NEVADA — Junior quarterback Kody Kruschwitz connected on 25-of-33 passes for 338 yards and three touchdowns as Nevada dominated Perry, 41-13, in a battle of winless teams Friday.
Andrew Saunders caught 12 passes for 227 yards and two touchdowns and Sam Abraham pulled in eight aerials for 99 yards and a score, with the Jakob Strottman scoring on three short runs as the hosts led, 41-0, before Perry scored twice in the final 89 seconds.
Perry struggled for the third consecutive game to move the ball and sustain possession on offense, eventually wearing down a defense that did limit Nevada to only 82 rushing yards on 29 carries.
Quarterback Kaleb Olejniczak was under almost immediate pressure whenever he attempted to throw and finished just 6-of-18 for 60 yards and a score. Olejniczak proved elusive carrying the pigskin, ending the game with 108 rushing yards on 24 carries.
Justin Stammer was the only other Bluejay to run the ball, rushing 11 times for 30 times. He caught one pass for no gain.
Kato Dougan caught two passes for 49 yards and a touchdown, with Jacob Nelson pulling in three aerials for 11 yards.[wpedon id=”85410″ align=”left”]
Strottman gained 55 yards on 13 carries to lead the Nevada ground game. He scored from two yards out with three seconds left in the first quarter, with Jack Cahill booting the PAT for a 7-0 Cubs lead.
Kruschwitz connected with Saunders for a 62-yard TD with 5:16 to play in the second frame, with a one-yard Strottman dive in the final minute of the first half moving the score to 21-0 as Cahill hit both PAT kicks.
Abraham took a short pass (most Cubs passes were short tosses, with the receivers then adding yards after the catch) and ran 35 yards for a TD, with Cahill’s kick pushing the score to 28-0 at the 6:24 mark of the third period.
Strottman plunged into the end zone from two yards away with 2:48 left in the third quarter, with a continuous clock kept from running when Cahill missed the PAT.
Kruschwitz hooked up with Saunders in the back of the end zone from 15 yards out, with the PAT pushing the score to 41-0 with 8:12 to play.[wpedon id=”85410″ align=”left”]
Perry moved the ball sharply down the field in the waning moments, largely on Olejncizak runs. The junior slipped outside and dashed 15 yards into the end zone with 1:29 on the clock. Cori Alamina’s PAT moved the score to 41-7 and put a regular clock back in operation.
That paid dividends for the Bluejays, as the forced the Cubs to turn over the ball. Olejniczak was able to hook up with Dougan for a 45-yard score on the final play of the game. No extra point was attempted.
Defensive statistics were not available.
Perry hosts North Polk for Homecoming Friday. The Comets opened their season with a 49-35 win at Nevada and with a 39-14 win over Grinnell. They were defeated, 30-22, by visiting Winterset in week three.
