Perryville Pirates 'meet expectations', defy history with unexpected 8-1 season turnaround

Since 2004, the Perryville football team has gone 0-10 more times (2) than above .500 (1) prior to the 2024 season.

So one can imagine the surprise of the Pirates finishing the regular season 8-1 with the No. 2 seed in the Class 4 District 1 playoffs surpassed the expectations of everyone outside of the players and coaches themselves.

"Our goal was to win every single game we played," Perryville head coach Brent Roth said. "We thought the way our schedule is laid out, that we could win every single game.

"I think we've, we've met expectations," he added. "Even winning this game on Friday will just be meeting expectations, not necessarily exceeding them."

Roth has coached the Pirates to believe in going into these games as the favorites, as the team expecting to win.

To them, they are no longer underdogs, there is no house money, and the stakes are high on Friday, Nov. 1, when Windsor comes to town.

"I told our guys this week, if we go out and we don't win on Friday, all this is lost," Roth said. "All this is for not and we'll be the team that didn't play anybody in the regular season and choked in the playoffs."

The last time Windsor played Perryville was in 2023 at Pirate Stadium. The Pirates won that game 12-0 but Roth expects a challenging matchup to start the playoffs.

"Windsor's a good football team. They're big up front, they got a couple of good running backs that are going to run really hard. So our defense definitely has a challenge. Their offense is gonna be explosive at times, and anytime you face like a triple option, wing-T offense like this, if you don't do your job, you're going to give up big plays."

The Pirates will rely on a player who started the summer competing for the quarterback spot but went on to make an impact on defense.

"Evan Hayden right now is probably above Drew (Luckel) as far as being our best defensive player," Roth said. "He's been amazing on the defensive side."

Junior running back Barrett Wheeler has been the focal point of the offense, with 1,154 rushing yards and 18 touchdowns. However, the backbone of the Pirates' rushing attack is their three-star junior Drew Leuckel, who was rewarded last week for a season spent doing all the hard and thankless blocking with a two-touchdown performance against Cuba last week.

"[Wheeler's] done an excellent job this year, but everyone knows you don't run the football without the line," Roth said. "I need to give a nod to Drew Leuckel. He is our sixth lineman in that run game, and he might be the best one of all of them. His run blocking has been phenomenal."

The ground game has been complemented by an efficient passing game. Junior quarterback Kayd Luckey has thrown for 13 touchdowns, tying him with Jackson's Drew Parsons and Cape Central's Deklin Pitman for the third most in Southeast Missouri, despite throwing for less than 100 passes this season. He's also rushed for 574 yards and six touchdowns.

"The efficiency and the lack of passes are all from the same result that he's using his legs and his head so he's not forcing the football," Roth said. "Just because we call a pass route, he's not necessarily throwing it. If it's not there, he's talking and running."

Chase Richardet has been their top target in the passing game, catching 30 passes for 623 yards and seven touchdowns.

"Chase is an excellent receiver," Roth said. "Chase does the little things that a lot of high school receivers don't do with his route running ... He's also got the speed that's a good over the top as well. He's very shifty with the ball in his hands after the catch too."

When there are so many seniors of key importance, some shine with the ball, others make their mark through blocking. While Gavin Henneman has had only two receptions all season long, he's earned high praise from Roth for his blocking last week.

"He had one of the best offensive drives I've seen from a wide receiver since I've been coaching, and he didn't catch a football," Roth said. "He was blocking people. It was unreal. He pancaked the dude and then turned around and blocked another guy for one of our touchdowns. Then the play right before that, he blocked two people at the same time."

Blocking will be of much importance if the Pirates are to continue their offensive success against the Owls.

If Perryville wins, the Pirates will face the winner between Sikeston and Hillsboro in the C4D1 semifinals next week.