SANDUSKY

Playing in front of 4,982 fans at Strobel Field in the anticipated Perkins vs. Sandusky “Hometown Showdown,” it was understandable for Perkins quarterback Spencer Bryant to be nervous — and a little forgetful.

With his team already leading 21-0 midway through the fourth quarter, Bryant put the finishing touches on a 28-0 Pirate victory.
The senior rolled to his right after being flushed out of the pocket, fired a pass to Tony Henderly that only Henderly could catch — which the senior receiver did in the back corner of the end zone for a 16-yard touchdown with 7:11 remaining.

On the play, Bryant lost his helmet after being pushed to the ground — but quickly hopped to his feet to celebrate. Bryant finished 10-of-14 for 198 yards and two touchdown passes.

“I knew he caught it when I got back up, but I had to pick my helmet up,” Bryant said. “I have to learn to strap my helmet a little bit better, and I’ll be all right.”

A week after limiting Bellevue to 12 points, the Perkins (2-0) defense let the Sandusky offense get inside the red zone only once — which resulted in a wide right 35-yard field goal by the Blue Streaks’ Victor Groot — while limiting them to 124 yards of total offense and seven first downs.

Sandusky head coach Mike Franklin did not speak with members of the media after the game.

Assistant coach Eric Talbot told the Register that Franklin, who remained in the Blue Streaks locker room for more than 40 minutes after the game, would not comment about the loss.

In eight quarters this season, Sandusky (0-2) has not scored a touchdown.

“If you shut them out, they’re not going to beat you,” Perkins coach Gary Quisno said after the game. “I give assistant coach Tim Obergefell and the defensive staff a lot of credit for the game plan. They did a great job getting them ready to go. We’re not real big there, but the kids are aggressive and run to the ball. That’s a good combination.”

Neither team was allowing any ground to each other for nearly the entire first half, with the game deadlocked in a scoreless tie with just over five minutes left in the half.

What may have been the game’s biggest momentum swing came as Perkins senior Nico Caponi caught a 22-yard pass to the Sandusky 20, but fumbled the ball and the Streaks Davion Caston came up with the ball as Sandusky appeared to avoid the Pirate scoring threat.

However, quarterback Lucas Poggiali fumbled the ball on the ensuing play, and Caponi atoned for his fumble by taking it right back and recovering at the Sandusky 18. It took five plays and 2:16 off the clock, but Bryant capped the short drive with a 1-yard scoring run on third-and-goal for game’s first points at the 4:58 mark of the second quarter.

Kicker Chris Baxter added the first of four extra points for the 7-0 lead.

“That was big, to get it right back the next play and then score the first touchdown,” Quisno said. “That was real big.”

Said Bryant, “I felt the momentum start going our way after we got that first touchdown. I don’t really know what to say, I’m speechless. There was a lot of people here and it was a lot of fun.”

After the Streaks went three-and-out on the ensuing series, Perkins took over at its 32 with 2:45 left in the half and quickly Richard Hohler picked up 24 yards on the first play.

Just two plays later, Hohler and the offensive line found a huge seam as the Streaks didn’t read a misdirection counter — and Hohler covered the distance for a 36-yard score with just 51 seconds left in the half for a 14-0 lead.

On the fourth play of the second half, Bryant found running back Kyle Finn alone about 20 yards down field, and Finn went up the right sideline for a 56-yard touchdown catch at the 10:37 mark of the third quarter for a 21-0 lead.

“I think Sandusky played a lot better than they did last week, and we won’t face a team as big and physical as they are the rest of the season,” Quisno said. “They brought a lot of pressure, and I thought Spencer played a great game, making some big throws under pressure.”

Henderly caught three passes for 58 yards and the score for Perkins, while Caponi caught four passes for 52 yards. Hohler ran nine times for 72 yards and a score. For Sandusky, Poggiali ran 11 times for 27 yards while Caston caught four passes for 29 yards and Mike Drake caught four passes for 20 yards.

Quisno talked about the pomp and circumstance that surrounded the game.

“It was great, and kind of like a playoff atmosphere here with the hype all week coming into it,” he said. “We told our kids this is history, so seize the moment, enjoy it, have fun and come out and play your best — and they did.”