Perkins stops St. Francis for 3-0 start

PERKINS TWP. — Three up, three down. Perkins leaned on its defense and special teams to shut out Toledo St. Francis de Sales 23-0 on Friday at Firelands Health Stadium. The Pirates improved to 3-0 — a trio of wins that include two victories over big-city Division II Catholic schools. St. Francis started three drives in Perkins territory, but the Pirates turned away the Knights each time. Perkins' defense — led by Carter Koch, Sam Oprzadek and Boden Ballinger — limited the Knights to 119 total yards. "You don't let a team score, they can't win the game," Perkins coach Jalen Santoro said. "That's the ultimate win for them." The Pirates managed only 177 yards on offense, but that was more than enough on a night when they had no turnovers. Perkins, which hosts Harvest Prep next week in for homecoming, was called for 11 penalties for 113 yards. Perkins scored first after forcing a three-and-out on the game's initial possession. Dante Shipp Jr. fielded a punt and cut to his left and rolled untouched into the end zone for a 51-yard touchdown return fewer than two minutes into the game. "It's hard punting from the back of your own end zone because you're trying to protect and don't get great coverage on it," Santoro said. "Dante made a nice read and found a seam and Bryce Davie had a great block. Easily could've been a crack-back block if he would've lowered his shoulder, but very heady play. High-screened it and it's something he's been taught for a couple years." The Knights' went three-and-out on their second possession, and the snap on fourth down sailed over the punter's head and Brayden Gonzales kicked it through the end zone for a safety and 9-0 Perkins lead. Perkins' defense stopped the Knights twice after Perkins punt team breakdowns gave up good field position. Pirates punter Danny Buga bobbled a snap and was dumped for a nine-yard loss on fourth down to set up St. Francis at the Perkins 37-yard line midway through the first quarter. The Knights lost four yards and punted. In the second quarter, Perkins had a punt partially blocked, setting up St. Francis on the Pirates' 33. St. Francis had second-and-goal on the Perkins 1, but Ballinger stopped Jordan Brown for no gain and Damion Hart was dropped for a two-yard loss. After a delay of game penalty on St. Francis, JoJo Moore blocked a 25-yard field goal attempt. Perkins then put together its best drive of the first half, driving 76 yards. The Pirates scored when Grant Kuhnle found Kaden Legando in traffic. Legando wiggled to the inside and sprinted past St. Francis defenders to complete a 37-yard touchdown play. "Our offense found some rhythm here and there and showed flashes of what we could be," Santoro said. "We just need to find some consistency with it. "We had two big drives, end of the half and start of the second half. You want to win the start of the game, the end of the half and coming out of the half." Perkins slowed down the game in the second half and opened the third quarter with a 14-play, 64-yard touchdown drive to take control. The Pirates converted on third down twice and kept the drive alive on fourth-and-1 from the St. Francis 32 when Logan Wadsworth took a direct snap out of the wildcat formation and gained four yards. On third-and-7, Kuhnle found Ballinger for a 10-yard gain in the left flat. Two plays later, Moore scooted up the middle for a 15-yard touchdown run. St. Francis moved deep into Perkins territory in the fourth quarter, but was slowed by a Landon Flores sack. On fourth-and-5 from the 25, Koch recorded his third sack of the game. Kuhnle completed 12 of 20 passes for 118 yards and one touchdown. Eight different receivers caught passes. Moore led the running attack with 31 yards on seven carries. Levi Jackson added 26 on carries. "This is what we can be when we're assignment sharp and on top of our game," Santoro said. "We showed flashes of it and we got opportunities to build off it. Trying to find that rhythm. We found a little tonight. Now it's about being more consistent with it." Perkins stopped St. Francis on three of four fourth-down attempts. Each team had 10 first downs. "The defense played well and obviously had a big goal-line stand that flipped momentum," Santoro said. Perkins had two shutouts last year — 41-0 against Bellevue and 31-0 at Napoleon in the second round of the playoffs. St. Francis 0 0 0 0 — 0 Perkins 9 7 7 0 — 23 P — Dante Shipp 51 punt return (Danny Buga kick) P — Safety P — Kaden Legando 37 pass from Grant Kuhnle (Buga kick) P — JoJo Moore 15 run (Buga kick)