Sikeston takes down Perryville 54-7 in first week of district play

SIKESTON, Mo. -- With all the talk surrounding a potential undefeated matchup with Central, Sikeston coach Kent Gibbs was hoping his team didn't overlook the Perryville Pirates in the first week of district play Friday night.

The Bulldogs didn't disappoint their coach, stomping the Pirates 54-7.

The Bulldogs (8-0) received 13 points in the Class 4 District 1 standings to hold a one-point lead after Central's 40-28 road victory over Farmington.

"It's hard as a coach and a player knowing you've got a couple big games coming up and you're playing an opponent that's kind of down on their luck," Gibbs said. "To our kids' credit, they came out and they did what they needed to do."

The Bulldogs scored 28 points and piled up a staggering 303 yards of offense in the first quarter alone.

"They were coming after us and they were coming hard," Perryville coach Keith Winkler said. "They were like sharks with a little blood -- they started feeding and they fed hard and we never recovered."

Sikeston's backup players were already in the game after the Bulldogs took a 35-0 lead early in the second quarter.

The Bulldogs scored on their first five offensive possessions and also scored a defensive touchdown on Taylor Causey's strip and fumble return for a 41-0 lead with 9:41 left in the first half.

"When you play a team the caliber of Sikeston -- a lot of speed, a lot of athleticism -- those guys, they're flat out fast," Winkler said. "They're not No. 5 in the state for no reason."

The Bulldogs totaled 560 yards of offense, which ties a season high that they set in the first game of the season against Obion County.

Running back Darryl Howard had 110 yards on three carries, including a 53-yard touchdown in the first quarter.

Quarterback Trey Lewis rushed for 94 yards on three carries, including touchdown runs of 12 and 69 yards. He also threw for 82 yards, all in the first quarter. Lewis also intercepted a pass.

"Trey Lewis, boy, he runs that offense really well," Winkler said. "He puts that ball in there on that option and hides it really well and you get him in the open field, he's going to be tough to catch. And he throws a nice ball."

Janeil Hatchett had two receptions for 104 yards, including a dazzling 61-yard touchdown. He took a short pass from sophomore Drew Harper, darted toward the sideline, then broke across the field where he picked up key downfield blocks to reach the end zone.

Sikeston's defense forced three turnovers and limited Perryville to 35 yards rushing and 120 yards total.

The Pirates never could move the ball on offense but they finally did break the shutout in the fourth quarter on Ryan Kassinger's 25-yard TD reception from Joey Bauwens.

"We saw the district matchups and we knew it was going to be very difficult," Winkler said. "But at the same time, you can whine about it and cry about it. It's not going to help anything. We're just going to have to strap it on and we're going to have to find out what it's going to take to compete at this level. I think our young men found that the speed of the game has picked up, the size has picked up. And we're going to have to work hard in the offseason and do what it takes to compete at this level."

Sikeston now has won 21 of its last 22 games.

"We got out there and played hard and came out with no injuries and we're ready to move on to next week," Gibbs said.

Perryville 0 0 0 7 -- 7

Sikeston 28 13 6 7 -- 54

First Quarter

S -- Trey Lewis 12 run (Hunter Williams kick), 10:58.

S -- James Watson 17 run (Hunter Williams kick), 5:21.

S -- Trey Lewis 69 run (Hunter Williams kick), 2:53.

S -- Darryl Howard 53 run (Hunter Williams kick), 0:20.

Second Quarter

S -- Taylor Causey 30 fumble return (Hunter Williams kick), 10:42.

S -- Janeil Hatchett 61 pass from Drew Harper (kick failed), 9:41.

Third Quarter

S -- Drew Harper 1 run (kick failed), 6:06.

Fourth Quarter

P -- Ryan Kassinger 25 pass from Joey Bauwens (Chris Zahner kick), 9:25.

S -- Chris Word 22 run (Hunter Williams kick), 5:50.

P S

Rushes-yards 26-35 27-364

Passing yards 85 196

Passes 12-25-1 9-11-0

Penalties-yards 4-20 7-40

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING -- Perryville, Lee Thaxton 8-17, Levi Zook 4-13, Cale Regelsperger 1-6, Cameron Wehmeyer 1-6, Terry Davis 1-5, Garrett Flentge 3-5, Jared Hotop 2-3, Garrett Zoellner 1-1, Josh Braddy 1-(-1), Team 2-(-9), Joey Bauwens 2-(-11). Sikeston, Darryl Howard 3-110, Trey Lewis 3-94, James Watson 5-55, Darien Boyd 5-47, Chris Word 4-42, David Foster 4-17, Drew Harper 1-1, Team 2-(-2).

PASSING -- Perryville, Joey Bauwens 12-23-85-1, Chris Zahner 0-2-0-1. Sikeston, Trey Lewis 4-5-82-0, Drew Harper 2-3-74-0, David Foster 3-3-40-0.

RECEIVING -- Perryville, Ryan Kassinger 7-82, Garrett Flentge 2-2, Lee Thaxton 1-2, Cale Regelsperger 1-0, Kirk Hadler 1-(-1). Sikeston, Janeil Hatchett 2-104, Markeith Bratcher 3-49, Robert Garces 2-30, Parker Williams 1-13, Quentin Washington 1-0.