From coach to players, Perryville FB 'evolving' into district contender

It's quite unfortunate luck that Perryville's only two Friday home games in 2024 were burdened by bad weather.

A lesser Perryville team would've seen it as an overwhelming obstacle and an excusable cause for an inevitable defeat. Instead, this merry band of Pirates used the elements as home-field advantage, leading 5-0 St. Vincent for most of the game on Sept. 13 and trouncing the Grandview Eagles 32-0 on Friday, Sept. 26.

“I think the big thing we lacked with us being so young was physicality. So the main thing this off-season was just being the most physical team that we could be, and out-physical every team we played on our schedule, and that's what we did,” Perryville junior running back Barrett Wheeler said. “We were stronger, we were tougher, and we were more physical.”

The Pirates have matched their win total from the previous season, improving to 4-1 with four games to go in the regular season. Brent Roth assumed the head coaching role prior to the 2021 season after serving as an assistant in current Herculaneum coach Blane Boss' staff. Building the Pirates from a team that couldn't believe into a team that can compete and contend wasn't just a ground-up building project for the players but for the coach himself.

"This is going into my fourth year as head coach in this system, and this is kind of a system that I just made up," Roth said. "I didn't get it off the internet or steal it from a coach, anybody else. I just kind of developed this thing and it's evolving, and it's still changing. It's still not perfect."

This year's Pirates have the benefit of nearly the entire team growing together and coming back one year improved. The only changes that needed to be made on offense were replacing the center and quarterback after Mason Cochran and Rilaynd Graham graduated and those two are on the staff as volunteer assistant coaches.

Roth is also a key member of the Pirates who has gotten better with another year on the job, which has led to the team's steady improvement.

"I feel more comfortable this year as a playcaller, understanding how to take advantage of defenses and how to use certain motions and formations and stuff to open things up, which has helped a lot," Roth said.

In a game like Friday's against Grandview, the Pirates leaned into their physicality and rode junior runningback Barrett Wheeler to the end zone four times.

It's long been the goal to establish the run game either through a feature back or a committee. A lot of growing pains were experienced last year but the progress being made has been evident.

“It's nice that my coach trusts me as much as he does,” Wheeler said. “We started off a little bit shaky last year and freshman year, and we've grown a lot of trust in each other. He'll listen to me if I think a certain play is going to work, I'll listen to him and we work together. We built a bond that is pretty hard for a defense to stop because we work together because he trusts us so much."

The Perryville offense has averaged an unprecedented 33.6 points per game so far this season. Since MSHSAA started keeping track online, the Pirates' highest offensive output was in 2015 when they averaged 28.4 points and finished 5-5. An often underrated factor behind such improvement has been in the offensive line, a unit that Roth personally made sure would be built for the task.

"I also took control the O-line this year, took a little more ownership of those guys, and we were really good with our run blocking," Roth said. "Our pass protection was a little weak to start, and we've been really honing in on that and trying to improve that area of the game."

Like many coaches, Roth won't say his team is playing their best football at this moment. After all, nothing good comes from peaking in September. However, at 4-1, the Pirates are only second behind 5-0 Festus in the Class 4 District 1 standings.

And unlike past years, a district title seems like a realistic aspiration.

"We're not there yet," Roth said. "I think we could get there by the end of the year. That's my goal, to keep working these guys and get them prepared to compete with those three teams [Festus, North County, and Hillsboro] in the district by the end of the season."

The true test begins in October, and there be rough waters ahead for the Pirates away from port. Perryille has one home game left until the district tournament and it's on a Saturday afternoon. The Pirates will travel to Jefferson next week and then Alton, Illinois to face Marquette Catholic on Oct. 11. After their homecoming matinee against Herculaneum on Oct. 19, the Pirates will conclude the regular season with a road contest at Cuba.

Perryville could have taken the next step last year with a win over Jefferson. The Pirates had them on the ropes in the first half but let the Blue Jays escape with a win.

For any real success, this year must be different.

“Next week we'll be at big testament to who we are as a team,” Wheeler said. “I think we can play four quarters [at Jefferson], I can see us making it a good run for a district championship this year.”