IOWA FALLS — A combination of penalties and untimely fumbles combined to send the Perry grade 9-10 football team tumbling to a 33-16 loss to host Iowa Falls-Alden in their final game of the season last Friday.
Trailing 13-0, Perry scored to trim their deficit to 13-8, only to fumble away the football on their next possession, with the IF-A defense scoring on the play for a 20-8 lead.
The Bluejays fumbled away the opening kickoff of the second half as well to fall into a 26-8 hole.
Perry scored to close to within 26-16, but the hosts tacked on a final touchdown to produce the final score.
“The effort was extraordinary,” Perry coach Shannon Cline said. “They have really grown as a team.”
Ben Ramirez ran in both two-point conversions and had a team-best 88 yards rushing on 12 carries. Jacob Nelson ran three times for 76 yards, including scoring on a 50-yd run, while Erick Funez had 10 carries for 70 and a short score. Jeb Stewart ran six times of 25 yards, with Ever Tobar running a pair of fake punts for a total of 23 yards.
Kegan West was 2-10-1 for 30 yards passing, hitting Nelson for 29 yards and Tobar for one yard while Konnor Eppert was 1-of-2, finding Abner Rivera for five yards.
“There is an abundance of talent,” Cline said, “but they have to participate in other sports, lift weights and continue to stick together to develop that talent.”
