Perkins 42, Urbana 14
The first round of the playoffs hasn’t been kind to Perkins over the past decade.
That changed Saturday night when the Pirates tallied 519 yards of offense en route to a 42-14 victory in the Division III region 10 playoffs.
“We had a great week of practice and our guys came down here focused,” Perkins coach Jason Ziegler said. “It was just a great team effort. The coaching staff had a phenomenal game plan and I am just proud of our guys.”
The Pirates, who haven’t won a first-round playoff game since 2000, now have a chance to avenge their only regular season loss to Bellevue next Saturday in Week 12 at a site to be determined.
“At this point in time we just want to get as far as we can in the playoffs,” Ziegler said. “It’s do or die, but (playing Bellevue) is a little added fuel. Coach Nasonti and his staff are some of the best in the area so it will be a fun game.”
Saturday’s first quarter featured a battle of the defenses as neither team could get on the board.
The Hillclimbers came out scrappy and aggressive, and locked down on the Pirates' ground game.
Bellevue 19, Elida 14
The Bellevue football team has rode the legs of Jalen Santoro all season en route to a Division III Region 10 quarterfinal berth.
In a tight game Saturday night at Strobel Field in Sandusky, it was Santoro's arm on top of his expected output running the ball that allowed the Redmen to score a 19-14 victory over Elida (8-3).
Bellevue (10-1) trailed 14-0 with 7:46 left in the first half, but scored 19 unanswered points to set up a rematch with Perkins (10-1) for a spot in the regional championship at a site to be determined Saturday.
The Redmen beat Pirates in the season opener at home, 27-16.
Clinging to a 19-14 lead with 2:03 left, Bellevue was faced with a third-and-7 at the 50 with Elida owning a timeout still. While everyone in attendance expected Santoro to run the ball, he instead fired a rocket deep up the right sideline to slot receiver Nick Raifsnider, who hauled it in for a 31-yard gain to the Elida 19 to seal the game.
Santoro finished with 176 yards and the game-winning touchdown on 26 attempts rushing, and completed 6 of 11 passes for 61 yards and a touchdown through the air.
For more information on these games, and Western Reserve-Lima CC, see Sunday's Sandusky Register.
