Perryville football team falls at De Soto

Perryville's defense hung with host De Soto for one quarter Friday.

But the Dragons' offense proved too powerful.

De Soto attacked on the ground and through the air in its 52-7 victory over the Pirates. It was Perryville's 14th consecutive loss.

The Dragons opened a 7-0 lead in the first quarter on a short run by Frank Figge then started pulling away in the second quarter.

Figge again found the end zone, this time on a pass from quarterback Austin Hayes, for a 14-0 lead in the second quarter.

De Soto scored again when it intercepted Perryville quarterback Chris Zahner and returned it for a touchdown.

Hayes broke off a long run to give De Soto a 28-0 lead.

Perryville's offense got in on the action when Zahner hooked up with Levi Zook from 16 yards out. Cody Call kicked the extra point to trim the Pirates' deficit to 28-7 late in the second quarter.

De Soto added another touchdown, this time through the air, for a 34-7 lead at halftime.

The Dragons added two scoring runs in the third quarter and another in the fourth for the final margin.

Zahner finished 4 of 11 for 97 yards, a touchdown and three interceptions. He also led the rushing attack with three carries for 21 yards.

Perryville senior running back Wyatt McAfee added 5 yards on six carries.

Sophomore Jonny Pruiett hauled in one pass for 69 yards to lead the Pirates' receivers.

Perryville finished with 121 yards on offense.

De Soto gained 233 yards rushing and 92 yards passing, according to stltoday.com.

Hayes led the Dragons with nine carries for 88 yards, while Jared White added seven runs for 62 yards, according to stltoday.com.

Hayes went 3 of 10 passing for 92 yards and two TDs, according to stltoday.com.

Kirk Hadler led the Pirates' defense with five solo tackles and four tackle assists. Travis Bowen added four solos and four assists, while Wade Jung recovered a fumble and finished with two solo tackles and two assists.

The Pirates host Park Hills Central in Week 3.

-- From staff reports