Perry vs. South Range football: Raiders sink Pirates, 49-21, in regional final
Nov. 18—Three turnovers on three straight possessions saw Perry have its back against the wall early in a Division V regional final against South Range on Nov. 18.
The Raiders turned all three into touchdowns and kept pounding the ball on the ground as Blake Ewert compiled 164 scores and three touchdowns. South Range took the 49-14 victory and advanced to a D-V state semifinal.
They will play fellow unbeaten Liberty Center on Nov. 25.
Both offenses were unable to get momentum in their first two possessions. Perry had a pair of three-and-outs but its defense forced a pair of South Range turnover on downs.
After the second, the Pirates looked to run a screen play, but it was blown up and intercepted. South Range shortly turned that into points that started the scoring.
Another interception and a fumble later and Coach Bob Gecewich saw his team in a 21-0 hole.
PHOTOS: Perry-South Range football, Nov. 18, 2022
"There's a reason that there's a saying in football about not turning the ball over," Gecewich said. "We made mistakes that we don't usually make, and when you're playing a team like South Range, you can't bounce back from that."
Before the third turnover, it seemed like Perry had finally found its stride offensively as Brayden Richards rattled off a 30-yard gain that got the Pirates to the end zone.
Then a bad snap that didn't get to Richards in the shotgun was recovered by the Raiders. Being unable to establish the run saw the Pirates unable to get anything going offensively.
Against a veteran South Range defense that held the Pirates to 160 total yards, Gecewich knew the Raiders could rely on their experience against the youthful Pirates.
"We have one senior on the offensive line and two sophomores," Gecewich said. "One of which weighs less than some of our wide receivers. Those kids battled, and they tried hard going against a seasoned defense. We've got to learn how to run the ball and as well. We also had a lot of mistakes in the passing game where we could've had some big plays."
The Pirates came out of the half and looked to turn the momentum around. An onside kick that they recovered in the second half ended in a drive with Richards going in from six yards out.
South Range muffed the next kickoff as well but were able to come up with the football. They scored on the next play and started another 21-0 run to pull ahead again.
It's a senior group Gecewich has seen grow in his two years on the job. He is happy with the mark they left on the Pirates' program but also hopes it's something that the underclassmen will take and continue to improve from.
"It's a matter of what can they take from this season as how they approach next season," Gecewich said. "Do they come in with a thought of 49-21, or do they look at what happened to get us to the regional final? South Range is a great example of that as they learned from their losses to Kirtland in the past. I hope that it keeps them hungry and we bring that into next season."
Late in the third, Walter Moses connected with Owen McKoon for a seven-yard pass and Jayden Studio added a four-yard run in the fourth quarter.
