proud of his team for was their ability to stay engaged in the game despite the lopsided score.
“We didn’t quit,” Boss said. “We hung in there and played better in the second half.”
Dexter scored on another long 76 yard score, before Perryville got on the board offensively with a 25 yard catch by Camden from Daugherty.
Perryville will try to get on the winning track Saturday when they take on Herculaneum for the annual homecoming game at 1 p.m.
“Losing stinks and we want to turn that around on Saturday,” Boss said.