Even after opening the season with two straight lopsided losses, Perryville football coach Chris Johnson remains convinced his team is on the verge of turning things around. The Panthers played Aberdeen on even terms for most of the first half last Friday night before the visiting Eagles took the lead on a punt return touchdown and went on to a 27-7 triumph. Junior defensive end Kenny Hueitt spearheaded an Aberdeen defense which got penetration up the middle and consitently put pressure on Perryville quarterback Dominic Gugliotta.
"It was the same problem we had [against Edgewood]," Johnson said. "It's something we worked hard on and thought we had fixed. The first drive we went right down the field and then had some issues. Once this young team understands it's the little things that mean everything. They're not stepping with the correct foot, the correct angle, and especially when you're going against that kind of quickness and speed, it's going to hurt you. We've got young people making mistakes." Turnovers also plagued Perryville. The Panthers turned the ball over four times for the second straight game. A fumble on the second play from scrimmage set up an Aberdeen touchdown with just 1:53 elapsed. Perryville drove to the Eagles' 28 before Gugliotta was sacked twice. The Panthers attempted a fake punt on 4th and 21 but the pass from punter Bailey Armour was dropped. After an Aberdeen fumble recovered by Ben Savick, Perryville's drive was ended by a sack. Teryl Cain pounced on a fumble but the Panthers threw an interception two plays later. Aberdeen marched to the Perryville 14 before a sack by Zac Zacerous on fourth down. The Panthers then embarked on a nine-play, 78-yard TD drive capped by a 13-yard scoring scamper by Jared Brustman to tie the game midway through the second quarter. Perryville hurt itself late in the quarter. The Panthers were disorganized on a punt and then could not bring down the Eagles' Karl Lyons, who broke several tackles on a 45-yard return for the go-ahead touchdown. "We need to spend more time on special teams than we do," Johnson said. "But sometimes the kids need to understand they always need to be paying attention. They need to know the situation of the game. I told my coaches, it comes down to me as far as accountability. I've got all these coaches on the sideline. What are you doing? One of you guys get the punt team together and make sure everybody is there. But that's me. I've got to direct them to do those things." Lyons added a 15-yard TD run on the first possession of the third quarter to make it 21-7. The Eagles put the game away on a 73-yard TD pass from Steve Blackwell to Tre'Juan Malloy with 10:53 left in the game. Johnson saw signs of improvement on both sides of the ball. The Panthers' defense played well with the exception of a couple big plays and bubble screens. Zacerous paced the Perryville offense with 71 yards on nine carries. Brustman gained 51 yards on eight attempts and caught three passes for 51 yards. Gugliotta completed 8 of 19 passes for 90 yards. Despite scoring a total of seven points in the first two games, Johnson believes his offense will get untracked soon. "Offensively, we're getting a lot closer," the coach said. "It's a matter of learning the little things mean everything and doing it consistently, then we're going to be good. We're close. We're getting close. It was 27-7 but it could've been a lot closer." The Panthers will look to retain the Susquehanna Bowl when they host Havre de Grace (2-0) Friday night at 7. Comments are closed.
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