Ste. Gen hands Perryville its first loss 22-11

PERRYVILLE, Mo. -- Three first-quarter turnovers inside Ste. Genevieve's 38 resulted in just three points for the host Pirates on Friday, as visiting Ste. Genevieve continued its dominance over Perryville with a 22-11 MAFC White Division win.

"As many turnovers as they gave us, we just couldn't take advantage of the opportunities they presented us," Perryville coach Rick Chastain said.

The Pirates fell to 2-1, while Ste. Genevieve moved to 2-1. This was the 13th straight win for Ste. Genevieve over Perryville, including a sectional playoff win in 2004.

Ste. Genevieve's streak looked in danger after an ugly opening quarter. The Dragons fumbled on their first offensive possession, threw an interception on their first pass play and fumbled a punt all in the opening 12 minutes.

Trevor French's 32-yard field goal with 7:14 left in the first was the only damage done.

Those opening 12 minutes were costly for Perryville not only in missed opportunities. Starting quarterback Ryan Schilling left the game with an apparent leg injury suffered on a quarterback sneak on a drive that ended in a missed field goal.

Ryan Lorenz replaced Schilling and completed eight of 13 passes for 95 yards.

"Losing someone like Ryan Schilling is really tough for us, but that's life. You have your ups and downs," Chastain said. "I am just excited about the game that Ryan Lorenz had. He hasn't had many snaps so far this season."

The Dragons took the lead on sophomore quarterback Kory Faulkner's 44-yard keeper early in the second after an 85-yard drive.

Ste. Genevieve needed to cover just 29 yards on its next scoring drive, coming off a Perryville fumble early in the third. Chad Greminger went in from 11 yards.

Kris Cottner got the Pirates back in the game with an 80-yard kickoff return for a touchdown following Greminger's score. A two-point conversion cut the lead to 14-11.

"I thought that was the momentum," Chastain said. "I thought that was the change. A break here or a break there and that could have happened, but you have to give them credit."

Perryville's defense held after Cottner's score, but the Pirates were hit by 25 yards in penalties on the ensuing drive, backing them up to their own 14.

The Pirates were still in the game until Vince Wolk scored on fourth-and-goal from the 1 with 3:44 left.

"This is what you gauge yourself with," Chastain said. "This is a team that's in the playoffs year after year. Although it's a tough loss, you can get some positives out of it."