Fifth-rated DC-G looked every bit as good Friday as their lofty ranking, suffocating host Perry to only 18 yards of total offense while waltzing to a 42-7 Class 3A District 2 victory.
DC-G (5-0, 3-0) ran for 366 yards and five touchdowns and passed for 113 yards and another score while Perry (1-4, 0-3) struggled to pass for 40 yards while being held to a loss of 22 yards on 17 carries in the ground game (yardage lost to quarterback sacks is deducted from rush yardage in prep football).
Tanner Epple had already scored twice and Luke Fistler once — all on runs of from two to seven yards — when Fistler busted loose for a 79-yard touchdown scamper early in the second quarter to push the Mustangs into a 28-0 lead.
Perry, which was 0-for-6 on third down conversions, went nowhere with the ball and on the second possession form Fistler’s long run quarterback Damon Clapper found a slanting Thomas Erickson over the middle, with the receiver running through the defense for a 42-yard score and 35-0 halftime lead.
The deficit meant a continuous clock in the second half. The margin moved to 42-0 when Ben Harwood scored on a five-yard plunge.
Reserves from both teams flooded the field in the final frame, with sophomore Ever Tobar stepping in front of a Mustang pass and weaving through would-be tacklers for a 43-yard touchdown. German Alvarenga’s PAT put the score at 42-7, where it remained.
Alexis Garrido was 7-20-1 for 40 yards for the Jays, with Reece Dunlap (2-14), Donald Chavez (2-14), Brandon Kenyon (2-12) and Kaleb Olejniczak (1-7) recording receptions.
Chavez was the lone Bluejay with positive rushing yardage after gaining six yards on eight totes.
Olejniczak returned a fumble 11 yards to lead the Perry defense (tackle statistics were not available).
Clapper finished 10-of-15 for 113 yards, with Erickson (4-63, 1 TD) and Epple (3-37) his chief targets.
Fistler (10-176, 2 TDs) and Epple (11-107, 2 TDs) paced the Mustang ground attack, with Clapper (7-60) and Harwood (4-15) also involved.
Brady Simmons had an interception for DC-G, with Zach Needham falling on a fumble while Austin James connected on all six PAT kicks.
Perry travels to Gilbert (1-4, 1-2). The Tigers fell at No. 6 Webster City, 42-20, in their district opener before topping visiting Iowa Falls-Alden, 49-20, and falling, 55-34, at Boone last Friday.
