Perkins struggles in loss to St. Francis

TOLEDO — Perkins continues to try to find itself. The Pirates struggled offensively Friday at the Glass Bowl at the University of Toledo. Perkins was kept off the scoreboard long enough in the second half as Toledo St. Francis picked up a 30-24 non-league win. "I was proud of the way they played," Perkins coach Jalen Santoro said. "They played a really good football team tonight and they didn't back down at all. We had a lot of guys step up and make plays. They just made a few more than us. We had a few mistakes that were costly. Ultimately, in a game like that, it's a game of inches." The Pirates (1-2) had the ball with 3:26 to play, down 23-17. A pass interference gave Perkins a first down and a 13-yard pass from Sam Schweinfurth to Kaden Legando allowed the Pirates another fresh set of downs. Two incomplete passes brought up third down before a nine-yard pass made it fourth-and-1. Perkins was stuffed on a run and turned the ball over on downs. "It's tough," Santoro said. "They had some guys across from us that are big-time commits and big-time players. We knew it would be tough sledding in the trenches. I thought we ran the ball well at times. We have to get healthy up front. That's a big thing right now." St. Francis (2-1) put the game away when Elijawan Beal exploded for a 43-yard score on the first play. Gabe Puckett added the extra point to put the Knights up 30-17 with 1:43 to play. The Pirates made a run at it late. Schweinfurth hit Legando for an 18-yard touchdown pass with 51 seconds to play. Grant Hickman added the extra point to cut the deficit to 30-24. Perkins tried an onside kick, but didn't recover. That allowed St. Francis to run out the clock. The Pirates played without Eli Sanchez for the second week in a row. Carter Koch sat out injured. "Ultimately, it's going to going to build depth for us down the road because we're going to get some guys back in the next couple weeks," Santoro said. "You're building some guys now that are going to be able to help you down the road." For the longest time, it looked like the only score by either team in the second half came on a safety by the Knights. Perkins took over at its own 9 after a punt. A penalty pushed the Pirates back before Schweinfurth was sacked in the end zone to give St. Francis a 23-17 lead with 8:59 to play. The Knights took advantage on their next offensive drive as Jayden Houston exploded for 60 yards on the first play of the drive. "It stings and it hurts because these guys aren't used to losing," Santoro said. "Now we have to learn how to win." In the first half, St. Francis opened the scoring on its first drive. After forcing Perkins to go three-and-out, the Knights chewed up almost five minutes of clock. They went 69 yards in 11 plays. St. Francis got into the end zone when Houston, who is listed as a wide receiver, scored on an eight-yard keeper. The extra point made it 7-0 with 5:29 left in the first quarter. The Pirates again went three-and-out, but St. Francis turned it over on its next possession. A bad snap turned into a recovered fumble by Deshaun Harper. Perkins needed just three plays to cash in. Schweinfurth hit Braxden Martin for 14 yards before finding Connor Smith in the corner of the end zone for a 15-yard touchdown. Danny Buga tied the game at 7 with the extra point. The Pirates' defense kept coming on the next drive. With St. Francis back to punt, a bad snap turned the play bizarre. The St. Francis punter recovered the punt in time to kick, but it went straight into Perkins' John McGlashan for a block. Jojo Moore then fell on the blocked kick for a touchdown in the end zone. Hickman nailed the point after to make it 14-7 with one second to go in the first quarter. "They're playing well right now," said Santoro of his defense. "They're tackling well and getting to the ball well. I thought we played well against the run for the most part." The Knights righted the ship on their next offensive possession. Perkins had St. Francis in third-and-12, but the Knights got the first down and marched down the field. St. Francis tied the game when Beal hauled in a 17-yard touchdown from KJ Collins-Walker. Perkins looked to be moving down the field to take the lead again after two first downs, but the drive stalled. The punt was a beauty from Buga, but Keshawn Richardson fielded it, made a couple moves and was off to the races for what became an 85-yard touchdown return. The extra point gave St. Francis a 21-14 lead halfway through the second quarter. Perkins did get on the board late in the half to cut into the deficit. Facing third down, Schweinfurth found a wide-open Martin for a 50-yard throw and run. But, the Pirates stalled after getting first-and-goal at the St. Francis 3. Hickman made a 23-yard field goal to get Perkins within 21-17 at halftime. "That's the best football we've played all year," Santoro said. "We're starting to get healthy here. It's starting to click for some people." The Pirates finished with 229 total yards of offense. Schweinfurth was 13 of 25 passing for 192 yards. The Pirates had 37 yards rushing on 20 carries. Perkins hits the road again next week, traveling to take on Harvest Prep. "A lot of guys are gaining some valuable experience here," Santoro said. "Right now, we're not off to the start we want. We still have all of our goals in front of us. We have an opportunity to still go win the league and an opportunity to make a playoff run. Those are the goals from the start." Perkins 14 3 0 7 — 24St. Francis 7 14 0 9 — 30 STF — Jayden Houston 8 run (Drew Puckett kick)P — Connor Smith 15 pass from Sam Schweinfurth (Danny Buga kick)P — Jojo Moore 0 fumble recovery (Grant Hickman kick)STF — Elijawan Beal 17 pass from KJ Collins-Walker (Puckett kick)STF — Keshawn Richardson 85 punt return (Puckett kick)P — Hickman 23 field goalSTF — SafetySTF — Beal 43 run (Puckett kick)P — Kaden Legando 18 pass from Schweinfurth (Hickman kick)