Perryville blasts Bayless 62-6 to start three-game homestand

Homecooking means a lot for the Perryville Pirates, and those games at Pirate Stadium seem to come at the right time.

Score no points in a road loss to Oakville, shut out Windsor in a home win. Lose to the rival by 42 points at their turf, win the next home game by 56 points.

Such is the case for the Pirates, who dominated Bayless 62-6 on Friday, Sept. 15, in Perryville, Mo. The Pirates' record is back to an even 2-2, while the gap between how they play at home and on the road grows wider.

In the weeks leading up to Friday, the message from the coaches to the players has been a constant reminder of what opportunity is present to them. This year's squad can be the first Perryville team to have a winning record since 2017, and with this win comes the confidence to do so.

"Our goal is to win the conference, get a home district game," running back Barrett Wheeler said. "We're looking at 6-3 as our main goal right now."

The Pirates' 28-point first quarter started with a touchdown pass from quarterback Rilaynd Graham to receiver Chase Richardet, followed by a five-yard touchdown run by Wheeler.

The defense got involved in the scoring as Richardet intercepted a pass on the 35-yard line and returned it 65 yards to the end zone for a touchdown.

"It really set the tone for us," Richardet said. "It really helped us. We felt like we were really energized because we had a tough start to the season. So it really helped us get the win."

Then it was the special team's turn at the end of the first quarter. A blocked punt near led to another touchdown when the ball was recovered by lineman Eli Hemingway in the end zone.

The Pirates scored again at the start of the second quarter on a touchdown run by Ty Peeler. Wheeler then ran 62 yards for his second touchdown run. Graham threw for another score on a short pass to Drew Leuckel, who ran through defenders toward the end zone.

Bayless scored its only touchdown in the last play of the first half, closing it down 49-6.

It took most of the third quarter until the Pirates scored again. Kayd Luckey opened the second half with a 40-yard touchdown run to put the Pirates up 56-6.

The final score of the game for the Pirates came on a 15-yard touchdown run by Cyler Myers in the fourth quarter.

The Pirates return home to host Grandview on Thursday, Sept. 21. While the Pirates had a successful night against Bayless, they are aware of how much better they need to be next week.

"We definitely played good but we also made a lot of mistakes," Wheeler said. "Grandview is going to be way better. They dropped, I think, 41 points on this team so clean up a bunch of mistakes, we should definitely come out on top of them."

After the short week comes the long week, as the final game of the homestand comes on Saturday, Sept. 30, with a homecoming matchup against Jefferson.

"Jefferson is going to be a tough game for our homecoming," Wheeler said. "The rest of the season is actually really tough for us, but I think if we can win next week, and win homecoming, go 4-2 into New Madrid, that would be a huge boost for us."