The first game of the 2024 season didn’t start out all that well, with the news that the home field’s scoreboard was on the fritz, but working scoreboard or not, the Perryville Pirates were able to achieve a 28-14 win over the Fredericktown Blackcats on Thursday, Aug. 29.
“Obviously, the game went good enough,” said Perryville head coach Brent Roth. “We told the kids going in that our only goal was to come out with a win, so we were able to do that. That first game, we did a lot of things that we need to correct, and things were a little more hectic than we wanted them to be, but we got the W, so it's all good.”
Avoiding any turnovers, the Pirates played what coach Roth described as “a physical and aggressive game” in which the defense made two interceptions, with Nickolas Kramer picking off the Blackcats’ quarterback in the first half and a second-half interception by Brett Bohnert.
From the very start, it was the Pirates’ game to lose, with the team scoring on the first offensive play where Drew Lueckel made a 50-yard touchdown run, giving Perryville a 7-0 lead over the Blackcats.
The Pirates’ next two touchdowns were scored by Bohnert and Barrett Wheeler, who carried the ball down the field, with Wheeler scoring both touchdowns.
The Blackcats were able to score late in the third quarter with a touchdown pass made by Cole Starkey to receiver Derek Irby, tightening the Pirates’ lead with a score of 20-7.
Fredericktown made its second touchdown with five minutes left in the fourth quarter when quarterback Easton Wood completed a 14-yard pass to Irby.
The Pirates rode out the clock, winning their first game of the season by two touchdowns.
Discussing the game on Friday, Roth had a lot of good things to say about quarterback Kayd Luckey.
He took care of the ball and ran the offense effectively,” he said. “We didn’t have any turnovers, but we weren’t able to get the passing game going real well. We struggled a little bit in our pass protection, but he broke off a big 60- or 65-yard run in the second half that kind of sealed the deal for us. So, just him taking care of the football and then using his legs to get positive yards for us was huge.
Roth was also pleased with the team’s defensive game.
“I think our defense kind of played pretty well all around,” he said. “Gavin Hemmann played really well in coverage, and we had two interceptions, so we won the turnover battle.
Nick Kramer and Brett Bohnert had interceptions for us. I think the whole defense as a whole played pretty solid.
“Drew Leuckel was one of our standouts on defense, and then offensively, he took our first offensive play for a touchdown. He's also a key blocker for us, so he did a lot of things on both sides of the ball that maybe the average fan wouldn't recognize, but without him out there, I don't know that we would have won that game. He definitely deserves a shout-out.
As it was the season's first game, Roth saw several areas that the team needed to work on but was pleased with their overall performance.
“We had a few miscues, missed assignments here and there, but you're going to have that,” he said. “I was very proud of our group as a whole. It was a very chippy game, to say the least, and there was a lot of stuff going on after the whistles. Our guys did a good job of keeping their composure and not retaliating and getting a silly penalty, so I’m proud of them for that.
“It was a fun game, but I'm absolutely exhausted today, man. For whatever reason, that was one of the most stressful games I was ever a part of. Just so many penalties and injuries and cramps and water breaks. And the clock wasn't working, so I'm trying to manage the clock without a clock. There was just a lot going on.”
Looking ahead to this week’s away game at DeSoto, Roth said he and the team were getting ready to watch a film in preparation.
“I think they won one game last year, two games maybe. They also played a pretty tough schedule, so I think they're an up-and-coming program. It seems like they had quite a few young guys as key players last year. We're going to have to get into the film.
“We’ve really got to worry about us. We’ve got to fix our pass protection on offense, and then defensively, we’ve got to do a better job on our pass rush. We’ve got to do a better job of knowing our responsibilities and pass coverage. So, we’ve got to fix things on our end. As far as the players, they leave it up to us coaches to make a good game plan based on what DeSoto's showing us in the film.”
