A 38-game skid ended in exuberant fashion Friday as Perry avenged a maddening loss to Des Moines Hoover in an overtime thriller at Dewey Field.
The Bluejays were twice stopped from inside the five-yard line as time expired last season in Des Moines in suffering a 14-9 loss. Homecoming Friday was very nearly a full reversal, as Perry, leading 27-21 in overtime, stood tall and denied a potential game-winning run from under two yards away to preserve victory. The 27 points nearly tops the 28 total points Perry had scored in the 2020 and 2021 seasons combined.
Perry (1-3) had not won since a 62-13 whipping of host Iowa Falls-Alden capped a 4-5 2017 season. The loss dropped the Huskies to 1-3 overall as well. Both will begin Class 4A district play next week, Perry in D5 and Hoover in D6.
Friday’s back-and-forth affair was dotted with costly penalties and turnovers by both teams, but Perry played the cleaner game by far and, with the exception of a handful of plays, dominated much of the action.
The Bluejays fell on a Huskies fumble on the second play of the game but were denied the end zone on four plays from inside the 10-yard line.
A long pass play gave the guests a 7-0 lead after one quarter, but Perry blocked a punt and fell on the ball at the five-yard line early in the second frame. Reserve quarterback Geren Kenney accounted for the first of his touchdowns by sneaking in moments later, cutting the gap to 7-6.
Hoover returned the ensuing kick off 90-yards for a 14-6 lead, but the crowd was soon back at full throat when Kenney ran a bootleg six yards to pay dirt. He flipped a conversion pass to Holden Smith for two points to tie the game.
The Huskies entered the break with a 21-14 lead thanks to a short plunge in the final minute of the first half, then recovered an onside kick to start the second half.
Kenney’s magical night continued when he intercepted a pass and returned to the ball to the Hoover 26-yard line.
Perry tied the game when Drake Levan tip-toed the boundary while pulling in a Kenney aerial, with an Eric Lagos PAT kick putting the score at 21-all with 9:01 to play in the third quarter.
The fourth quarter featured turnovers and penalties from both teams which helped forced the game into overtime.
Kenney’s sneak over left guard but Perry in front, 27-21, but Hoover had their chance to equal or top the Perry effort.
A pass on third-and-goal from the 11 resulted in a clutch tackle just outside the one-yard line. That set up an almost exact reversal of the 2021 ending, but this time it was the Perry defense rising to the occasion to preserve the victory — the first for head coach Bryce Pierce — and set off a well-earned celebration
Statistics from the game were not immediately available. Perry will return to action Sept. 23 when they host Indianola in their first district game of the season.
