Perryville football has had a flair for the dramatic this season. This past week was no different as they held on late for a 21-14 victory over Fredericktown on Friday at Pirate Stadium.
Perryville coach Brent Roth would prefer more comfortable victories, but knows that wins at the varsity level all count the same.
“We will take wins anyway we can get them.” Roth said.
It was stressful for the Pirate defense to end the first half, as Fredericktown scored on a 45-yard pass as time expired to tie the game at 14-14.
Roth wanted to talk about the play after the game.
“We were playing timid on the pass,” Roth said. “All we needed to do was either knock the ball down or tackle the guy after he caught it. However, we went for the interception and missed it, then had two missed tackles on top of that. We weren’t playing smart there.”
After halftime, the Pirates defense held the Blackcats scoreless, but Roth said there was not any type of adjustment physically, just a change in mentality.
“We had been playing not to lose, instead of playing to win,” Roth said. “We have to go out there and take the game and actually win it. That means playing smart, making tackles and not getting beat deep defensively.”
The Pirates must have listened to their coach as the defense allowed 69 yards in the second half and 275 total yards. While the defense was great, the special teams set up the go ahead score. Luke Bell broke up a pass on third and 14 and then the ensuing punt was blocked and Perryville took over on the Blackcats 34 with less than two minutes left in the third quarter.
Perryville wouldn’t need nearly that much time.
Ethan Blythe caught a 30-yard pass inside the five-yard line and he looked to score on the next play, but a holding penalty negated the touchdown. It didn’t matter much as Justin Wingerter made a sliding 17-yard touchdown catch on third down on a pass from Aiden McGarvey to provide the difference. It was Wingerter’s only catch of the game.
That was a theme for Perryville all night as McGarvey went 9-16 with 122 yards and two touchdowns
. Blythe was the leading receiver with 53 yards on three catches. Ben Hotop added two catches for 40 yards and one touchdown. Roth could see just what he needed to do early on as Fredericktown loaded all 11 defenders near the line of scrimmage on the first offensive play of the night for Perryville. Perryville had 310 total yards, including 188 on the ground.
“They dared us to throw,” Roth said. “We did that and mixed some runs in there as well and I thought we ran the ball well. That’s a testament to the offensive line and the entire offense. They were bringing everybody and we were still able to get yards on the ground.”
While the offense was able to get yards, it was the defense that had to make a final stand in the waning minutes. Bell and Tyler Rhyne broke up passes and Karson Rodgers added a sack on the final drive that started at the Perryville 23 yard line. Fredericktown picked up two fourth down conversions on the drive through the air, before the defense held firm to secure the win.
Fredericktown quarterback Carter Cheaney went 10-24 with 126 yards, one touchdowns and two interceptions.
Perryville struck first in the game as their first drive was aided by an offsides penalty on the Blackcats as the Pirates lined up to punt. Perryville made the most of the opportunity. Hotop caught a 24-yard pass on third and 20, after a false start and holding penalty on consecutive plays backed them up.
“That’s definitely not how we want to do it,” Roth said of the multiple touchdowns after penalties. “We can’t cost ourselves yards like that and expect to score, but we are continuing to work on that.”
Fredericktown countered midway through the second quarter with a 20 yard run by running back Garrett Marler to tie the game at 6-6.
The score didn’t stay tied for long.
Blythe made back-to-back catches that set up a 45 yard run by Rhyne to give Perryville a 14-6 lead after McGarvey scored on the two-point conversion.
Perryville (2-2) will travel across town to take on St. Vincent (2-2) on Friday. The Indians defeated Herculaneum 49-0 on Friday. The Indians have beaten the Pirates each of the last three years, including 40-21 last year.
“We understand that St. Vincent has had our number over the years,” Roth said. “We are tired of it and want to change that.”
