PERRYVILLE, Mo. -- The Perryville football team fumbled nine times and failed to complete a pass -- yet somehow found a way to win.

"It's a very good year to be a Pirate," senior fullback/linebacker Aaron Hadler said.

At least through the first two weeks of the season.

Monday's mistake-filled 13-12 comeback victory over visiting Lift for Life Academy from St. Louis propelled the Pirates to their first 2-0 start since 2007 and their first two-game winning streak since 2008.

The Pirates have matched their victory total from the past three years combined.

"We've brought pride back to this community," junior running back/linebacker Cody Crawford said.

The Pirates weren't all that proud of the way they played in Monday's game that was postponed from Friday night when Lift for Life administrators would not let the squad make the trip due to severe weather conditions.

But the Pirates were proud of the way they hung tough and pulled out the victory in the final minutes.

"We made a lot of mental mistakes, but we just stayed together as a team," Crawford said.

Perryville coach Mike Wojtczuk said the Pirates probably were affected adversely by having to wait until Monday for the game.

"The kids were pumped up ready to play Friday. They kind of had the air taken out of the balloon," Wojtczuk said. "We got a phone call at 2:30 p.m. Friday saying they couldn't come down, and they wouldn't play Saturday."

Wojtczuk was taking nothing away from the speedy, undersized Hawks, who also hurt themselves with seven fumbles -- four lost.

The Pirates lost just three of their nine fumbles.

"They had some athletes. They had some talented players," Wojtczuk said. "It wasn't a pretty one, but we'll take it."

The Pirates appeared to be in deep trouble in the fourth quarter. The Hawks (0-2) led 12-6 and drove to the Perryville 35-yard line. But senior defensive back Levi Zook, intercepted a pass by junior Demarkus Reid that was thrown up for grabs.

It was Reid's only attempt of the game. Sophomore Duston Ballard went most of the way at quarterback.

Zook picked off the pass at about the 5-yard line and returned it to the Perryville 48 with 7 minutes, 34 seconds left.

"He just threw it way up," Zook said. "I felt like I was playing baseball."

Perryville proceeded to go 52 yards and finally finished a drive, which it had failed to do previously.

But even the game-winning march featured two fumbles that the Pirates recovered. Hadler rumbled 23 yards before committing the second fumble, which was pounced on by Zook at the 9.

Three plays later, on third and goal, Zook -- a running back on offense -- took a pitch and zipped around the right side for a 9-yard touchdown that forged a 12-12 tie with 3 minutes, 42 seconds remaining.

Zook, whose extra-point attempt was wide following Perryville's first touchdown, booted a knuckler that barely snuck over the cross bar for the winning point.

"I didn't know if it was going over," Zook said.

The Pirates still weren't out of the woods. Ballard drove the Hawks, and a 29-yard pass to junior Timothy Townsend gave Lift for Life a first-and-goal at the 10.

Two incomplete passes and two illegal motion penalties made it third-and-goal at the 20.

Crawford then sacked Ballard on a roll out to the right. The ball popped loose and Hadler scooped up his third fumble recovery of the day.

"I brought him down. I was just laying on the ground, and I said, ‘I got him,'" Crawford said. "Then I saw [Hadler] running."

Hadler went 36 yards down the left sideline before finally being dragged down at the Hawks' 39 with 1:38 left.

"Coach was yelling at me to go out of bounds," said a smiling Hadler, who also had a sack. "I wanted to score."

The Hawks only could stop the clock once with a timeout, and Perryville ran three plays to end the contest.

"It was a very, very crazy game," Zook said.

Crawford's 3-yard touchdown run late in the first quarter, set up by Hadler's first fumble recovery at the Hawks' 10, made it 6-0.

The Hawks tied things with 1:48 left before halftime when junior Aaron Bell ripped off a 95-yard run after appearing to be trapped in the backfield near the goal line. A pass for two points failed.

Lift for Life broke the 6-6 tie when Bell took a short swing pass from Ballard and scampered 48 yards in the first two minutes of the third quarter. A run for two points failed, which loomed large when the Pirates rallied.

Crawford rushed for 148 yards on 26 carries. He was the workhorse after junior Jonny Pruiett injured an ankle late in the first quarter. They generally share carries.

"The line did a really good job. Everybody did a good job," Crawford said about his career rushing performance.

Perryville gained all 285 yards of its offense on the ground. The Pirates failed to complete any of their eight passes, and one was intercepted.

The Hawks had 311 total yards.

"The kids just hung in there," Wojtczuk said. "I can't say enough about the kids. They're giving me everything they've got."

Perryville will try to match the 2007 squad's 3-0 start when the Pirates play their first road game at Potosi on Friday.

"The kids are excited. We're excited," Wojtczuk said. "We just want to keep this thing rolling."

Lift for Life 0 6 6 0 -- 12

Perryville 6 0 0 7 -- 13

First Quarter

P -- Cody Crawford 3 run (kick failed), 1:22

Second Quarter

L -- Aaron Bell 95 run (pass failed), 1:48

Third Quarter

L -- Bell 48 pass from Duston Ballard (run failed), 10:38

Fourth Quarter

P -- Levi Zook 9 run (Zook kick), 3:42

L P

First downs 13 17

Rushes-yards 20-144 63-285

Passing yards 167 0

Passes 12-22-1 0-8-1

Punts 3-29 1-45

Fumbles-Lost 7-4 9-3

Penalties-Yards 8-40 8-65

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING -- Lift for Life, Bell 3-106, Ballard 8-29, Al Nabors 6-26, Demarkus Reid 2-minus 10, team 1-minus 7. Perryville, Crawford, 26-148, Aaron Hadler 6-48, Zook 14-43, Devin Blandford, 7-35, Jonny Pruiett 4-21, Tyler Holligan 3-2, team 3-minus 12.

PASSING -- Lift for Life, Ballard 12-21-0-167, Reid 0-1-0-1. Perryville, Holligan 0-8-0-1.

RECEIVING -- Lift for Life, A.J. Robertson 7-76, Bell 3-70, Timothy Townsend 2-21.