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BIG RED vs. PERRY

Steubenville looking for second straight trip to Ohio Stadium

STEUBENVILLE — Another high-flying offense awaits Big Red’s football team as it seeks a return trip to the Ohio Division IV championship game.

Steubenville, 12-1, and Perry’s unbeaten Pirates, who average nearly 400 yards per game and 42 points, will square off Friday in the state semifinals. The kick inside Boardman’s New Spartan Stadium is set for 7:30 p.m.

Friday’s meeting will be the second all-time between the schools. Big Red handed Perry, which is located in Lake County, a 35-17 loss in the 2008 regional championship game.

The Big Red-Perry survivor will face either Columbus Bishop Hartley, which knocked off Steubenville in the 2015 title tilt, or Kettering Archbishop Alter at 3 p.m. Dec. 3 inside Ohio Stadium for the state crown.

“No matter who we were playing this week, we’d be facing a challenge,” Big Red coach Reno Saccoccia said earlier this week. “But Perry’s offense is going to be a major challenge for our offense. Plus, the stout defense they will play will really challenge our offense.

“Perry’s offense is very explosive and they play solid defense. This is a very well-coached and very motivated football team.”

The Pirate offense is directed by junior quarterback Kolston Brewster, 6-foot-3, 200 pounds. The southpaw signal caller has thrown for 2,651 yards and 24 touchdowns. He’s completing 57 percent of his passes and has been intercepted six times.

In the Region 13 championship game against Chardon Notre Dame-Cathedral Latin (a 22-9 Perry victory), he compiled 221 passing yards and one touchdown. A week earlier, in the regional semifinal game with Peninsula Woodridge, he threw for 500-plus yards and six scores.

Senior Andrew Foley, 6-3, 200, is Brewster’s favorite target. He has 64 receptions for 1,220 yards and 13 sixpointers. Jacob Allen, a 5-11, 195 pound sophomore, and Jacob Peteritis, a 5-6, 150 pound junior, have 40 grabs each. Allen has 914 receiving yards while Peteritis’ catches have been good for 425.  Josh Petruccelli has 29 catches for 272.

Petruccelli, a 5-10, 185-pound senior, spearheads the Perry running attack. He’s toted the leather 226 times for 1,249 yards and 26 touchdowns. His 50-yard scoring run with a minute left sealed the victory against NDCL.

“We have some very skilled athletes and they are explosive,” said Matt Rosati, who’s in his 10th year as the Pirate coach. “Our No. 1 goal is to distribute the ball to them and get those guys in space. That will be a critical factor for us Friday night.”

When discussing the Perry offense, Saccoccia admitted “it’s not the pass or run” that impresses him but “it’s the number of people they are able to get the ball to. That’s what impresses me the most.”

“Defensively, we have to maybe adjust our philosophy (stop the run and tackle the pass) this week,” he continued. “We’ll need to have a bend-but-don’t-break attitude defensively. We need to defend the entire field — 52 yards by 100 yards.

“Our kids have to be good tacklers in space and our defensive line has to be passionate about getting to the quarterback.”

Perry has some nice size up front, led by junior two-way tackle Hayden Makad, 6-4, and 250.  Other linemen are seniors Jordan Allen (6-1, 260), Noah Kuhn (6-0, 200) and Matt Huston (5-10, 200) along with junior Justin Haywood (6-0, 230).

Defensively, the Pirates allow 19 points a game. In the regional title game, Perry held NDCL’s run-oriented offense to 115 yards. The Lions had a total of 159 yards and were held to their lowest point total of the season.

“We’ve been very consistent defensively,” Rosati stated. “Our defense is physical and fast. We’ve been playing pretty well defensively. Our turnover ratio is plus-39 on take-aways versus give-aways. Our defense has done a good of forcing turnovers.”

Against NDCL, Perry picked off two passes and recorded four sacks.

Senior Seth Smith, a 5-10, 200 pound linebacker, leads Perry in tackles with 100. He also has four sacks. Junior lineman Nick Mason (6-2, 235) is second with 92 and a team-high nine sacks. Third in tackles is junior linebacker Cody Baranuaskas (6-0, 200) with 89. Foley has picked off 10 passes from his defensive back spot.

As a unit, the Perry defense has intercepted 24 passes and recovered 23 fumbles.

“Offensively, we can’t be predictable because predictable teams get ate up by their defense,” Saccoccia stressed. “We can’t go up there and think we’re just going to do this. We have to be able to do this and that.”

During the regular season, the 13-0 Pirates defeated Painesville Riverside, Lyndhurst Brush, Madison, Beachwood, Wickliffe, Chagrin Falls, Geneva, Orange, West Geauga and Painesville Harvey. They then knocked off Parma Holy Name and Woodridge before clipping NDCL.

The trip to the final four is the first for Perry.

“For our community, it’s unbelievable,” Rosati said about the semifinal berth. “We’ve never been to a Final Four ever before, so to be 13-0 and get to play in a Final Four means everything to our community and our school.

“It really is an exciting time for us. Our players have had a good year and we’re very fortunate to be where we are right now.”

Saccoccia noted the Shelby offense his Big Red faced in the Region 15 championship game and the Perry unit are “very comparable until you get to the line.”

“Shelby’s line was a lot bigger girth wise but Perry’s line is a lot quicker on both sides of the ball,” he stated. “Both teams are gap sound with very good linebackers. You knew where Shelby was going to be on defense but with Perry, you just don’t know. They do a lot of changing up. That’s the difference between the teams. The skilled people are the same but there’s a difference in the line play.”

Steubenville earned its fourth consecutive regional championship with its 29-15 victory over Shelby last week in Massillon.

Through 13 games, Big Red’s offense is averaging 351 yards (188 on the ground and 163 through the air) and 36 points. Defensively, Steubenville yields 290 yards and 16 points.

Junior Jacob Bernard ran for 97 yards and a score against Shelby, boosting his season total to 1,278 yards and 14 touchdowns.

He runs behind a line consisting of Drone Moore, Tyler Ely, Kiernan Doyle, Alijah Demitras, Chris Elliott and Mitchell Gulan.

Javon Davis, Steubenville’s junior quarterback, has completed 60 percent of his passes for 1,753 yards and 22 touchdowns. He’s been intercepted four times.

Senior Charles Reeves has 43 receptions for 664 yards and six touchdowns. Fellow senior Pookie Petteway has made 22 catches for 507 and seven touchdowns. Junior Alec Taylor is third on the team with 12 catches, good for 256 and a pair of scores.

Big Red’s defense has picked off 13 passes and recovered 20 fumbles.

Senior linebacker Zane Zimish leads Big Red in tackles followed by safety Nick Scott and linebacker Jalen McGhee. Scott has a team-high five picks. The Big Red sack leaders continue to be McGhee, Reeves and Ny’Juan Robinson.

Rosati called Big Red “a very physical group.”

“This is a typical Steubenville team,” he noted. “They are very skilled and play extremely hard. They are well-coached, fast on defense and diverse on offense. We’re definitely going to have our hands full.

“We will need to be as physical as they are. If we can do that, hopefully we’re able to compete.”

Despite its accomplishments, Saccoccia maintained the only thing his Big Red has earned to date “is the opportunity to play Perry.”

“Although that’s a feather in the caps of our players, that’s the only feather they have right now,” he said. “Friday night, they’ll have a chance to earn anything they want to get.

“We’ve earned the opportunity to play and that’s an awesome opportunity. It’s one we are proud of and thankful for. Now, we have to focus on going out and taking advantage of this opportunity.”

NOTES:

¯ With the win over Shelby, Steubenville improved its all-time playoff record to 60-25.

¯ Big Red has made 16 straight trips to the post-season and will be playing in the semifinals for the 17th time.

¯ Friday’s meeting will be the second between Steubenville and Perry. Big Red topped the Pirates 25-17 in the 2008 regional championship game. That contest was played in Warren.

¯ Big Red played its 2015 state semifinal game in Boardman, taking down Youngstown Ursuline. Steubenville also played a regular season game in the facility this year.

¯ Steubenville will be the home team Friday night.

¯ Perry is one of four newcomers to the Final Four. The others are Powell Olentangy Liberty in Division I, Whitehouse Anthony Wayne in Division II and Canal Winchester Harvest Prep in Division VII.

¯ The Pirates are in the playoffs for the 13th time and have an all-time record of 8-12.

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