Perryville traveled to Festus and defeated Jefferson 42-36 on Friday, Oct. 4. Of all the wins this year for the Pirates, this one was the biggest in terms of proving to the state of Missouri they are for real.

The Pirates initially found themselves down a score to the Blue Jays but tied the game at 7 with 1:27 left in the first quarter on the first of four touchdown runs by junior running back Barrett Wheeler.

The Blue Jays pulled ahead with a 21-7 lead in the second quarter with two touchdowns. However, the Pirates ended the first half within striking distance with an 11-yard touchdown pass to Chase Richardet from quarterback Kayd Luckey mere seconds before halftime. Richardet entered the matchup, leading the area in receiving yards, and now has five touchdowns on the season.

The Pirates went into halftime down 21-14, but staged a third-quarter comeback on the back of Wheeler to take the lead. They tied the game at 21 on a nine-yard touchdown run and later went ahead 28-21 on a four-yard scoring run.

Wheeler’s last touchdown run of the night was his biggest, as he dashed 41 yards past the Blue Jays to score his 14th rushing touchdown of the season and put the Pirates up 35-21 with 1:50 left in the 3rd quarter.

Wheeler finished the game with 260 yards and scored four touchdowns for the second consecutive game. He now has 798 yards on the season, surpassing his previous total.

After Jefferson scored a touchdown to pull within seven entering the fourth quarter, the Pirates found the end zone one more time with 11 minutes remaining in the game on a 20-yard touchdown run by Luckey to lead 42-28. Luckey finished the game with a touchdown both running and passing, and his seven touchdown passes on the season have him among the top four in the area.

Jefferson scored again with 7:22 left in the fourth but, ultimately, could not catch up to the Pirates.

Perryville improves to 5-1 on the season. The Pirates have won five games for the first time since 2019 and have a chance next week to clinch their first winning season since 2017.

The Pirates will travel far to Alton, Illinois, to face Marquette Catholic on Oct. 11.

Around Southeast Missouri

Notre Dame High School's Eliza Barnette lines up her ball for the put at Cape Girardeau Country Club on Wednesday October 2nd.Jacob Blassingame ~ Special to the Southeast Missourian

Golf: The Notre Dame Bulldogs won a pair of meets in Ste. Genevieve on Thursday and Cape Central on Wednesday. Silvia Schallberger and Grayson Maurer tied for first with a 1 under 36, while Eliza Barnette finished second with a 37 in Ste. Genevieve. The Bulldogs Notre Dame won a tri-match with Jackson and Cape Central with a score of 154 at the Cape Country Club. Barnette won the match with a score of 35 while Isabella Palmer finished third with a 38.

Volleyball: Oak Ridge fell to Advance in five sets (25-23, 10-25, 23-25, 25-21, 8-15) on Friday. The Blue Jays were led by Reagan Howe, who had 18 kills, seven blocks and 26 digs. Kaelyn Deckerd added 16 kills while Jayleigh Price pitched in 11 kills. Kenadie Ward led the Blue Jays with 43 assists and Kinsley Bogenpohl had a team-high 28 digs and four aces. Oak Ridge travels to Scott City on Monday, Oct. 7.