Perkins blanks Bellevue, 43-0

BELLEVUE — Perkins showed on Friday in its 43-0 win over Bellevue that it is worth its ranking as the No. 1 team in Division IV. The Pirates (5-0) have plenty of great athletes, strength in the trenches and a coaching staff that knows how to get its position players the ball in space in order to allow them the opportunity to make big plays. And that's exactly what happened in Perkins' triumph. Pirates defensive back Joey Diederich intercepted a pass on the third play from scrimmage, setting the Pirates up at their own 49-yard line less than a minute into the game. A mix of runs and passes culminated with Sam Schweinfurth (12-of-13 passing, 249 yards, 4 TD) finding Braylon Collier (8 receptions, 177 yards, 3 TD) on a 14-yard touchdown pass, giving Perkins the lead for good at 6-0. Schweinfurth and Collier hooked up twice more for the Pirates' next two touchdowns. On the second play of the second quarter, Collier outran the defense and was open by at least 10 yards before catching the long pass from Schweinfurth on a post pattern for a 52-yard touchdown with 11:10 to play in the first half. Isaac Bunts (22 carries, 166 yards, 2 TD) ran it in on the two-point conversion, pushing the lead to 14 points. On Perkins' next possession, which began at its 30, Schweinfurth threw a screen pass out on the flat to Collier, who got some great blocks on the edge and used his speed to get the edge and race down the sidelines, eluding one final defender at about the Redmen 15 before scoring, and Titus Normington-Slay's kick was good, making it 21-0. Perkins coach Jalen Santoro, one of the greatest players in the history of the Bellevue football program, talked about his team's offensive mindset going into the game. "We just wanted to take what the defense gives us," he said. "We were going to spread it out based on the look (they gave us), and put guys in the box when we needed to." Collier, one of the best players in the state, is committed to play collegiately at Michigan State. "We just want to make it easy. We're going to get the ball to him, which is never a bad thing," said Santoro. "We're banking on good things happening when he gets the ball." Schweinfurth was just as impressive, hitting receivers in stride whether it was a short, intermediate, or deep route. "He does a great job of extending plays. He's continuing to grow and get better," said Santoro. "We want to continue to get him opportunities to push the ball downfield." On the ensuing possession, Bellevue (2-3) got to the Perkins 43, but Haiden Bollini intercepted a pass on fourth-and-2, at the 45 and returned it to the Redmen 8 before being tackled. Two plays later, Isaac Bunts scored on a 1-yard touchdown run. "He's physical, he's a good runner," Santoro said. "We know that it's either going to be a positive play, or he's going to get the ball back to the line of scrimmage, if nothing is there." The offensive line consistently opened holes for Bunts and gave Schweinfurth plenty of time to throw the football. "They did a great job. They're big, physical bodies," said Santoro. "You want to see them improve each week." Late in the second quarter, Schweinfurth found Bryce Davie for an 11-yard touchdown, and Schweinfurth connected with Collier for the two-point conversion, giving the Pirates a 35-0 lead at halftime. The Pirate defense held Bellevue in check all night, and the Redmen only had a few big plays. "Our guys take pride in getting the shutout," said Santoro. "It's nice to have a zero on the scoreboard. We're winning the battle at the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball." The lone second-half score was a 37-yard touchdown run by Bunts early in the third quarter. Perkins 7 28 8 0 — 43Bellevue 0 0 0 0 — 0 P — Braylon Collier 14 pass from Sam Schweinfurth (kick failed) P — Collier 52 pass from Schweinfurth (Isaac Bunts run) P — Collier 70 pass from Schweinfurth (Titus Normington-Slay kick) P — Bunts 1 run (kick failed) P — Bryce Davie 11 pass from Schweinfurth (Collier pass from Schweinfurth) P — Bunts 37 run (Bunts run)