Perryville football team hopes end of losing streak signals beginning of brighter days

PERRYVILLE, Mo. -- Much like the high seas, the football field can be a lonely place.

The Pirates of Perryville sailed a desolate schedule for 15 consecutive weeks of football.

They had not seen victory since the 2009 season, when they opened district play with a 9-6 victory against Kennett.

Plunder mostly was replaced by blunders since that time.

The final two games were dropped in the 2009 season, and a winless 2010 campaign followed.

The Perryville football team defeated Potosi 35-34 in its Week 4 home game, which ended a 15-game losing streak. Coach Mike Wojtczuk, center, stands with team captains Wyatt McAfee, from left, Robby Brewer, Josh Pellikan and Kirk Hadler. (Kristin Eberts)

Opponents outscored the Pirates 432 to 78 in that forgettable 2010 season. Coach Keith Winkler stepped down this past summer, ending a 1-19 run at the helm after a successful tenure at crosstown St. Vincent that netted a Class 1 state championship.

Mike Wojtczuk, who came aboard for the 2010 season as a lines coach, took over as Pirates coach.

But the Pirates followed a familiar course in the first three games of 2011. Perryville put up a spirited battle for a half against Herculaneum but fell 27-8 in its season opener. Then came a 52-7 loss to De Soto, followed by a 42-7 setback to Park Hills.

The Pirates carried a losing streak of 15 games -- outscored 628-106 during the stretch -- into last Friday's game against Potosi.

Having netted just 22 points this season, the Pirates' offense caught a gust of wind against Potosi.

Junior quarterback Chris Zahner threw three touchdown passes and junior Levi Zook and senior Kirk Hadler both rushed for a touchdown to help the Pirates post a heart-and-streak-stopping 35-34 victory.

"These kids were so excited. From the time they came out of the locker room, they believed they had a chance to win the football game, and it showed on the field," Wojtczuk said. "We did some things we shouldn't of done, and defensively we gave up some big plays. But they just kept fighting it out, kept grinding it out. There was more guts and more grit than I've seen on any team I've coached. It would of been real easy for them to lay down."

In a game that featured eight lead changes -- four in the fourth quarter -- Perryville had the final say.

Senior Cody Call pulled in a 30-yard touchdown pass with 31 seconds remaining to overtake the Trojans.

Call was an unlikely hero, considering he spent the three previous falls on the soccer field and had not played football since middle school.

"For me, it means a lot to help these seniors that have been out all four years," said Call, one of seven seniors on the Perryville roster.

Call also had a 32-yard touchdown reception in the second quarter, a fumble recovery and the game's only extra point.

"I just wanted to try something different and have more fun my senior year," said Call, who led the Pirates with three catches for 86 yards. "It's the best decision I ever made."

Zook also had two touchdowns and two interceptions, while Hadler had a 65-yard touchdown run, one interception and a 2-point conversion.

"I'll never forget this win for the rest of my life," Hadler said. "It means everything to me, to see this program finally taking bigger steps forward than what we had been seeing."

The run-oriented attack had a season-high 125 yards passing and 267 yards overall.

"I can't say enough about our offense," Wojtczuk said. "If I gave a player of the week, I'd have to give it to the entire offensive squad."

Perryville led 15-14 at halftime and 21-20 after three quarters.

Potosi moved ahead 26-21 before Hadler scored on a 65-yard run with 4:30 left to put Perryville ahead 29-26. Potosi needed just more than a minute to regain a 34-29 lead.

"All week we had been working on not hanging our heads and not getting each other down," Zahner said. "That's kind of been a big problem around here. Whenever they scored, we kind of brushed it off our shoulders and came back and did what we needed to do."

Wojtczuk recalled senior fullback/defensive lineman Robby Brewer coming to the sideline after Potosi scored with 3:18 left.

"When they scored that last touchdown, one of our seniors came off the field and said, 'We're not going to lose this football game,'" Wojtczuk said.

Brewer, a team captain, has been with the varsity since his sophomore season. He's among the remnants of an eighth-grade team that numbered about 40 players. He's among only five seniors who has played since his freshman year, and he's heard his share of remarks about the Pirates over the years.

"It's been really tough," Brewer said. "Everyone's kind of, 'Oh, you play for the Pirates. You're going to lose. You're going to do this.' ... Friday we woke up and had that attitude that we're going to win. We came out and everyone was getting fired up, and that's exactly what we did. We had a few mistakes that we could have fixed, but it all worked out in the end."

Brewer had been 1-22 during his varsity career before Friday's win.

"It meant a lot to me, especially since we only won one game on varsity since our sophomore year," Brewer said. "It was a real downer last year. I thought we had the team to do it, but they weren't as enthused about it. ... This year everybody seems a lot more enthused."

Brewer gives much of that credit to Wojtczuk, who he said can be hard on players at times.

And Brewer noted the win ended an even bigger drought for Wojtczuk, who spent two winless seasons at Grandview in his only other shot as a coach. Wojtczuk was 0-23 as a coach entering Friday's game.

"That was his first win as a head coach," Brewer said. "That was really big for us, especially for him. I think he really enjoyed it. I know we did. Whenever that last buzzer just went off, it was the best feeling in the world, especially for coach. We thought it meant a lot to us, but it meant more to him than it did us."

And what did Wojtczuk have to say to his players in the long-anticipated moment?

"People who know me probably think I'm lying, but I was speechless," Wojtczuk said. "I was so excited. A lot of people didn't know it, and I didn't say anything, but it was my first varsity win as a head coach.

"After the two years I had at Grandview ... I didn't want that to overshadow what the kids had done. And I had a couple kids say to me, 'Coach, I didn't even know it was your first win.' I said, 'It was your first win. It wasn't my first win. We want to focus on what you guys are doing.'"

Wojtczuk said he's fielded calls, text messages and e-mails from people he hasn't talked to in years.

"They heard about it in different parts of the state and whatnot," Wojtczuk said. "It makes you feel good. You'd thought we'd won the Super Bowl."

Wojtczuk will have another first tonight when the Pirates host Fredericktown. It will be the first time he leads a team against his alma mater and admits it will be another emotional night.

Both teams are coming off their first wins of the season, and both will be coming in with much the same thinking.

"Fredericktown is about the same size as us, so we've got a really good chance," Brewer said. "They're only 1-3, so we've got a real good chance of doing the same thing this week."