Perkins overwhelms Norwalk

PERKINS TWP. — Sam Schweinfurth has passed with precision this year. The Perkins senior quarterback entered Friday's game with 17 touchdowns to just one interception, completing almost 63 percent of his passes. Against Norwalk, Schweinfurth was even better. Schweinfurth completed the first 11 passes he threw as Perkins rolled to a 48-3 Sandusky Bay Conference Lake Division victory. "He's one of the better quarterbacks in the state of Ohio," Perkins coach Jalen Santoro said. "He's criminally underrated. He's a very, very good player. He does all the right things and is a very smart player. He always puts you in a good spot and you can trust him no matter what you call." Schweinfurth finished 16 of 18 for 304 yards in the first half. "You try to find ways to contain them, but it's pretty hard to do," Norwalk coach Keith Mora said. "They're really good and well-coached. Their receivers are vertical threats, but they can also stretch the field horizontally. Their line up front is bigger than anyone that we see in the league." He completed all six passes he threw on the opening drive for 78 yards for the Pirates (5-3, 3-0 SBC Lake). Once inside the Norwalk 10, Perkins went to its ground game and it was Schweinfurth that scored from a yard out. Grant Hickman added the first of his five extra points for a 7-0 lead with 8:23 to go in the first quarter. The Truckers (2-6, 0-2) picked up a first down on their first drive and got near midfield before a punt from Thomas Vanderpool. It was a beauty, rolling out of bounds at the 1. That didn't faze Schweinfurth. After a four-yard keeper to get a little breathing room, Schweinfurth hit Kaden Legando in stride. Legando caught the ball near the 40, made a defender miss and was off to the races for a 95-yard touchdown. The point after pushed the lead to 14-0 with 4:49 left in the first quarter. "He pinned us down there," said Santoro of Vanderpool's punt. "It was a great punt. We got a few yards to get some breathing space. Then, we liked the matchup on the outside and took advantage of it." After forcing a three-and-out, Perkins' offense kept clicking. Levi Jackson went for 14 yards on the ground before Law Davlin caught a 27-yards pass and Jackson added a 15-yard scamper. Then, Jojo Moore exploded through the line for a 30-yard touchdown. Hickman made it 21-0 with 2:31 left in the first quarter. On the Truckers' next possession, Legando picked an interception on the first play of the drive. Perkins cashed in on the short field. The Pirates went 41 yards in six plays, capped by a six-yard scoring run by Jackson. That made it 28-0 with 11:18 left in the second quarter. Norwalk then was able to control the ball most of the rest of the half. The Truckers used more than seven minutes off the clock, but had to settle for a 50-yard field goal by Vanderpool. Norwalk recovered an onside kick and took a few more minutes off the clock, but Vanderpool was off on a 46-yard field goal try. "I love Tommy and I love the fact that he had an opportunity to kick one like that, but it shouldn't have been there," Mora said. "We had some self-inflicted wounds there. We have to clean that up." That gave Perkins another chance with 1:12 to go in the half. Schweinfurth quickly moved the Pirates down the field, capping the drive with another touchdown pass. This time, it was Blake Parker on a six-yard completion. Hickman boosted the Perkins lead to 35-3 at halftime. Parker had nine catches for 141 yards in the first half. Schweinfurth added a 35-yard screen pass touchdown to Moore in the third quarter. Danny Buga's extra point made it 42-3 with three minutes to go in the third quarter. Defense has been key for the Pirates over their four-game winning streak. Perkins shut out Bellevue (41-0), allowed two touchdowns against Clyde (63-14) and gave up just a touchdown on the last play of the game last week against Sandusky (44-6). It's a tough one to take for Norwalk. The Truckers knocked off Vermilion two weeks ago before a close loss to Columbian next week. Norwalk is back in action next week at home against Sandusky (1-7, 0-3). "Move on really quickly," Mora said. "We don't want them walking about the locker room thinking about this game. Let's move on and watch film tomorrow and find ways to get better. We have to focus all of our attention on Sandusky. This was a matchup that wasn't great for us." The Pirates surrendered just 139 yards of total offense to Norwalk, 80 of which came in the first half. Gabe Bellamy ran nine times for 49 yards and Lyric Shipp totaled 38 yards on seven attempts for the Truckers. Norwalk 0 3 0 0 — 3Perkins 21 14 7 6 — 48ScoringP — Sam Schweinfurth 1 run (Grant Hickman kick)P — Kaden Legando 95 pass from Schweinfurth (Hickman kick)P — Jojo Moore 30 run (Hickman kick)P — Levi Jackson 7 run (Hickman kick)N — Thomas Vanderpool 50 field goalP — Blake Parker 6 pass from Schweinfurth (Hickman kick)P — Moore 35 pass from Schweinfurth (Danny Buga kick)P — Paul Keys 22 pass from Law Davlin (kick failed)