Anthony Velasco stretched the nylon in the 12th minute of play at Dewey Field, and the Perry defense blanked Indianola for a 1-0 non-conference win Monday.
Perry improved to 4-2 overall while Indianola fell to 0-7. The Bluejays are 3-0 in Raccoon River Conference play.
“I’ll take the win, but it was an ugly one,” Perry head coach Gary Overla said. “If we are going to beat Winterset we are going to need a much-improved effort.”
The long-awaited showdown will begin tonight at 7 p.m. at Dewey Field. The Huskies, ranked sixth, are 5-0, 4-0 and have outscored their foes 33-1 while No. 12 Perry holds a 21-2 scoring edge.
Perry topped host Winterset, 2-1, in the 2017 opener, after which the Huskies ran off 16 consecutive wins. The teams met in the state quarterfinals, with Perry prevailing, 1-0, in overtime, adding fuel to the burgeoning rivalry.
