By Jeremy McDonald
Jeremymcdonald73@gmail.com
PERRYDALE, Ore.– The Perrydale Football team made a huge statement on their Senior Night, and their regular season finale on Friday night against North Douglas.
After stumbling out of the gate with a fumble that led to Warrior points just a few plays later, Perrydale quickly found its footing and locked things down. What followed was an incredible turnaround for the Pirates.
The 1A 8-man squad wheeled off 52-points after that initial drive, turning a 6-0 deficit at the 7:08 mark of the first quarter into a 52-6 lead by the end of the third quarter.
It was their best game of the year, and with the 1A State Playoffs on the horizon, in good timing as well. Their defense played sharper. They bent, North Douglas found a few gaps in their defense that they exploited, but Perrydale didn’t break after that first possession.
Their offense. After fumbling in that first drive of the game, was churning. Landon Eichler had four touchdowns on the day, one as a reception, a 12-yard connection from Braden Leslie, and three on the ground. Broden Ferguson, on his Senior Night, rushed for another three scores to pace the Pirates in the game.
“We had that first hiccup on defense and we were able to bounce back and were able to stay motivated throughout the game and lock-in. You can’t let one mistake define your game. You gotta keep that mindset and just know that you want to win,” said Eichler.
Coming off an off-week after Reedsport’s forfeit, last week’s 76-0 victory gave the Pirates a chance to get back into rhythm ahead of this week’s matchup, which has developed into a bit of a rivalry. And it paid off as they won the 1A 8-Man Special District 2 League Title in return by the end of the day.
“Last week, we played Vernonia…I think that game got us right for this week with North Douglas being our rival now. We just came into this game, we were ranked down in a lot of polls and we’re ready to prove that we’re ready to prove everyone wrong,” said Ferguson. “This game was almost like an extended playoff game. It gives us great seeding and we’re looking to mimic every week that we did this week because this was by far the best week of the season.”
The Pirates carry an 8-1 record and a six-game winning streak into the 1A State Playoffs after completing an unbeaten 5-0 run through league play.
Photos By Jeremy McDonald
