JEWELL — A seven-year skid ended for the Perry Middle School football programs Thursday when the grade eight Bluejays triumphed over host South Hamilton, 42-38.
A seventh-grade scrimmage was also held, with limited numbers from the hosts preventing a full game. Each squad took 10 snaps on offense and 10 on defense.
Jacob Cerna-Gomez ran wild for Perry, accounting for 377 total yards and scoring all Perry points with six touchdowns and three two-point conversion runs.
Cerna-Gomez carried the ball 10 times for 221 yards and five TDs while connecting on 2-of-7 passes for 28 yards.
Aurelio-Gustavo Barron ran once for seven yards and caught one pass for 17 yards, with Roberto Gomez snagging one pass for 11 yards. Zavier Fields also toted the pigskin for Perry, gaining 21 yards on 10 yards.
Cerna-Gomez scored on a 49-yard run and also a three-yard run for the first two Perry scores, the latter set up by his own 63-yard kick return. A 40-yard TD run, which followed a Fields interception, helped give Perry 20 points at halftime.
Downfield blocks from Ty Brokaw and Barron helped break Cerna-Gomez loose for a 41-yard TD in the third quarter. A key defensive stop, with Jean-Carlos Puente, Tony Sanchez and Andy Schuttler making a gang tackle helped give the Jays the ball and led to the Cerna-Gomez spurt.
Cerna-Gomez scored on a 50-yard run and added his second conversion dive to give Perry 34 points midway through the fourth quarter.
South Hamilton scored, but Cerna-Gomez returned the ensuing kick off 65 yards for a TD, then added a conversion for a 42-38 Perry lead.
The Hawks got the ball back with two minutes to play and drove to the Bluejay 30-yard line. Facing a fourth down, the hosts went to the air, but Fields defended the pass and prevented a first down.
Perry then took a knee and ran out the clock, setting off a celebration that lasted all the way back to PHS and the victory bell.
The Bluejays will try to add to the win column when they host West Marshall Sept. 30. The season will conclude with home games against Nevada Oct. 12 and Saydel Oct. 19.
