Runner-up Pirates back for more

PERKINS TWP. — The standard has been set. Perkins openly talked about winning a state championship last year, then went out and came within a couple points of hoisting the big trophy in Division IV. The Pirates lost 37-36 to Indian Valley in the last state final of the 2024 season, learning plenty about themselves in the process. "That talk now is not just talk; it's the reality of where we are as a program," Perkins coach Jalen Santoro said. "The standard is what we've preached since we've been here. Now getting a taste of it and being there, it's our expectation. It's how we've gotta practice, lift and study film. We got to that game, now it's about finishing that deal." Perkins has enjoyed an incredible four-year run, going 45-9 with 11 playoff victories since 2011. Santoro, who is in his fifth season leading the Pirates, has watched film of the championship game. Watched and learned. "Watched that game a few times," he said. "They did some really good things. One through 22, players, coaches, there's stuff you wish you could've done differently. It was exciting for the fans, but not what we wanted to accomplish. We'll use it as a learning point. You gotta stay disciplined with what you do and what got you there." Perkins filled 11 of the SBC Lake Division first team slots last year. Only two first-teamers return — quarterback Sam Schweinfurth and lineman Eli Sanchez. That doesn't mean the cupboard is bare. The Pirates return plenty of talent and guys who have been waiting their turn. "Our approach is we lost a ton of really good players, lost a lot of good seniors, so now it's time for people to step up who are unproven," Santoro said. "We're going into the season with the mindset that we could be good but we've gotta prove it. The goals remain the same, but we don't have the three- or four-year starters all across the field. "I think we have an opportunity to be really good." The Pirates will know early if they're on the right path. They play three of their first four games on the road — including a Sept. 5 date with Toledo St. Francis at the Glass Bowl and a Sept. 12 road trip to powerful Harvest Prep. St. Francis, a Division II program that went 8-4 last year, plays its home games at the University of Toledo. "It'll be a good experience for everybody, and a lot of kids who want to play at the next level, kind of get that big stadium feel," Santoro said. "Playing at a college stadium like that will be pretty cool." The Pirates fended off Harvest Prep 28-22 last year in a physical battle at Firelands Health Stadium. "They reloaded, went out and got some new players," Santoro said. "We gotta take the long bus ride down there (to Canal Winchester, south of Columbus) and play a high-quality opponent. We've gotta be ready mentally and physically. That's a premier program in Division V and always making some noise, so that's the type of team you want to test yourself with early on." Offense Schweinfurth earned his stripes last year as a junior, throwing for 3,002 yards and 40 touchdowns while completing 65 percent of his passes. Schweinfurth threw only six interceptions. This season, he'll be expected to play — and lead — like a senior. "His role as a leader and the guy who manufactures our offense and makes it work is the same, but he's gotta do it with different people around him," Santoro said. "We're putting him in charge at a lot of things at the line of scrimmage and putting more on his plate to make sure everyone else's job is a little easier. He's a very high IQ quarterback. He gives us a sense of comfort. He's played in big games, put up the numbers and has done everything the right way." Schweinfurth was a big reason why the Pirates had a plus-22 turnover margin. "You create that by protecting the football," Santoro said. "Obviously you have to create turnovers, and that's something we always preach, but you get that differential by protecting the football. We did a really good job of that last year." Gone from an offense that averaged nearly 37 points per game are two All-Ohio performers — receiver Braylon Collier, who is playing for Michigan State, and running back Isaac Bunts. Those two accounted for 61 touchdowns to lead the Pirates to a 14-2 season. Senior Braxden Martin, junior Levi Jackson and sophomore JoJo Moore will inherit carries at running back. "It'll be more of a stable versus a premier back, which is fine," Santoro said. "It'll help those guys stay fresh and healthy. They all do certain things very well." Plenty of talent returns at wide receiver, led by senior Blake Parker. The 6-foot-2, 185-pound senior caught 36 passes for 636 yards and six touchdowns last year. "He's had a really good summer, really good year for us last year," Santoro said. "He's a 6-2, 6-3 senior who runs a low 4.5 so he has the speed to do it. It's his turn now to be The Guy." Bryce Davie, a speedy junior, will also start at receiver. Others who will be running pass patterns: Kaden Legando, Connor Smith, Law Davlin, Logan Wadsworth, Mason Adams, Deshaun Harper, Paul Keys and Moore. "It'll be a good rotation," Santoro said. "Right now they're all playing well. We're trying to find that right mix of people." Santoro is looking at several candidates at tight end, including Deshaun Harper, Evyn Straub, DJ Johnson and Davlin. "It'll be more rotation-based versus completely two-platoon," he said. "We've had that luxury in the past. If we're trying to do certain things with the ball then certain guys will be in. Good mix of tight ends." The offensive line will be anchored by Sanchez, who has committed to Nevada-Las Vegas. The 285-pound senior will move from guard to center this year. "He's got the experience and it's what he'll play in college," Santoro said. "He knows pretty much every spot so he can helps guys to the left and right of him. He can ID fronts. He's a guy we trust up there and handle the snap on every play. He's been in the battles for four years." Sophomore Carter Koch will start at left tackle and junior Christian James-Smith is the right tackle. Javier Keys was slated to start at left tackle but tore an ACL early in camp. Bob Hutchinson, a senior who got some playing last year, will start at left guard. Right guards are seniors Joey Ziegler and John McGlashan. Ziegler missed much of last season with a knee injury but is "good to go," Santoro said. Nate Jones, Wyatt Fantozz and Caith Billman provide depth on the line. Defense The Pirates shut out six of 10 regular-season opponents last year and didn't allow more than 22 points until the state championship game when Indian Valley milked the clock and rushed for 357 yards. "Teams try to control the tempo and keep the ball out of your offense's hands. It's about getting off the field," Santoro said. "Those teams are hard to stop in general. When you know they're going to go for it on fourth down, that adds another element to the game. A lot of people talk about third and fourth down stops, but that gets easier if you win first and second." Perkins will start with a four-man front. The tackles will be Sanchez, Ziegler, McGlashan (64 tackles, 5.5 sacks) and Billman. Ends will be Straub, Harper, Johnson, Koch and James-Smith. "It's all about trying to find the right rotation and keep them fresh on both sides of the ball," Santoro said. Martin will anchor the linebackers. He was second on the team last year with 158 tackles and added three interceptions. Other linebackers are Landon Flores, Sam Oprzadek, Cooper Cisco, Adams and Davlin. "The way we run our defense a lot of stuff gets funneled to them," Santoro said of the linebackers. "They gotta be able to tackle. A lot of those guys are wrestlers, too. They aren't the biggest linebackers but they can tackle. Good athleticism and can run with some people." Davie returns at cornerback after a team-high six interceptions last year. Also at cornerback are Legando, Smith, Keys, Rajon Randleman and Grant Parker, who is injured and could return midseason. JoJo Moore is the rover and the Star position — a linebacker/safety hybrid role in which graduated All-Ohioan Mikey Young excelled — will be filled by Jackson and Logan Wadsworth. Grant Hickman is back to kick and also will handle punting duties. Danny Buga also will contribute at kicker. "We've got a lot of guy who have played a lot of football, maybe not as much as last year," Santoro said. "Last year was kind of an anomaly with the amount of people we had started for four or three years. But we still have a handful this year. Not a lot of programs can say they have an O-lineman playing for four years or a quarterback who threw for 3,000 yards the year before, or a corner and safety who started as sophomores and played in the state championship game, or Braxden Martin, who has played almost 40 games in his career. "Those guys will help the younger guys who are getting their first starts. Continuity at key positions is a big thing." 2025 schedule Aug. 22: at Clear Fork, 7 p.m. Aug. 29: Toledo Scott, 7 p.m. Sept. 5: at Toledo St. Francis, 7 p.m. Sept. 12: at Harvest Prep, 7 p.m. Sept. 19: Bellevue, 7 p.m. Sept. 26: Clyde, 7 p.m. Oct. 3: at Sandusky, 7 p.m. Oct. 10: Norwalk, 7 p.m. Oct. 17: Huron, 7 p.m. Oct. 24: at Tiffin Columbian, 7 p.m. 2024 results (14-2) Perkins 55, Clear Fork 0 Perkins 35, Parma Padua 0 Perkins 49, Rocky River 0 Perkins 28, Harvest Prep 22 Perkins 43, Bellevue 0 Perkins 28, Clyde 7 Edison 15, Perkins 14 Perkins 49, Norwalk 0 Perkins 37, Sandusky 0 Perkins 42, Tiffin Columbian 7 Playoffs Perkins 49, Upper Sandusky 10 Perkins 48, Vermilion 7 Perkins 35, Napoleon 21 Perkins 28, Ontario 21 Perkins 13, Cleveland Glenville 11 Indian Valley 37, Perkins 36 2025 roster No. Name Pos. Ht. Wt. Yr. 0 Connor Smith WR/DB 5-8 155 11 1 Kaden Legando WR/DB 6-3 175 11 2 Braxden Martin RB/LB 5-8 175 12 3 Bryce Davie WR/DB 5-8 160 11 4 Levi Jackson RB/DB 5-9 175 11 5 Deshaun Harper TE/DL 6-1 230 12 6 Ashton Wadsworth WR/K 6-5 210 12 7 Sam Oprzadek TE/LB 5-9 175 11 8 Landon Flores RB/LB 5-9 165 11 9 Evyn Straub TE/LB 6-1 210 12 10 Mason Adams WR/DB 5-10 180 12 11 Sam Schweinfurth QB 6-3 185 12 12 Grant Parker WR/DB 6-0 150 11 13 Blake Parker WR/DB 6-2 185 12 14 Logan Wadsworth QB/LB 6-2 195 10 15 Law Davlin WR/LB 6-1 180 10 16 Ronnie Kromer RB/LB 5-7 145 11 17 Preston Bleile WR/DB 6-1 165 11 18 JoJo Moore RB/DB 5-10 160 10 19 Kaden Dorsey WR/DB 6-0 170 11 21 DJ Johnson TE/DE 6-2 175 10 22 Paul Keys WR/DB 6-0 150 10 23 Leland Plue TE/DL 5-9 165 11 24 Danny Buga K 6-0 210 10 25 Tyler Meadows TE/LB 5-10 160 10 26 Xavion Monegan TE/DL 5-10 200 10 27 Jaiden Hellinger WR/DB 5-11 175 11 28 Blake Harbal WR/DB 5-8 135 10 29 Frederick Taylor WR/DB 6-0 162 10 31 Cayden Adcock WR/DB 6-0 160 9 33 Rajon Randleman RB/DB 5-9 155 10 50 Bob Hutchison OL/DL 6-0 245 12 52 Stone Link OL/DL 5-8 165 10 53 Carter Koch OL/DL 6-1 215 10 54 Cooper Cisco OL/LB 6-1 190 10 55 Garrett Isbell OL/DL 5-9 205 9 56 Christian James-Smith OL/DL 6-3 205 11 58 Kamden Richardson OL/DL 5-9 185 10 59 Wyatt Fantozz OL/DL 6-0 205 10 65 Joey Ziegler OL/DL 6-4 295 12 66 John McGlashan OL/DL 6-1 255 12 67 Chase Wierzba OL/DL 6-1 165 10 70 Eli Sanchez OL/DL 6-4 285 12 71 Javier Keys OL/DL 6-2 260 11 76 Caith Billman OL/DL 6-3 340 10 78 Nate Jones OL/DL 5-8 220 12 79 Tavaris Green OL/DL 6-3 290 9 84 Aiden Shibley WR/DB 5-8 130 10 86 Caleb Bryant WR/DB 6-5 175 10 99 Grant Hickman K 6-2 200 12