PERRY–Perry’s defense pitched a 3-0 shutout in its Division IV, Region 13 quarterfinal win over visiting Struthers on Friday.
The Pirates’ defense only allowed 88 total yards of offense in the win.
“Our defense plays great all the time,” said Perry head coach Bob Gecewich. “It’s not a new thing, and the coach gets them ready. Those guys really buy into it. They study and get after it. They take great pride in what they do. Most importantly, they just line up and play the next play.”
Despite the low offensive output, the Perry offense moved the ball well throughout the night.
Its first drive started with a 19-yard strike from Walter Moses to Greg Mechenbier, plus a personal foul penalty to add more yardage.
The drive stalled out, but Colton Crissinger came in and drilled a 25-yard field goal at the end of the first quarter for the game’s only score.
In the second quarter, following a forced punt, the Pirates’ offense was churning our yards at will with Luke Sivon making a catch for 10 yards plus another 13 on the next play and a Brody Petrucelli 14-yard catch-and-run.
Moses and Sivon connected again for 14 yards, and Carter Hopkins took a pitch to the edge for six but Struthers’ defense made a goal-line stand to force a turnover on downs just before halftime.
Moses opened the second half with a 25-yard quarterback keeper and connected with Mechenbier for a first down, but the Wildcats’ Jason Dukes forced the ball out, and Aidan Russell recovered it to create a red-zone turnover.
The Pirate defense forced a punt that only went 16 yards and took over in Struthers’s territory.
In the red zone again, Sivon pulled in another pass for a first down, but Tyler Cole knocked the ball out and recovered it for Struthers just before the start of the fourth quarter.
The Wildcats’ offense moved the ball well on the subsequent possession, with Dukes finding Robet Carelli for 15 yards on a play-action rollout.
With the ball at the Perry 28-yard line, Dukes tossed a pass into the endzone, and Petrucelli intercepted it for a touchback.
Moses found Sivon again for another first down, and Dare’On Howard picked up eight yards on a carry.
Hopkins took a Moses pass for 14 yards, but Perry turned it over on downs at the Struthers 10-yard line.
A pass-break-up by Vince Tomasic on a flea-flicker, Owen McKoon’s tackle-for-loss, and a fumble on a double reverse on fourth down led to a Pirate first down at the Wildcat seven, where they iced it with a pair of kneel-downs.
Despite moving the ball effectively on offense, four red zone turnovers left points on the board for Perry.
“We just need to clean up the offense,” Gecewich said of the offensive turnovers. “It’s better to be cleaning it up with a win than going into the offseason and dwelling over it. We need to fix that stuff.”
Struthers presented a physical challenge all night in a hard-nosed brawl to the finish.
“I’m happy that we had to win that way,” Gecewich said. “I’m happy that we had to face that adversity. Struthers made some really good plays on those turnovers, and I called an awful play on the goal line trying to run a wedge at their biggest dude. It was like they had Brock Lesner in the middle, and I’m like, ‘Hey, let’s run wedge right at him.’ But, for our kids to show the grit and toughness to keep fighting is what we needed.”
Perry leaned on its defense, which faced an offense that used a hefty amount of motion to create confusion.
The Pirates never wavered.
“We prepared for that starting on Sunday,” said Sivon. “We watched film on Sunday and got started on Monday. Coach (Scott) Niedzwiecki does a great job setting and lining us up the right way.”
Moses completed 17-of-22 passes for 182 yards with six carries for 36 yards.
Sivon pulled in seven passes for 77 yards, Mechenbier caught two passes for 33 yards, Trent Taylor had two receptions for 25 yards, and Petrucelli finished with three catches for 25 yards.
Perry advances to take on third-ranked Streetsboro at a neutral site next Friday.
OTHER CVC SCORES:
- Kirtland 39, Smithville 0
- Cuyahoga Heights 7, Western Reserve 6
- Aurora 42, Geneva 14
- Manchester 41, Berkshire 19
