Sandusky-Perkins rematch 'a magical, special day'

If part one was the game of the year — and there's a solid case to be made that it was — then the Sandusky-Perkins rematch slated for Friday night has plenty to live up to. With the way things have gone in the past few seasons of this rivalry, though, they just might match the hype. "One of the big reasons I came back here to Perkins, not only because I'm an alumni, but for those types of Friday nights right there," Perkins coach Eric Kochendoerfer said. "That's a magical, special day. The second favorite day is playing Sandusky at Sandusky, and my favorite day is playing Sandusky here." The gym at PHS will be overflowing when two red-hot teams take the court Friday. The Blue Streaks (13-1, 6-0 SBC Lake) have won seven in a row. Perkins (8-6, 3-3) has won eight of its last 11. Sandusky would clinch a share of the SBC Lake Division crown with a win Friday night, and with three league games still to go after that, is lined up to seize a three-peat. "This is a rivalry game," Sandusky coach DeMar Moore said. "We're excited with the opportunity to clinch a share of the Lake title. Looking forward to it." Sandusky won the first meeting, 77-75, on a Jason Henlon bank shot with 2.2 seconds to play. But it had been a game of wild runs, beginning with the first 11 points by the Blue Streaks and a 16-point lead midway through the first half before Perkins rallied to take a six-point lead of its own with three minutes left. In a raucous Big House, Sandusky scored 14 of the final 20 points to steal the win back. "That was a heck of a game," Moore said. "That was a really exciting game. It was great for our community. Our kids know each other. Our staff is cool with their staff. It's very good for our community for our teams to come out and play a great game like that." Since Perkins' opening stretch of three losses, the Pirates won three in a row, had two tough defeats, then won five more in a row before a loss at Bay on Tuesday night. "We've gotten our rotations down a little bit better," Kochendoerfer said. "We are coming out of the gate a lot stronger. I expect us to come out stronger. A lot of that is just based on our chemistry and where we are in the season." Sandusky's only loss is to Toledo Whitmer, one of the top teams in northwest Ohio. The Blue Streaks were 6-0 before that game and are 7-0 since. "We're playing well. They're playing well," Kochendoerfer said. "At the end of the day heading into the tournament, it's a great way to see where we stand to see if we really are getting better. They are a good litmus test for us to see how good we actually are right now." If recent Sandusky-Perkins matchups are any indication, the start to Friday night's game may not dictate the finish. The Blue Streaks of the last two years have jumped out to a few huge leads only for Perkins to fight back. The Pirates, of course, would prefer a different kind of start. "At the end of the day, we tend to come out and get hit in the mouth before we can pop back up," Kochendoerfer said. "The good news is we keep popping back up. But for one time, I'd like to be hitting first." Sandusky plans on coming out with its usual intensity and hopes to keep that up the entire night. "We want to come out fast," Moore said. "We just have to maintain that lead if we do happen to get it. We do want to come out and strike first and get them on their heels with our aggression and ability to get after it on defense." The Blue Streaks clinched the league outright last season with a win over Perkins, but they can't do that yet Friday. The winner of the Tiffin Columbian at Bellevue game will mathematically remain in title contention. But for Sandusky, the chance at a three-peat in Moore's first three seasons in charge would be a sign of all the good things happening in the program, which currently starts five juniors. "Our guys continue to buy in to our culture," Moore said. "They come in and put in the work in the offseason. They see the guys before them put in the work, and they just follow the footsteps." Both coaches are expecting an overflowing gymnasium and yet another thriller on the court. "For us, it's just a great environment," Kochendoerfer said. "We know all these kids. They play basketball in the summer against a lot of these kids. They know these kids on the football field. It's truly a dogfight out here. We get after it." --- Sandusky-Perkins historydating back to 2020-21 Date&emsp;Sandusky&emsp;Perkins 2/24/23&emsp;67&emsp;60 2/3/23&emsp;85&emsp;83 1/4/23&emsp;91&emsp;82 2/25/22&emsp;59&emsp;47 2/5/22&emsp;85&emsp;63 1/18/22&emsp;73&emsp;51 2/27/21&emsp;65&emsp;53 1/28/21&emsp;55&emsp;57 12/23/20&emsp;48&emsp;42