Perry tops Red Raiders in opener, 34-0
Perry Traditional Academy turn the tide its way by recovering an early fumble to set up a touchdown and went on to defeat visiting Uniontown, 34-0, in a non-conference football game at George K. Cupples Stadium on Thursday night.
It was the season opener for both teams.
Nate Cutler scored two touchdowns and quarterback Ahmad Arrington ran for one TD and threw for one for the Commodores.
The Red Raiders started the game on a positive note when their defense forced a three-and-out. Uniontown’s offense, though, had trouble holding onto the football early on and Perry recovered a third-down fumble at the Red Raiders 6-yard line.
Zyan Howard ran the ball in from there with 7:58 left in the first quarter to give Perry the only points it would need. The turnover and touchdown seemed to deflate the Red Raiders.
Cutler scored on a 27-yard touchdown run with 26 seconds left in the first quarter and Arrington ran in the two-point conversion to give the Commodores a 14-0 lead.
Arrington broke a 43-yard touchdown run with 8:19 left in the second quarter and Jamon Steele’s 7-yard TD burst just over five minutes later, along with Damon Gilmore’s extra-point kick, made it 27-0.
Perry put the finishing touches on the scoring in spectacular fashion as Arrington connected with Cutler on a 63-yard touchdown pass with 26 seconds left in the first half.
“We’ve got to play more consistent and play harder,” Red Raiders coach Keith Jeffries said. “We kind of fell apart in the second quarter. The kids missed some plays.”
The Red Raiders defense, still playing against the Perry starters until late in the fourth quarter, regrouped and pitched a shutout in the second half.
“That was a positive, the way our defense hung in there after struggling in the first half,” Jeffries said.
Missed tackles hurt the Red Raiders on defense in the first half.
“We’ve got to do a better job of wrapping up on defense and making some plays,” Jeffries said. “At times we looked like we were in really good shape defensively and then we kind of blew it on third down, once on fourth down. We weren’t containing the quarterback.
“We did a better job of all that in the second half.”
Uniontown had one sack of Arrington shared by Javonte Lewis and Darian Gordon.
Uniontown’s offense fumbled four times, losing one, and threw one interception as it labored in moving the ball.
Most of the Red Raiders’ offense came from the hard running of Maurice Jackson along with fullback Braxton Swaney.
Jackson carried the ball 10 times for 48 yards and Swaney ran five times for 30 yards.
“We’ve got to try to get the running game a little more established early on,” Jeffries said. “But Maurice averaged about five yards a carry. Braxton had some nice runs inside, too. That’s what we’re looking for. The power backs were able to get inside and run a little bit.”
Red Raiders quarterback Evan Townsend, making his first start, completed just one of five passes.
“Obviously, our passing game struggled but it will improve,” Jeffries said.
Uniontown fared well on special teams, Jeffries pointed out.
“We saw some bright spots on the return game,” Jeffries said, noting Devin Miles, Cameron Jackson and Notorious Grooms. “We have some positives we can build on. We’ve just got to get a little more consistent.”
Both teams will play at home next Friday. The Commodores host Southmoreland and Uniontown plays Carrick at Bill Power Stadium.