Jaylen Anderson likes to call it putting people in a blender.
It’s what the flashy junior running back from Perry does to defenders when he puts on his lightning-quick spin move. It also must be what teams feel like after facing the unbeaten Pirates and their high-flying offense.
Cuyahoga Valley Christian Academy was the latest team to be put through the Perry blender, as the Pirates rolled past the Royals, 37-14, in a Division IV, Region 13 semifinal Saturday at Maple Heights.
Perry, the top seed, next faces Poland Seminary, which blanked Wintersville Indian Creek, 35-0, in the other semifinal.
Perry only had nine possessions for the entire game, as CVCA ground out the clock as much as it could. But of those nine possessions, five ended in touchdowns, one in a field goal, one ended as time ran out in the first half, and one ended in a punt. The final possession ended in a kneel-down in the victory formation, something to which the 12-0 Pirates have grown accustomed.
That efficient offense was led by quarterback Drew Schiano, who completed 14 of 16 passes for 246 yards and four touchdowns, including three to Anderson. In the first half, Schiano completed all 10 of his attempts for 129 yards and two touchdowns.
“That’s why Drew’s one of the best in the state of Ohio,” coach Matt Rosati said. “He was definitely ready to play. He studied very hard and knew exactly how they were going to try to defend us. He knew where he wanted to go with the ball.”
Anderson ended the night with 130 yards of combined offense, 72 on four receptions and 58 on seven carries. His touchdown receptions covered 18, 26 and 13 yards. Schiano also found Devon Holbert for a spectacular score on a 61-yard bubble screen in the third quarter that really broke the game open. Holbert, who also scored on a 30-yard run, finished the night with 116 yards of offense and also had an interception in the end zone.
“We have playmakers all around the field,” Schiano said. “I just make the simple throws to them and let them make the plays.”
While the offense was nearly unstoppable, in many ways this game was won by Perry’s defense. The Pirates held CVCA to 246 yards and kept the Royals out of the end zone from the final minute of the first quarter until just 13 seconds remained in the game, when CVCA scored a meaningless touchdown.
Quarterback Michael Bevington rushed for 107 yards and a touchdown on 34 carries. He also completed 11 of 18 passes for 104 yards but was intercepted three times.
“Our defense played really well,” Rosati said. “CVCA is a really, really good football team and we knew their quarterback was going to be a big challenge for us. We gave up some yards, but we made the stops that we needed to, especially the turnovers in the second half, and that gave our offense the chance to get going.”
Perry trailed, 7-6, late in the first quarter. The Pirates scored on their first possession, as Schiano completed a 10-play, 73-yard drive by hitting Anderson with an 18-yard strike. However, a conversion run failed to reach the end zone, and when the Royals came back with an 11-play drive that ended when Bevington hit Noah Atwood on a 31-yard TD pass, the PAT by Bryce Kightlinger gave CVCA its only lead of the game.
It only took Perry two plays to get back on top. The Royals tried to squib the kickoff, but it went right to Aidan Lefelhoc, who returned it to the CVCA 36, after looking for a while as if he might take it to the end zone. Anderson broke off a 10-yard run on a sweep, and then Schiano hit Anderson on a 26-yard scoring pass in which the junior outjumped the defender to the ball and then fought his way into the end zone, making it 13-7.
Perry’s next possession wasn’t as successful, as it ended in a 24-yard field goal by Calvin Rowan. It was on this drive that Anderson had an entertaining 26-yard run that included two of his spin moves, but once the Pirates reached the 1-yard line, Schiano was sacked on consecutive plays and Perry had to settle on a field goal that made it 16-7. While not exactly what they were after, the field goal did give the Pirates some breathing room.
“Once we got up two scores, I felt pretty comfortable about how things were going to go,” Rosati said.
Perry took control in the third quarter as Bevington threw interceptions on CVCA’s first two possessions and the third drive of the half ended with the Royals unable to convert on 4th-and-32. In the meantime, Anderson scored once and Holbert twice to put the game well out of reach.
After the game, Anderson posed for a picture with the offensive line. A starter since he was a freshman, he topped the 1,000-yard mark in this game for the first time in his career and he wanted to commemorate the occasion.
“The line played an outstanding game on pass blocking and on run blocking,” Anderson said. “We controlled things with our offense. I just did what I usually do. I just try to dominate. I just try to be as dynamic a back as I can, both running the ball and receiving the ball. I feel like I showed what I can do today.”
