At right, a host of Norwalk defenders attempt to block the extra point kick on Perkins third touchdown that made the score 21-0 in favor of the Pirates.

 

NORWALK - The Pirates needed just four plays to record their first points Friday, and were on their way to a 28–7 victory over Norwalk at Perkins High School.

Junior quarterback Spencer Bryant found an open Tyler Dix to give the Pirates the early lead from 19 yards out on a fourth-and-four play. But those points were the only points Perkins would need thanks to a dominant performance on the defensive side of the ball.

The Pirates allowed Norwalk to rush for only 91 yards on 29 carries. In addition, Trucker quarterback Tyson Ringle only completed three passes.

“I thought we did a good job of controlling the line of scrimmage on them,” coach Gary Quisno said. “Coach (Tim) Obergefell had a great game plan with the other coaches.

“Like I told (my players), if they don’t score points on you, they’re not going to beat you.”

Out of a total of 11 offensive possessions in the game, the Truckers were forced into six three-and-outs against the swarming Pirate defense.

“We had some trouble moving them off the ball, creating some problems for us offensively,”
Norwalk coach Jeff Cole said. “You have to give some credit to their defensive line. But we hung in there and moved the ball toward the end of the game.”

After the Pirates had already gathered a 28-point lead on Norwalk, the Trucker offense managed to get something going by using a seven-play scoring drive to get their first points of the night with a five-yard touchdown pass from Ringle to junior Matt McGue.

Norwalk made its run a little too late, however, as the score game with only 0.5 seconds left.

Throughout the entire game, Perkins scored periodically to increase their lead over the Truckers.
After their quick score in the first quarter, the Pirates didn’t reach the end zone until 3:07 left in the first half.
The Pirates came close to striking twice during the middle of the second quarter, but they turned the ball over on downs on back-to-back possessions. The first time came on the Trucker 17-yard line and the second time on the Nowalk 3-yard line.

“Offensively we did some good things, but we were just too inconsistent,” Quisno said. “We had some fourth-and-shorts that we didn’t convert on so we need to get better there.”

Senior Paul Priestas changed that, when he dashed 36 yards for a touchdown with 3:07 left in the second quarter after the Trucker defense collapsed on a fake handoff.

In the third quarter, the Pirates wasted no time getting back onto the scoreboard after using a six-play drive that ended with a 21-yard one-handed touchdown catch by junior Nico Caponi at 9:05 in the quarter. After another Norwalk three-and-out, the Pirates moves from the Norwalk 40-yard line to score on a 19-yard burst from senior Adam Tinker with 5:21 left in the quarter.

Priestas led the Pirate rushing attack with 65 yards and a touchdown on 12 carries, while junior Kyle Finn rushed for 54 yards on six carries and Tinker gained 49 yards and a touchdown on the ground on four rushes.
Bryant led the Pirates through the air by completing 10 out of 14 passes for 124 yards and two scores.

Norwalk    0    0    0    7        —    7
Perkins     7    7    14    0        —    28

P - Tyler Dix 19 pass from Spencer Bryant ( Baxter kick)
P - Paul Priestas 36 run (Baxter kick)
P - Nico Caponi 21 pass from Bryant (Baxter kick)
P - Adam Tinker 19 run (Baxter kick)
N - Mat McGue 5 pass from Ringle (Ryan Wagner kick)
Team Statistics
        N    P
First Downs    6    16
Rushing    3    10
Passing    2    6
Penalty    1    0
Rushes    29    31
Yards Rushing    69    167
Yards Passing    42    124
Passes Completed    3    10
Passes Attempted    19    14
Touchdowns    1    2
Interceptions    1    0
Penalties/Yards    0    10 / 84
Fumbles/Lost    2/0    0
Individual Statistics
Rushing — (N) Dakota Sims 13-12, Ryan Wagner 6-21; (P) Kyle Finn 6-36, Paul Priestas 11-58, Adam Tinker 10-70;
Passing —  (P) Spencer Bryant 9-13-159-2-0;
Receiving — (N) Matt McGue 2-19, Justin Rehark 1-23; (P) Tyler Dix 5-71, Paul Priestas 2-24;