The end result of Friday’s football game ended the same way for the Perry gridders as their first two contests had — with a loss.
Other than that, everything else was different.
An energized and resolute Perry squad gave visiting Nevada (2-1) all they could handle, scrapping until the final seconds before the clock ran out on a 34-23 setback that left Bluejay head coach Matt Hardy as pleased as any losing coach could be expected to feel.
“I can’t say enough about the effort our guys just gave,” he said. “After those two embarrassing losses, to turn around and come out here and play the way we did tonight, with all we had going on, was just very pleasing to see. The guys showed tonight they are a resilient bunch and I like the way we are trending.”
Among the “goings on” were an entirely new defensive scheme as well as the installation of a different offense that came with three position changes in the offensive line.
“We still have three sophomores up front, and we had three guys in new spots tonight,” Hardy said. “There were times when we struggled, but we were also able to make some big plays. I think there is some promise there.”
Perry entered the game with two — just two — yards of rushing in two weeks. They finished Friday’s game with 84 yards on 18 carries, including a 50-yard touchdown spurt from Wilber Ramirez.
The long-distance striking also included an 83-yard TD pass from Jacob Nelson to state track qualifier Kato Dougan, who sprinted away from the defense on the third quarter play as the home crowd roared.
Dougan entered rare company with the long burst. Reece Dunlap scored on an 87-yard run and Brandon Kenyon on an 80-yard pass in 2017, with TD runs of 85 yards from Kane Seeley and of 80 from Will Whiton — both in 2011 — the only five 80-plus yard plays from scrimmage for Perry in the past 10 years.
Nevada looked imposing early, repeatedly gashing the Perry defense on a 10-play, 82-yard scoring drive that ended with quarterback Keaton Fry scoring on a three-yard run for a 7-0 Cub lead.
Abraham Ruiz fell on a fumble at the nine-yard line to set up Perry’s first score of the season. A short run moved the ball forward two yards, with quarterback Jacob Nelson floating a scoring strike to Ramirez in the back of the end zone 64 seconds into the second period. Cori Alamina’s PAT boot tied the game at 7-all.
A kick return to the Perry 30 by Carter Franzen put the Cubs back in business, with Caden Jones rushing 20 yards two plays later for a 14-7 Nevada lead with 9:55 left in the half.
Perry stalled on offense (the Jays failed to convert on nine third-down plays) but a booming Alamina punt of 54 yards meant Nevada would snap the ball from their own four-yard line.
Alamina averaged 45 yards on eight punts, including a 67-yarder and two others over 50 yards, helping Perry win the field position battle. Pinning the Cubs deep paid immediate dividends, as Emmanuel Soto fought off a block and dragged down Fry in the end zone for a safety, cutting the Bluejay deficit to 14-9.
Perry grabbed their first lead of the season with 4:32 on the second quarter clock when Ramirez took a hand off, cut outside behind a pair of solid blocks and sped 50 yards to pay dirt. Alamina added the PAT for a 16-14 Perry edge.
Nevada spoiled hopes for a halftime lead when Lucas Rogers darted five yards into the end zone, with Fry flipping a conversion pass to Henry Nelson to put the Cubs in front, 22-16, at the intermission.
Fry stepped over the goal line from two yards out at the 5:23 mark of the third quarter to push the score to 28-16, with an fumble recovery giving Perry the ball back deep in their own territory.
Nelson then hit Dougan with a short pass, with the speedster eluding the coverage and then simply outrunning any pursuit for an 83-yard TD. The third Alamina PAT cut the deficit to 28-23 with 2:23 left in the third stanza.
Fry ran for 138 yards on 30 carries and added his third touchdown with 6:20 to play in the game. The conversion pass failed, but the Cubs now held a 34-23 lead.
Perry was unable to make offensive headway and turned the ball over, but then showed some of the heart Hardy spoke of by stopping Nevada’s attempt to run out the clock by stuffing a 4-and-1 dive deep at the Perry 24 with less than a minute to play.
The hosts could not generate a drive and fumbled the ball away with nine seconds to play, ending a contest in which the hosts looked nothing like the team that had been outscored by a combined 125-0 in their first two games.
“The kids showed something tonight, fighting all the way,” Hardy said. “You never like to lose, no matter the score, but this will give us something to build as we prepare for North Polk.”
Perry travels to Alleman Friday to face the Comets, with kickoff set for 7 p.m. North Polk (0-3) fell to visiting Nevada, 26-15, in week one, and has since fallen on the road to Grinnell, 30-7, and to Winterset, 35-21.
Nelson was 4-16-1 for 101 passing yards and two TDs, with Dougan catching two passes for 87 yards and a score and Ramirez two aerials for 14 yards and a score. Ramirez ran 11 times for 75 yards and Nelson seven times for nine yards.
Ruiz and Cole Snyder had fumble recoveries for the Jays, with Byron Melendrez returning an interception 25 yards.
Perry hurt themselves with 13 penalties. The Jays were flagged for encroachment or being off side on defense six times and had five five-yard infractions on offense.
Rogers (22-151, 1 TD), Jones (12-73, 1 TD), Blake Bottorf (1-0) and Ayden Rhodes (1 minus-4) joined Fry in the Cub ground assault, which finished with 356 yards on 66 runs, eventually tiring out a game Perry defense.
Fry was 3-of-5 for 20 yards in the air and Bottorf 1-2-1 for nine yards.
