PERRY–Perry topped visiting Geneva 36-7 and claimed its fourth consecutive Chagrin Valley Conference Chagrin Division title on Friday.
Devon Holbert led the way on offense and defense for the Pirates with one receiving touchdown, one rushing touchdown, and a fumble recovery for a touchdown.
“Our guys came out and they played really hard,” Perry head coach Matt Rosati said after the game. “We made some mistakes with penalties and things like that but, overall, we’re very happy with our team’s effort.”
Jaylen Anderson opened up the scoring for the Pirates with a 3-yard touchdown run to cap off the opening drive giving the Pirates a 7-0 lead.
Geneva drove deep into Pirate territory on the ensuing possession but an 11-yard sack by Jadynn Anderson halted the Eagle drive and led to a turnover on downs.
On the Pirates’ next possession, Holbert hauled in a short pass from Drew Schiano and took it 49-yards for a touchdown pushing the lead to 14-0.
The Eagles moved the ball well on their next possession until Desmond Malone came up with a huge hit to force a fumble. Holbert recovered the fumble and carried it 63-yards for a touchdown, giving the Pirates’ a 21-0 lead.
“Our defense, we definitely did play well,” Rosati said. “You know, Matthew Sullivan had a phenomenal football game and, across the board, our defensive front, our linebackers, everybody tackled well, and they stepped up to the challenge. We’re very pleased.”
After a turnover on downs, the Eagles’ defense came up with a big fumble recovery that kept the Pirates out of the end zone.
The Eagles were unable to capitalize on the turnover as Sullivan intercepted a Ben Scibona pass, giving the Pirates the ball deep in Geneva territory.
Perry capitalized on the good field position as Holbert carried it in for a 3-yard touchdown. Schiano found Sullivan in the end zone for the two-point conversion and the Pirates’ took a 29-0 lead at halftime.
“We’re going to have to keep our penalty numbers down,” Rosati said. “Penalties are definitely something we’re going to have to address.”
The Eagles came out strong in the second half as Charlie Taylor found the end zone for a 4-yard touchdown run cutting the lead to 29-7.
An interception by Jaylen Anderson set up Perry in Eagles’ territory midway through the fourth quarter. After the pick, Schiano found Anthony Rosati for a 16-yard touchdown extending the Perry lead to 36-7.
Geneva moved the ball well on the ground but struggled to finish off drives. Taylor led the way on offense for the Eagles with one rushing touchdown.
“We have to work hard,” Taylor said when asked how his team can bounce back from the loss. “Put max effort in every play and no plays off.”
With the win, Perry improved to 9-0 overall and 6-0 in conference play. Geneva fell to 7-2, 5-1.
Perry, who clinched a home playoff game and could earn the No. 1 seed in Region 13, closes out the regular season at West Geauga on Friday while Geneva will travel to Chagrin Falls. According to JoeEitel.com, Geneva was mathematically eliminated from the playoffs.
