Perryville drops East Prairie in opener

EAST PRAIRIE -- It was a game that sputtered from start to finish with penalties, fumbles and other errors plaguing both teams.

In the end, it was Perryville's bigger offensive line finally wearing down East Prairie in the fourth quarter Friday night as the Pirates prevailed 26-12.

It was East Prairie's 19th straight loss, but you couldn't tell from the red and black squad's determination and the enthusiasm shown by a frequently foot-stomping assemblage estimated at more than 700 people.

"We pull a good crowd," said athletic director Jason Aycock before the contest. "It doesn't matter if we're 0-10."

The Pirates got on the board first when Ethan Faries ran in from 18 yards out late in the first quarter, but East Prairie answered back in midway through the second quarter when the fast-stepping Deverance Jones took a short toss over the middle from Eagles quarterback Brett Ellis and dashed 69 yards down the left sideline to even the score at 6-6.

The Eagles briefly had the lead after Ellis high-stepped into the end zone on a 4-yard run later in the period, but Perryville pulled back ahead 13-12 on Faries' 5-yard dive and Alex Plunkett's kick just before halftime.

Often playing three freshmen on the defensive line -- Mason Tidwell, Nathan Owens and Chas Hosman -- the Eagles kept the Pirates in check until late in the third quarter, when Perryville senior halfback Cody Crawford broke loose on a 59-yard scoring run.

The score stayed at 19-12, with the Pirates often threatening to pull away but always coming up short. Perryville finally put the finishing touches on the win in the game's final minute when 230-pound tackle Dylan Vernon recovered a fumble by Ellis in the end zone.

Crawford rushed for 107 yards on 12 carries behind 227-pound Austin Bachmann and 220-pound Corby Renaud, who showed they could push the Eagles around on Perryville's final drive.

Pirates coach Mike Wojtczuk said there were obvious areas on which his team will work before this Friday's home game against Lift for Life Academy out of St. Louis.

"I thought Ethan Faries played well at wide receiver and defensive back, and Cody Crawford had a good game," Wojtczuk said. "But we had over 50 yards in penalties in the first half. It wasn't pretty, but we'll take it."

Perryville 6 7 6 7 -- 26

East Prairie 0 12 0 0 -- 12

First Quarter

P -- Ethan Faries 18 run (run failed), 2:00

Second Quarter

EP -- Deverance Jones 69 pass from Brett Ellis (kick failed), 7:40.

EP -- Brett Ellis 4 run (kick failed), 4:51

P -- Faries 5 run (Alex Plunkett kick), 1:01

Third Quarter

P -- Cody Crawford 59 run (kick failed), 3:18

Fourth Quarter

P -- Dylan Vernon recovered fumble in end zone (Plunkett kick), :45.3

P EP

Rushes-yards 32-181 31-174

Passing yards 43 126

Passes 3-10 6-14

Punts 3-30 5-30

Fumbles-Lost 3-3 2-2

Penalties-Yards 10-70 8-65

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING -- Perryville: Jonny Pruiett 7-19, Kyle Welch 2-0, Cody Crawford 12-107, Ethan Faries 3-26, Tyler Holligan 7-22, Zach Elder 2-7; East Prairie: Blayn Goodding 7-41, Brett Ellis 17-86, T.J. Shands 3-2, Deverance Jones 4-47.

PASSING -- Perryville: Holligan 3-10 43; East Prairie: Ellis 6-14 169.

RECEIVING -- Perryville: Holden Stortz 2-35, Faries 1-8; East Prairie: Jones 2-71, Boyd Thompson 3-55.