Sandusky Perkins/Sandusky Bay Conference News

Perkins Has to Tackle

          Sandusky Perkins will be down at Galion on Friday night for a division IV regional semifinal against the Tigers.

          In their quarterfinal last week, the Pirates smoked Napoleon (31-0) last Friday.

          Coach Jalen Santoro says they did the things they wanted to do.  “I thought we came out and executed the game plan pretty well.  Against a team like Napoleon and you want to go out and get a quick start on those guys, especially with 80% of their offense coming from their run game.  So, ultimately came out and did that got off to a quick start.  Again, with their rushing attack the emphasis last week was to win the line of scrimmage and tackle well and I thought we did that,” he said.

          Perkins (9-3), winners of eight in a row, plays at Galion (10-1), the Tigers have won seven straight, including a (41-10) win over Cloverleaf last week.

          Santoro says the Tigers have players all over the field.  “Galion has another really good football team again across the board.  It's one of those teams that they have people all levels that are very sound football players.  They have a quarterback that is a player that can move around and can beat you with the pass and the run.  You get the quarterback that moves like that it makes things difficult for your defense.  So, we have to be really, really good at lining up and make sure we are in the right spots and then from that point forward we have got to make sure we do a great job of tackling once again,” said Santoro.

          Santoro says they have do a lot of things well, but number one is continue to tackle well.  “It's a deal when you line up and play against a team like Galion, a team that's won a lot of games in a tough conference.  They have got players on the perimeter they have got guys at the line of scrimmage that play tough and they run the ball extremely well.  They're not overly big on upfront, but at the end of the day they run the ball extremely well.  So, when they do that and when the quarterback is clicking in the past game.  In their run game they have got a lot of read option stuff and different stuff they can do with the running attack,” he told Swankonsports.com on Thursday night, “They can attack you all across the field.  That possess different threats for your defense.  You have got to be extremely disciplined in what you do with your eyes pre snap.   Ultimately you can win the pre-snap and do a great job getting lined up and be in position prior to the ball being snapped, but you have still got to make the tackle.  They have some guys that do a really good job of breaking tackles and making people miss.  So, our guys have got to do a great job of getting to the ball and getting hats to the football and wrapping up.”

Published 11/14/25

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Perkins Must Block and Tackle

          Sandusky Perkins is on the road to play Napoleon in a division IV regional quarterfinal on Friday night.

          They hammered Clearview (51-7) in a first round game last week, leading (48-0) at the half.

          Coach Jalen Santoro says they made some big plays and got off to a good start.  “We came out and did what we needed to do.  We had a good week of preparation for it and came out and executed at a high level.  I think we had a couple big plays early on to get the game moving, which is always a big thing for us.  So, we did what we needed to do and got out healthy and on the next week,” he said.on

          Perkins (8-3) is Napoleon (8-2) on Friday night.  The Wildcats are on a seven game win streak.

          Santoro says this is a team that likes to fun the football… a lot.  “They're kind of started the year off similar to us.  They lost some games earlier in the year and they've been playing some good football.  It's like we have.  We got healthy the right time and so have they.  So, again they're a big football team.  They have their identity.  They know their identity is and they love to run the football.  So, ultimately the end of the day we got to do a great job at playing the line of scrimmage.  Really when you're playing teams like this it comes down to the basics.  It’s the team that blocks at the line of scrimmage and tackles.  If we want to continue to keep playing football those are the things we have go to do,” said Santoro.

          Perkins beat Napoleon (35-21) in a regional semifinal last year.

          Santoro says they have not played a team this year that is this run heavy.  “It's a little bit different.  I think they have thrown only 77 passes on the year.  We really haven’t seen a team this year that's that lopsided in what they do and have been successful at what they do as well.  So, they're a little bit different than what they do.  They have a few good running backs that tote the rock for them quite a bit.  They're pretty sound defensively too.  They're been really good in their base defense.  They have some different things that can throw at you, but they're looking to play their base defense,” he told Swankonsports.com on Thursday afternoon. “They're just the sound football team and they wants to run the ball and possess the football and keep the offense on the field.  They're absolutely perfectly fine with getting three or four yards and making it a manageable third down or even go for it on fourth.  So, again a little bit different than we've seen all year, but we see something like this in the past.  We played these guys up last year in playoffs too, so it's a familiar team from that standpoint, but different because you're going to play at their place this year.”

Published 11/07/25

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Perkins Has to be at its Best

          Sandusky Perkins is at home for Clearview in a first round playoff game in division IV on Friday night.

          They were the division IV state runner last season.

          The Pirates (7-3) won an outright Sandusky Bay Conference Lake Division title last week with a (43-14) whipping of Tiffin Columbian.  Their fourth title in a row.

          Coach Jalen Santoro says they were able to settle in as the game got going.  “It was one of those games that wasn't the cleanest start for us.  Tiffin came out and played extremely well.  We gave up a big score early on and then our defense kind of settled in and we got the run game going.  So, it's a tough test to go play at Tiffin with everything they had on the line.  The championship being on the line.  Happy with the way we played and coming up with a win,” he said.

          Clearview (5-5) has won its last four games, including a (20-19) win over Keystone last week.

          Santoro says they have some athleticism.  “I think it’s a team that has been playing a lot better as of late.  They won week 10.  They're pretty athletic.  They have some guys that can move pretty well.  They have got some big guys up front.  The quarterback, he's a guy that can move as well, good athlete. A guy who played running back formally.  Again, they have a gut that is going to be touching it every play and can make plays and take it to the house.  So, we have got to be really sound with our tackling. Really sound getting to the football and get hats to the football,” said Santoro.

          Perkins has played a lot of playoff football in recent years and Santoro things that will help them on Friday.  “It helps, we have a lot of guys who have played a lot of football games.  We had guys that played 16 games last year.  A lot of those guys whether they were starting and playing or they were just practicing those extra weeks,” he told Swankonsports.com on Wednesday night, “They got the extra work.  Ultimately again, these guys I think are mentally prepared for what could be and what they want it to be.  So, it’s the start of the second season.  They know at this point it is do or die and they have to be playing their best football.”

Published 10/30/25

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Perkins Can Defend Title

          Sandusky Perkins can win a fourth straight title in the Lake Division of the Sandusky Bay Conference with a win at Tiffin Columbian on Friday night.

          The Pirates (6-3,3-0), #5 in the Swankonsports.com football coaches poll in the large school division, have won their last five, including a (41-6) belting of Huron in a crossover game last week.

          Coach Jalen Santoro says they are playing some pretty good football right now.  “It's pretty familiar territory.  We've been in battle with these guys for a couple years now.  We had to take care of business to get to this point.  I thought we played pretty well last couple of weeks.  Kind of hit our stride a little bit.  So, taking it week by week and making sure we're maximizing everything we can practice and making sure every rep counts right now.  We have had a couple of weeks of practice, a couple of good games here leading up to this point,” he said.

          Columbian (5-4,3-0) smoked Clyde (49-20) in a division game last week.

          Santoro says they have to expect everything from the Tornadoes.  “I think their record is a little deceiving.  I think they've been in a lot of tight games.  They're good football team.  They have got some guys back that are healthy.  They kind of throw the kitchen sink at you a little bit all over the field, so that's something we have prepare for offense, defense, special teams.  We have got be prepared for and ready for everything,” he told Swankonsports.com on Wednesday night, “Defensively they're going to throw out at you and offensively they have got some weapons out there.  They can run the ball well.  They're quarterback has been slinging it pretty well your last couple of games too.  Something I keep stressing when we talk about multiple times make sure we line up pre-snap on defense and make sure our guys are lined up right and play.  That's we are at our best.  Make sure our guys are ready to rock'n'roll on that side of the ball.”

          Santoro says when they have the ball, they have to talk. “On offense, we just have got to make sure we're over communicating.  They'll throw bunch of different fronts at you, a bunch of blitzes, a bunch of different coverages.  So, make sure you’re communicating on that side of the ball.  That way make sure we're set and give ourselves the best chance we can to put up some points.  So, it's one of those things, it’s a week 10 matchup that's a big one.  We have to get ready to rock,” he said.

Published 10/23/25

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Perkins Must Tackle

          Perkins looks for its fifth straight win as they play at home against the Huron Tigers in a Sandusky Bay Conference crossover game on Friday night.

          Last week, they belted Norwalk (48-3) in a Lake Division game.

          Coach Jalen Santoro says they played they executed well last week.  “I thought we played a sound game all around again.  Just executing at high level right now.  That's kind of what we're chasing there.  It's just one of those things that we've been preaching the last couple weeks.  Overall, I thought our guys were ready to play.  We got out to a quick start again and that's something we preach as well.  So, playing some good football right now.  We have got some guys healthy and have been healthy for a couple weeks in a row.  That's basically the difference as well,” said Santoro.

          Perkins (5-3) hosts Huron (3-5) on Friday night.  The Tigers are coming off a (28-21) loss to Vermilion in play in the Bay Division last week.  The Tigers have lost three games this year by a touchdown or less, two more by two scores.

          Santoro says they are particularly concerned about Huron quarterback Landon Hohler.  “They're record is a little deceiving.  They have some good players, good athletes.  They have got a little more size there than they have in years past.  The (Landon) Hohler kid at quarterback.  I think he's a good player.  He's a kid that can run and throw it.  When you have an athlete that can run and throw it it makes a big difference,” said Santoro.

          Hohler has thrown for 2,111 yards and 17 touchdowns this year.  He has run for 10 scores.

          Santoro says they must ensure they are lined up right.  “We have got to make sure we win the pre snap.  Obviously, that’s something I’ve talked about it multiple times.  Line up correctly,” he told Swankonsports.com on Wednesday night, “I feel if we get lined up correctly will be successful.  Obviously, when you're playing an athlete at quarterback it changes the game a little bit.  So, we have to be able to tackle in space and get hats to the football.”

Published 10/16/25

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Perkins Getting There

          Sandusky Perkins is at home for Norwalk in a game in the Lake Division of the Sandusky Bay Conference on Friday.

          They share the division lead with Tiffin Columbian.

          They routed Sandusky (44-6) last week in division play.

          Coach Jalen Santoro says they controlled the game in the trenches.  “We are getting some guys back and healthy at the right time. We're kind of starting to hit our stride a little bit.  The big thing is we've got a handful of guys up front on both sides of the ball back in the in the last few weeks.  The game starts up front, so you get the big boys rolling and get them clicking a little bit the team looks a lot better.  So, happy with the way were playing right now, but still a lot of work to be done,” he said.

          Santoro says they are becoming team they thought they could be.  “Just continuously growing up and maturing.  I think a lot can be said about having football IQ.  I think earlier on in the year it was a little bit of struggle for us.  I think right now game reps helped that.  We have got a lot of guys again who were making their first starts this year and first time playing varsity football.  I've you look at the team that we had in the past couple of years and that made a deep run.  They were very, very smart football players.  They understood situational football, they understood what to do in a two minute drill, a four minute drill.  These guys are getting that point to where again made strides in the right direction, but I think that's one thing we can continue to improve upon is just our football IQ,” said Santoro.

          Perkins (4-3,2-0) plays at home against Norwalk (2-5,0-1) on Friday night.  The Truckers put a little bit of a scare into Columbian last week before losing (21-16) in the end.

          Santoro says they are learning how to run that wing-T.  “It's a team that put in a new offense and that offense that takes time to run.  Teams in the area or teams that we've seen that that run that offense.  Those teams run it from biddy football up to the varsity team.  So, they run in it's like their bible they know it,” he told Swankonsports.com on Thursday evening, “For them the more time, the more reps they get of running that offense that's going to be beneficial for them.  Sometimes that offense too, the way they run the football and it's kind of their best defense as well.  They're going to continuously get better and they have gotten continuously gotten better.  They're making strides in the right direction as well.”

Published 10/10/25

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Perkins Has to be in the Right Spot

          Sandusky Perkins makes the short trip to Sandusky to play the Blue Streaks in a game in the Lake Division of the Sandusky Bay Conference on Friday night.

          Perkins (3-3,1-0) won their division opener (63-14) over Clyde on Friday night, scoring 28 points in the first quarter.

          Coach Jalen Santoro says that quick start was key.  “I thought we played pretty well.  We wanted to get the momentum on our side early and kind of got the juices flowing.  We got off to a hot start and I thought we played well on both sides of the ball last week,” said Santoro.

          Perkins is getting some important starters back in their line-up and Santoro says that has allowed them to play better.  “We're getting people back.  We're getting healthy at the right time, which is a big thing because that was the second week in a row that the offensive line was same five up front.  That’s big in itself.  This week we are getting guys back as well.  The big thing is with more reps we're getting the better,” he said.

          Sandusky (1-5,0-1) lost (28-20) to Sandusky in a division game last week.

          Santoro says they have some game brakers and that means that alignment is going to be important for the Pirates.  “They have athletes all over the field, so we have got to make sure we are very disciplined lining up and winning the pre-snap on both sides of the ball.  If we put ourselves in a good situation pre-snap both offensively and defensively we have been successful no matter who we played,” he told Swankonsports.com on Tuesday night, “That’s our point of emphasis this week making sure we continue to do that.  Sandusky, especially with some of the players they have in Dale Johnson and Dante Shipp, those guys can take the ball to the house and make this happen anytime.  So, you have got to disciplined in the way you line up and win the pre-snap ultimately.”

Published 10/01/25

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Perkins Wants to Start Fast

          Defending champion Sandusky Perkins entertains Clyde in their opener in the Sandusky Bay Conference Lake Division on Friday night.

          They hammered Bellevue (41-0) in a crossover game last week.

          Coach Jalen Santoro says they were prepared to play.  “It was one of the better games that we have played all year.  It's kind of been a common reoccurrence here we've been talking about the last week.  We practiced really well last week so for our guys to go out and see what a couple good days of practice can do for you on a Friday night was good,” he told Swankonsports.com on Thursday afternoon, “We went out last week and I thought Monday through Thursday was out best week of practice all year and our guys are locked in for last week and they were locked in last Friday in everything that they did.  I thought we were firing on all cylinders last Friday.  We have got some guys healthy and that's kind of the first time all year we really kind of put the same team out there for two weeks straight.  So, that's how that's obviously a good thing.”

          Perkins (2-3,0-0) hosts Clyde (1-4,0-0) on Friday night.  The Fliers got their first win of the season (55-48) over Port Clinton last week in a crossover.

          Santoro says Clyde always gives you a lot to defend.  “They are traditionally a very good football program.  They're a well coached team.  No matter what the record is and no matter what time you're playing or what our record is you have to throw it out the window, it doesn't really matter.  Our guys will be ready to go.  Clyde presents its own problems.  They show you multiple different things offensively and defensively you have got to be prepared for.  So, again we've had a good week of practice so far and we're hoping that shows on Friday night,” he said.

          With only four games in the division to play every game is magnified.  Santoro says they have got to win on Friday.  “I'm sure same as Clyde.  Both teams have lost some games early on, but the message is kind of the same for both teams.  Everything you want to do is still in front of them.  Take care of business the rest of the way and fight for a league championship and get in the playoffs.  Obviously, that doesn't happen without handling week one in Lake play.  So, if we want to go compete for our four straight league title then you have got to take care of week one,” said Santoro.

Published 9/26/25

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Perkins to Play a Different Bellevue

          Sandusky Perkins will host Bellevue in a Sandusky Bay Conference cross over on Friday night.

          They are coming off a (20-13) loss at Harvest Prep last week.

          Coach Jalen Santoro says they did some good things, but their goal is to be better.  “We played all right.  We were in a dogfight there.  We jumped out there pretty early playing well off the rip.  We have plenty of opportunities to make plays to win the game, we just didn't do it.  So, that's kind of one of those things we keep trusting our guys and you win the games Monday through Thursday.  We've been stressing being the best practice team we can be,” he told Swankonsports.com on Thursday afternoon, “This week, I think we took a step in the right direction.  I think we've had the best week of practice we've had all year long.  We are getting a little bit healthier.  Kind of looking back and reflecting on last week just some days in practice that weren’t executing great and that shows on Friday night,” said Santoro.

          Perkins (1-3) has Bellevue (3-1) on Friday night.  The Redmen blanked Norwalk (19-0) last week in a crossover.

          Santoro says the Redmen are doing some good things.  “Coach (Alex) Shepherd is doing a good job with them.  Obviously, a little bit different schematically, a little bit different offensively, than what you're used to out of a Bellevue football team.  Still, it’s the same type of Bellevue kid.  Kids that love the game and get after it out there on Friday night.  They're doing a really good job.  Go out and start your career out at Bellevue with high expectations I'm sure was put on coach Shepherd.  Starting out with three wins, that's pretty big,” said Santoro.

          Ike Brown, the Bellevue quarterback, has been very good this season.  He has thrown for 360 yards and five scores and ran for another.

          Santoro says not only is he a good athlete, he is a good decision maker.  “He’s a good athlete all around.  He does a lot of good things in multiple sports.  He is a true athlete.  He’s got size and stature and he runs the ball well.  Basically, I think he makes pretty good decisions.  You have got someone at the quarterback spot that keeps your offense going, doesn't turn the ball over, that's a big thing in any offense.  Especially when you have got guys carrying the ball, throwing the ball, it's kind of you're do it all guy,” he said.

Published 9/19/25

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Perkins Shows Signs of Life

          Sandusky Perkins makes the long trip Friday to play Harvest Prep in a non-conference high school football game.

          They improved their play last week, but lost (30-24) to Toledo St. Francis.

          Coach Jalen Santoro says they leaned a lot in the game.  “It was one of those games back and forth.  I thought our guys grew up a lot in that game.  We played in the Glass Bowl, which is a pretty cool experience.  So, we went out there and did some really good things.  We showed some signs of life there in areas we've been lacking.  So, heading in the right direction.  I think we got continuity with you guys up front on the offensive line.  They started to feel themselves a little bit.  It was that groups second game with the same lineup this year,” he told Swankonsports.com on Thursday night, “I thought our defense played well.  I thought we tackled well for the most part.  It really comes down to just the mental errors we’re making still.  Our guys saw first hand last week one little mental error, one person lined up wrong, can cost you.  So, a lot of good learning pieces last week in that game.  We would like a different result, but I think guys learned a lot last week.”

          Perkins (1-2) is at Harvest Prep (1-2).  The Warriors are coming off a (47-12) win over Cincinnati Purcell Marian.

          Santoro says they have big time talent.  “They're one of the better teams in division V.  They’ve got a lot of guys that are going to be playing football at the next level.  They're good across the board.  They have got size, they have got speed.  They’ve played some heavy competition here early in the season.  It just comes down to our guys they have ready to go,” he said.

          Santoro says they better be focused.  “Not only is it quality team, but you're traveling two and half hours and game day is a little different than what normally is.  We have to be mature about how we handle the travel, mature about we handle the game day and you make sure you ready to go come seven o’clock (Friday) night.  Again, just our guys getting ready to rock.  They have got to make sure they're playing smart in how we handle ourselves.  This week in practice they've done a good job at understanding the game plan and you know when they start playing  (Friday) they're going to be ready to rock,” said Santoro.

Published 9/12/25

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Perkins Has to Take a Step up

          Sandusky Perkins will play Toledo St. Francis on Friday night at the Glass Bowl in Toledo in non-conference play.

          After a loss to Clear Fork (17-14) on week one, the Pirates smoked Toledo Scott (55-6) last week.

          Coach Jalen Santoro says they made some progress as a team.  “It was definitely a step in the right direction.  We’re taking it day by day here.  We are just trying to get these young guys up to speed.  Again, I thought last week was a step in the right direction.  We had some early struggles a little bit.  Just again working things on offense.  Overall, pleased with the way we played.  Created some turnovers.  We were flying around on defense.  I thought we tackled pretty well,” said Santoro.

          Santoro says that improvement has to continue this week.  “That’s every week.  You can't take your foot off the gas, especially going to practice make sure the guys doing the right things, they are locked in mentally.  Especially for us this week, we're playing a high level opponent that has some really good players.  For us we have to have our “A” game Monday through Thursday go out there and do the job on Friday night,” he said.

          St. Francis (1-1) lost (31-15) to Bishop Dwenger, Indiana, last week.

          Santoro says they have talent.  “They're good.  Coach (Josh) Lindke is in his second year there, so he's doing some good things with those guys.  At the end of the day, they have some guys up front that are really talented football players.  They have got players all across the field.  We have to be super solid in what we do,” he told Swankonsports.com on Tuesday night, “No matter you is across from you, you have to be assignment sharp.  Our message this week is to continuously making sure we're going across the board.  We have some guys back healthy this week, so trying to get those guys back and make sure they're in shape and ready to go to this week.”

Published 9/03/25

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Perkins Has to Grow up

          Sandusky Perkins has its home opener on Friday night as they host the Toledo Scott Bulldogs in a non-conference game.

          Last week, they lost at Clear Fork (17-14) on a last second field goal.

          Coach Jalen Santoro says they made a lot of uncharacteristic mistakes.  “Obviously not the way we want to get things started off.  You can take away things from wins and losses and sometimes you learn a little better from the losses.  A lot of mental mistakes that we made.  Some stuff that was uncharacteristic of u.  It's just some guys that it was their first varsity start.  We're looking for a big jump for week one to week two for those guys,” he said.

          This week Santoro says they reassessed what they need to do and will come out this week with a different approach.  “We are trying to simplify things.  We have got some younger guys there that we really trust.  Some guys are really good football players and again just some guys that need to grow up a little bit.  They got their first taste of a Friday night of how competitive and physical and how tough that could be.  They went out there last week and they got thrown in the fire a little bit and into a big game.  I think this week during practice they've done a good job.  Again, we've tried to make it as simple so they’re not thinking as much as just playing,” he told Swankonsports.com on Thursday night, “You have got some good athletes and good players and guys that have the size and speed you want to make sure they're they are just playing again they're not thinking.  So, that’s kind of been the focus of getting these guys ready to roll.  We have got to rely on our vets that have been there and done that.  It's unfair to them but they have got to be darn near perfect.  We have got to get rely on those guys while these other guys get up to speed.”

          Toledo Scott lost (49-8) to Toledo St. John’s last week.

          Santoro says the Bulldogs will show them some different things.  “We’ve played a handful of city schools in my years coaching.  They're athletic, they line up correctly, they’ve got size in the field, they have speed on the field and they do some things differently than some other high school teams.  Not a lot of teams play cover two and they play a true cover two and they're actually really good at doing it.  It's something that's different, something we're not used to, not something you see a whole bunch of.  So, it has its own problems.  Again, we have a lot of kids that just have to be assignment sharp regardless of what the other team is doing.  We have got to make sure we can control the controllables here and make sure we're assignment sharp this week,” said Santoro.

Published 8/29/25

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Perkins Excited Again

          Sandusky Perkins is the defending champion in the Lake Division of the Sandusky Bay Conference and was state runner-up in division IV.  They open the season Friday night at Clear Fork.

          Coach Jalen Santoro says they have a lot of kids who believe this their turn to shine.  “It's one of those things where it was a quick turn around in the offseason playing in December, but moving forward and kind of graduating a lot of seniors,  a lot of players that played a lot of football for us.  You had a lot of guys that kind of been waiting their turn to get their name out there and showcase what they can do.  So, we lost a handful of starters on both sides of the ball.  Some guys that were four year starters, some guys were three year starters.  These guys have been waiting in the wings a little bit you know and doing their part and staying ready.  I think they're excited about to go out and showcase and get their name out there and show what they can do,” said Santoro.

          With some new starters Santoro says there will be butterflies, but that’s all right.  “The butterflies are a good thing.  If you're not getting nervous and I don't think you're doing the right thing.  So, at the end of the day, what team you are playing you want to get out there you want to be excited and those butterflies are a good thing.  We kind of told our guys, a lot of those guys are getting their first starts, their first varsity experience, that's a good thing to go out there and be a little bit nervous.  So, again at the end of the day, we're excited to go out there and square up against somebody else,” he said.

          Perkins smoked Clear Fork (55-0) last year, but Santoro says this is a different team they are facing.  “I think they're really good football team.  Last year, we jumped on them early and that game got away from them.  At the end of the day, they had a really good season last year.  They improved drastically from week one through week 10.  We watched some film of them later in the year and they were a completely different football team compared to what they were week one,” he told Swankonsports.com on Thursday night, “They bring back some pieces on their team.  Good athletes, good players, guys like again grew from week one through end of the regular season last year.  Going to their place, their home opener, season opener for everybody, you have got to be expecting their best shot.  So, again I think our guys are just excited for the opportunity to go out play somebody else again.”

Published 8/22/25

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Perkins Blitzes Clear Fork

          Perkins scored in every inning but the first and belted Clear Fork (11-1) in six innings in a division IV district title game in Willard on Thursday.

          The Pirates had eight hits, including two doubles to right center.

          Ninth place hitter Sam Schweinfurth had two hits.

          Perkins coach T.J. Blanton says they do not put together their lineup like most teams do.  “We're not a traditional team.  Our seven, eight, nine aren't traditionally weak hitters.  We strategically place guys in the order just for runs batted in and speed.  With our speed on top we feel really good with Sammy in the nine hole because he hits the ball and gets on and he can run in front of our guys that are there,” he said.

          The Colts did not help themselves in this game.  They walked four batters, hit a couple betters and had six errors.

          Clear Fork coach Gabe Kennedy says you are not going to beat good teams doing that.  “Obviously they're a really good team.  If you make mistakes against anybody it's going to be tough to be able to compete.  (Thursday) it was really tough.  We felt like even when it was 1-0 early it just kind of felt like oh man we're not playing our type of baseball.  Then the mistakes just started mounting.  Again, they're a good baseball team that puts pressure on us on the on the on the base paths and then they get those big hits and it's like oh boy here we go,” said Kennedy.

          Perkins also stole five bases, including a steal of home.

          Blanton says that’s their game.  “We're close to 150 stolen bases as a team.  Our top six can really run well.  A lot of them all have 10 plus stolen bases.  I think Dylan (Crabtree) now has 40 stolen bases.  So, putting pressure on teams that way.  We eliminate the double play or we get runners position,” he told Swankonsports.com after the win, “We knew they were aggressive throwing down to first from the catcher’s position as well as picking off.  We saw on film that kid will throw a couple away.  I think Braxton (Martin) was able to go first to third.  That's that puts you in the sac fly situation where you just put them out there and score a run.  District games in close games.  We'll take everyone we can get.”

          Clear Fork also prides itself putting pressure on the other team.  Kennedy says the shoe was on the other foot on Thursday.  “That's what I would like to think that we do sometimes but obviously you know I told the kids that this is baseball.  We've been on the other end of this and that feels great.  (Thursday) does not feel very good at all.  It stings, it should sting and it should sting for a little while,” he said.

Published 5/30/25

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Perkins Downs Shelby

          Perkins put crooked numbers up in both the third and fifth innings and they beat Shelby (9-1) in a division IV district semifinal played on Tuesday afternoon at Willard.

          They will play Clear Fork in a district final at Willard on Thursday.

          Kash Koch took a perfect game into the seventh before Nic Eyster reached him for a single leading off the seventh.  Eyster later scored on a ground ball.

          Koch had one walk and nine k’s in the game.

          Coach T.J. Blanton says Koch was on his game.  “Every time Kash is out on the mound we've got a chance to win the game.  He was really dialed in there.  Obviously, we all know he had a perfect game going there in that last inning.  I think it really didn't matter when we built the lead with the hitting and that takes pressure off the pitchers, fielders and everybody else.  So, Kash just went out there and did his job and all of his pitches were working,” said Blanton.

          Perkins (17-8) put up four runs in the when Carter Koch walked, Sam Schweinfurth singled and Bryce Davie laid down a perfect bunt down the third base line to load the bases.  A run scored on a Dylan Crabtree ground ball and three more came across on walks by Shelby starter Travis Sloan.

          Blanton says they were able to take advantage of some opportunities.  “That's one of the things we talked about is if you're not hitting you just have got to get on base anyway.  They walked a few guys and we were patient and that leads to runs too,” he told Swankonsports.com, “Anyway you can score runs, we'll take it.  Doesn't matter if you're hitting the ball, walking, you want to get out there if you can put crooked numbers on the board that really puts pressure on the other team and really relieves pressure on your team and the pressure on our pitcher.”

          Perkins added five more runs in the fifth highlighted by a two run double by Blake Parker and a run scoring single by DH Quentin Binette.

          Shelby (17-12) is a baseball team that showed dramatic improvement this season after starting the season slow with an inexperienced team.

          Coach Jon Amicone says they just made too many mistakes against Perkins.  “This is a good baseball team and that’s frustrating part.  You look at the scoreboard and you see five errors and you see all the walks, it's sad.  It's disappointing because you didn't even give yourself a chance.  It’s not for a lack of effort.  These kids love baseball and they worked their tails off.  They gave us everything they had for five months and I appreciate that it's just it's just really sad when it's over,” said Amicone.

Published 5/28/25

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Perkins Has to Expect the Unexpected

          25 years ago, Sandusky Perkins won a state title, Saturday night they are going to try and do the same thing as they play Indian Valley in the division IV state title game.

          They beat Cleveland Glenville (13-11) in an emotional state semifinal last Friday at Clyde.

          Coach Jalen Santoro also played in a state title game as the Bellevue quarterback in 2012.   “A lot of people go through the whole coaching career never gets to this point.  I have been fortunate enough to play in one and now getting the chance to coach in one.  I know how special this opportunity is and obviously excited for it,” he said.

          Indian Valley (15-0) rallied to edge Cincinnati Taft (29-20) last week.

          Santoro says the Braves have a great running attack paced by Grady Kinsey, who has rushed for more than 3,000 yards and 45 touchdowns.  “They're a team that knows what they do and do it well.  I think they have an identity and they stick to it.  They have a really good running back who is leading rusher in the state of Ohio in the (Grady) Kinsey kid and Ryker Williams at quarterback who also is good at throwing the ball and a very good athlete.  Schematically they do some things very good.  They do some things that kind of get you off your keys a little bit.  Ultimately, it's one of the things where you have to win the presnap, something I have said that a lot this year, and we're not very good at,” he told Swankonsports.com on Thursday night, “Playing teams like this at this point in the year for a state championship and it comes down to what you do post snap.  They have players that are in positions where you have got to bottle them up.  Ultimately at the end of the day bring them down and tackle them.  So, our defense has got to do a great job of stopping the run.  I think they're got an approach of running it right at you and trying to use your clock up.  There isn’t any denying what they're going to do.  They can ultimately lull you to sleep a little bit and hit you over the top with some play actions and different formations.”

          Running game aside, Santoro says they have to be ready for anything because is a state title game and there is no reason to hold something until next week.  “We have got to be prepared for everything and anything.  It’s a state championship game and I think at this point everybody will do everything possible to win.  So, we like to think we know what they are who they are, but we have got to be ready for everything and anything, so that represents some problems,” he said.

Published 12/06/24

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Perkins Has Revenge on its Mind

          Sandusky Perkins has waited a year to have some revenge and they get their chance on Friday night as they lock horns with Cleveland Glenville in a division IV state semifinal at Clyde High School.

          Glenville beat Perkins (36-26) last year in a regional final.

          Last week, the Pirates (13-1) scored with about a minute to play to edge Ontario (28-21) to advance.

          Coach Jalen Santoro says they won the game up front.  “It was really a great game.  I thought we came out and jumped on them early, but credit to them they came fighting back.  We had opportunities to deliver that knockout punch and we just couldn't do it early in that game.  Again, it was hard fought game and it came down on that last drive there.   I thought we ready did a great job at the line of scrimmage all night both obviously defensively.  To hold a player like Miller to basically what we did as far as rushing the ball and tackle him in space.  I just thought we did a great job up front.  Go that ball there late in the fourth quarter with a couple minutes left.  With the looks we were getting up front we thought we were winning line of scrimmage.  So, decided kind of run until they stopped it.  When we got down there inside the 20 they started cutting our offensive line and with their defensive line that's when we kind of had an idea you know we could run this ball in and also milk some clock in doing so.  Isaac Bunts did a great job getting in the end zone there.  Then the defense sealed the deal for us,” said Santoro.

          Bunts scored all four TD’s for Perkins last week.

          Glenville (11-3) beat Perry (12-6) in overtime last week.  The Tarblooders losses all come to teams that are still alive in Olentangy Liberty, Avon and Akron Hoban.

          Santoro says Glenville may not have the same kind of athleticism, but they are going to do a lot of the same things.  “They are a similar team with different players.  A lot of the stuff they do schematically is similar.  They do some different things on defense this year.  Overall, they don’t have the guys they had last year that are playing football at the next level, the guys that were really special.  They're really good football team.  It's going to be a battle, it’s going to be a war and we’re preparing for it.  This division runs through them and they're a really good team, so we have to be ready to go.  At the end of the day, it's one of those things our kids have been waiting for.  We've heard all the talk from last year to this year from them, so our guys are excited for the opportunity,” he said.

          Glenville coach Ted Ginn, Sr. has been critical of the behavior of Perkins players and staff.  According to the Sandusky Register, Ginn said, “I’ve never seen a more disrespectful program in my life.”  He refused to play Perkins in a regular season game this fall.

          Santoro says they are going to put that out of their minds and play football.  “Revenge of the fact of it's a team that was in our region last year, won it for years in a row, won the state title back-to-back.  A team that comes from the greater Cleveland area that is just loaded with talent year in and year out.  We got real close last year and shot yourself in the foot a little bit.  We learned the hard way that you can't shoot yourself in the foot against good opponents in big games.  We're going to watch a lot of films from last year's game, a lot of films in this year's game and trying to take away how we can get better and how we can improve playing these guys,” he told Swankonsports.com on Thursday night, “At the day we have got to go out and be ourselves.  The turnover battle is always crucial.  If we don’t turn the ball over twice it’s a completely different ball game last year.  So, obviously when we were looking at that, preaching that going into this week.  Revenge is something that would be sweet, but you have got to put that all aside and play football.  Again, we've heard all the talking between their prep rally for the state finals last year and kind of what they said about us.  Going into (Thursday) with some articles in the paper.  You kind have got to throw that side and go out and play the football game.”

Published 11/29/24

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Perkins Has to Play Its Game

          Sandusky Perkins clashes with Ontario on Friday night at Tiffin Columbian High School in a division IV regional final.

          Perkins beat Napoleon (35-21) to advance last week.

          Ontario rallied to beat Shelby (49-48), they were down 22 points headed to the fourth quarter.  Quarterback Bodpegn Miller had over 500 total yards and scored the game winner with 12 seconds left.

          Perkins coach Jalen Santoro says Miller is a gamebreaker.  “He’s a special player.  He's the type of guy when there's not much there he can make something out of nothing through the air, through the ground.  It’s just one of those things where you got to make sure you guys are ready and understanding that he might go make plays.  At the end of the day, good play or bad play, it's on the next play.  If it's a good play you have got to regroup and make sure you ready to roll.  If you get a sack and then it’s a third and 18 situation it's understanding hey he has got the ability to turn the third and 18 into a first down real quick.  So, again a very special player.  On top of that they have got other athletes they feature as well.  The running back is a kid who runs very hard that you have to be aware of.  Then they have got big receivers on the perimeter too.  So, very dynamic offense.  We have to make sure we're doing a great job of trying to corral them in space and we have to do a great job of tackling and getting off blocks,” said Santoro.

          Santoro says the Ontario defense makes a lot of plays in space.  “They have got some big bodies up front.  A lot of what they do they try to funnel into their to their backers and they have got some backers that are athletic in space and do a great job of making plays in space.  You have the Miller kid in the back half more times than not, which again is a guy they move all over the field.  They’ve had him on the defensive line in rush situations, they’ve had him at linebacker in certain situations and more times than not he is playing deep safety,” he told Swankonsports.com on Thursday night, “They have got some guys they can move around.  They have got some puzzle pieces they can move around a little bit.  In reality at the end of the day, you got to make sure your assignment sharp and really focus on the fundamentals.  When you’re playing good opponents, this late in the year everybody pretty good, you have got to make sure you focus on the fundamentals and doing what got you there.  They do a great job of running their base defense and making plays in space and tackling in space.  So, we have got a team that does the fundamentals right and do the little things right in their defense.”

          This the second straight year that Perkins has played in a regional final, but Santoro says that really isn’t that big of an advantage.  “We have some guys that have been here last year.  We played in some big games before in the past.  That plays a little factor, but at the end of the day you have got to go out and execute.   It's one of those things where you talk about you've been there and you've done that, but in reality we haven't done it.  We've been in the regional finals, but we haven't you know eclipsed that.  Regardless of what it has been in the past for them or for us it comes down to what happens on Friday night.  So, we have got to go out and execute, we have to be fundamentally sound, we have got to go out and do what we do and we have got to be us.  At the end of the day, we have got to make plays in space.  A lot of games are won by making plays in space offensively and defensively,” said Santoro.

Published 11/22/24

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Perkins Must do What They Always do

          Sandusky Perkins will play Napoleon in regional semifinal in division IV on Friday night at Millbury Lake High School.

          They smoked Vermilion (48-7) in a quarterfinal last week, that was the score at halftime.

          Coach Jalen Santoro says again it was a very good start for the Pirates.  “We came out and we executed.  I thought we took care of business early on.  In those types of games you want to get out to the quick start.  I thought that's what we did.  We came out pretty quickly offensively and defensively as well.  Again, game plan was a game plan and our kids were pretty sound with it.  Again, overall pleased with how they played,” said Santoro.

          Perkins (11-1) is the top seed.  Napoleon (7-5) has not given up a point in the playoffs. They beat Bay (28-0) last week.

          Santoro says they have good players.  “They like to run the football.  They have got a quarterback who does a great job at getting the ball down field.  He's one of those guys who gets out of the pocket, but always keeps his eyes downfield.  They have an elite athlete in the (Trey) Rubinstein kid who plays both ways for them, kind of plays all over on defense and is a good receiver for them.  We have to know where he's at,” he said.

          Santoro says Napoleon wants to run the football and they must control the point of attack on both sides of the ball.  “At the end of the day it's it comes down to winning at the line of scrimmage.  They want to run the ball and we have make sure we’re sound up front defensively,” he told Swankonsports.com on Thursday night, “Offensively, we have got to make sure we are able to establish a run up front with our guys as far as the run game goes for us.  Again, being efficient with what we do, be assignment sharp is going to be key.  Be very, very, very detail oriented with game plan.”

Published 11/15/24

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Run Defense Big for Perkins

          Top seeded Sandusky Perkins hosts Vermilion Friday night in a division IV regional quarterfinal.

          Last week, Perkins scored four times in the first 10 minutes of the game and went on to take down Upper Sandusky (49-10) on Friday night.

          Coach Jalen Santoro says they made some big plays early.  “I thought we went out jumped on them early.  We had a couple one play drives and obviously when you catch that momentum that's exactly what you want to do in a playoff game, any game but, especially a playoff game.  So, I thought we did that.  I thought we executed in all three phases of the game.  I thought we were pretty sound.  I thought our guys again upfront, I thought we played well on both sides of the ball,” he told Swankonsports.com on Thursday night, “We came out and had a couple big run plays right to start the game.  I thought we kind of settled in there early in the first quarter.  Overall, I thought we executed very well, we tackled well, on offense running the ball I thought we were pretty sound.  Pretty pleased with the way we played.”

          Vermilion won the first playoff game in school history last week when they downed River Valley (37-21) in a first round game.

          Perkins beat the Sailors (44-6) in a first round game last year in the playoffs.

          Santoro says this is a lot more experienced and a better team.  “It's a team we played them last year as well.  As a team they have grown a lot.  They have a lot of guys that again played last year.  They were sophomores and juniors last year now they’re juniors and seniors.  When you get to that point you get another year of experience, you get the extra year continuity of playing together in your system, good things are bound to happen.  So, those kids have grown up a lot,” he said.

          Santoro says the key is they have to stop the Vermilion running game.  “They're playing good football.  They're going to run the ball.  They have an identity of running the football.  So, we have got to do a good job of slowing down the run game and getting them off the field.  The (Evan) Kuhns kid is a very good running back and the (Aaron) Mathis kid at quarterback makes things happen.  We have got to make sure we don't fall asleep in the pass game and make sure again we're playing sound defense,” said Santoro.

Published 11/08/24

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Perkins Not Taking Win for Granted

          Sandusky Perkins, the winner of the Lake Division of the Sandusky Bay Conference, will entertain Upper Sandusky on Friday night in a first round division IV playoff game.

          Perkins won that division title outright by smoking Tiffin Columbian (42-7) last Friday.

          Coach Jalen Santoro says again they got off to a good start.  “I thought we came out and I thought we executed pretty well.  I thought we got to a fast start, which is big especially offensively.  We got the ball first, went out and took it down scored.  I thought we executed, I thought we tackled well.  I thought we did the little things well last week and the big thing, got out healthy,” said Santoro.

          Perkins scored three times in the first half of the first quarter last week.

          Perkins (9-1), #1 in the final Swankonsports.com football coaches poll in the large school division, hosts Upper Sandusky (5-5) on Friday night.  The Rams buried Buckeye Central (42-7) last week.  It was Perkins second straight poll title with Swankonsports.com.

          Santoro says they have things they want to accomplish.  “They’re big up front on both sides of the ball, so it will be a challenge for our kids up front kind of get back on track.  Get back to throwing the football and doing what we need to do to again to execute on the field and execute on both sides of the ball and continue to do little things right,” he told Swankonsports.com on Thursday night, “Right now in the bigger scheme of things we have got to focus on doing all the minor details that got us here and continuously keep attacking those details every single week, every single day in practice and hopefully that shows up on Friday night.”

          Santoro says they have to have focus Friday night because 16 seeds have won before in Ohio.  “It's happened before.  It’s any given Friday night.  Again, going back and focusing on the details.  Really harping on details and focusing on what got you here is kind of the approach we want to take in practice this week.  Just continuously working on us and perfecting our craft and making sure are ready for Friday night,” he said.

Published 11/01/24

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Perkins Can Get it Outright

          Sandusky Perkins claims an outright title in the Lake Division of the Sandusky Bay Conference if they can beat Tiffin Columbian on Friday night.

          They got a piece of the title by smoking Sandusky (37-0) in a division game last week.

          Coach Jalen Santoro says they made some big plays in the special teams.  “I thought we came out firing on all cylinders.  It was one of the big talking points going into the game was we had to handle special teams right away because Sandusky made a lot of big plays this year in the return game.  We wanted to make sure we tried to neutralize that as much as possible.  A couple of our squib kicks actually bounced the right way for us, which got us a couple possessions back.  Our defense came out and got some scores as well.  So, overall I thought we played well last week.  I thought our guys were ready for the challenge,” said Santoro.

          Perkins (8-1,3-0), #1 in the Swankonsports.com football coaches poll in the large school division, plays at home against Tiffin Columbian (4-5,1-2) on Friday night.  The Tornadoes thrashed Norwalk (47-20) in a division game last week.

          Santoro says they run the ball well and on defense they are going to be in a number of different looks.  “It’s one of those teams, they're a lot better than our record shows.  I think it's very easy to see that.  They have a very good offensive line.  They get off the ball well and they're big.  At the end of the day, they run the ball well between the tackles.  On defense, they show you a heck of a lot of different things.  So, you have to be prepared for everything and anything when you're playing them, especially their defense.  We have to be very sound in what we do.  We have you very sound in our game plan.  At the end of the day, it always comes down to the simple things like blocking and tackling.  They get off the ball very well and you have got to be very good about getting off blocks.  You got to be very good at the point of attack and tackling.  On offense, make sure you're dissecting their defense great and like again do the simple things like block very well.  They do show you a lot.”

          Santoro says on Friday night they better be ready to play.  “I don't think their record speaks about the team they are.  They have played some good competition up to this point in the year and teams that are state ranked and you know at the end of the day we have to come ready to play,” he said.

Published 10/25/24

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Perkins Has to Make Big Plays

          Co-leaders in the Lake Division of the Sandusky Bay Conference clash on Friday night as Sandusky Perkins entertains the Sandusky Blue Streaks.

          After losing to Edison the week before, Perkins rattled Norwalk (49-0) in a division game last week.

          Coach Jalen Santoro says their execution was sound.  “I thought we had good practices last week leading into that game.  It was time to get back to the basics, get back to the fundamentals and what got us to that point.  Again, it was a good week for us to practice.  We came out and I thought executed very well both offensively and defensively.  Just kind of coming out and getting that taste out of your mouth in a fast way against Norwalk was what we wanted to see.  So, I was happy with the way our guys responded,” he said.

          Perkins (7-1,2-0), #1 in the Swankonsports.com football coaches poll in the large school division, hosts Sandusky (5-3,3-0), #5 in our poll, on Friday night.  The Blue Streaks edged Clyde (22-21) in a division game last week, scoring on the final play of the game.

          Santoro says Sandusky is athletic and can score from anywhere.  “They have got athletes all over the field.  They are very good on special teams and they have a handful of return touchdowns.  With the athletes they have on the field on offense they do a very good job when a play is broken down and making things happen when it seems like nothing there they exploit you.  So, we have got to do a good job.  Our guys in the secondary have got to ready to cover for extended periods of time.  We have got to do a great job up front making sure we corral the quarterback and keep him in the pocket and not letting me use his legs as good as an athlete as he is,” he told Swankonsports.com on Thursday night, “On defense, they fly around and they’re sure tacklers, especially in the box.  So, they have got some guys up front there that are big kids and they play with a motor.  So, at the end of the day, they have very good football team and if you're not ready to play they will exploit you.”

          Santoro says they have to make more big plays than Sandusky.  “You have got to eliminate the big plays at all costs.  It’s any team you play, but a team like Sandusky that makes big plays whether it be on special teams or broken plays and you have to try to eliminate those and make them drive the ball down the field.  On offense, you're always searching for the big play, always searching for the explosive plays.  We have got to find ways to generate those whether it be matchups or schemes, we have got to find ways to generate some explosive plays.  At the end of day, if you're winning turnover battle and the explosive plays battle, you probably have a good chance to win the game,” said Santoro.

Published 10/18/24

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Perkins Working on Being Better

          Sandusky Perkins is ready to make amends for its first loss of the season last week as they at Norwalk in a game in the Lake Division of the Sandusky Bay Conference.

          The Pirates (6-1,1-0), #1 in the Swankonsports.com coaches poll in the large school division, lost (15-14) to Edison last week in a crossover game.

          Coach Jalen Santoro says they made a lot of mistakes.  “That wasn't the outcome we wanted.  I think there's a lot of plays in that game we'd like to have back.  If we make one, it’s a different result.  That's a hard lesson to teach your kids until you get into a situation where you lose on of those type of games.  We had one earlier this year with Harvest Prep where we fortunate to win it. Some of our deficiencies showed in that game.  It's one of those things where the message is heard, but I don't know if the message was understood after you win a game.  Now, I think the message is understood.  The loss we had last Friday was a good game.  They're a heck of a team.  They executed their game plan perfectly.  We just do enough to win the game.  So, it's just take it as a learning experience, humble yourself a little bit, get back to work, back to the basics, and move on from it,” he said.

          Santoro says there was a different kind of attitude in practice this week.  “I think players and coaches I think everybody could wait to get back out to practice on Monday just get that taste out your mouth and move on from it.  It was a physical week of practice and that's kind of the example we wanted.  I thought looking back on the film, we just didn't tackle well and that's a big thing when you lose a tight game.  You really go back and look at the basics did you block well, did you tackle well, were you assignment sharp, were you playing with effort,” he told Swankonsports.com on Thursday evening, “I think a lot of those things we were lacking in last Friday.  A lot of things that we addressed with the guys on Saturday and coming back out this past Monday and it was like we're going back to the basics here.  Had some live tackling periods of practice and just really working on where we thought we didn’t play well last week.  The level of practice was raised this week and I think the guys stepped up and lead when we need lead and like I said the physicality was we want to see and I think it was there.”

          Norwalk (2-5,0-1) has not scored since week four of the season.

          Santoro says they have to know where Ben Rothhaar is at all times.  “They're different in what they do every week and that presents its own problems because we have got to be super sharp with what you're trying to accomplish on defense.  You have got to understand that essentially who they will get the ball to.  Rothharr is a great player.  They try utilize him in different ways whether getting the ball downfield, get him the ball in backfield with jet sweeps.  He's a division I football player going to a Big Ten school.  You have got to know where he's at and be able to key on him as much as possible and try to make them play left handed.  Again, he is a really good player, so we have got to do a good job of understanding where the ball is going to be then and then do the job trying to tackle as well.  That’s what we lacked last week, so I think our guys will be excited for the challenge this week,” said Santoro.

Published 10/11/24

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Perkins Can’t Let Edison Control the Clock

          The two schools that top the Swnkonsports.com coaches polls this week meet on Friday night as Sandusky Perkins is at Edison in a crossover in the “SBC” on Friday night.

          Both are unbeaten on the season.

          Perkins (6-0), #1 in the large school division, downed Clyde (28-7) in a Lake Division game last week.

          Clyde scored first in the game and Perkins coach Jalen Santoro like the way they responded to adversity.  “It was a good win for us.  We got down early and responded in the right way.  That’s what you want to see out of your team.  Haven’t had the opportunity to see that a lot this year and happy the way they responded.  Overall, it was a hard fought game.  You’re going to have that in the “SBC” Lake.  A lot of teams have a lot of familiarity with teams around here and programs around here.  So, you going to get everybody’s best shot.  At the end of the day, we came out and did what we had to do to win the game.  I thought we executed the game plan pretty well and obviously a lot of things we could still improve upon,” he said.

          Edison (6-0), #1 among smaller schools, beat Bellevue (21-6) in a Bay Division game Friday night.

          Santoro says they must be assignment sharp.  “They’re a very good team.  They've done everything right up to this point.  Their defense hasn’t allowed hardly anybody to score on them, which is a credit of what they do.  Sometimes their offense is the best defense.  I think against Bellevue, I watched that game film, they let them run seven plays in the second half.  You have to do great job being assignments sharp on what they do on offense and understanding where they're trying to attack you, understanding what they're trying to do,” he told Swankonsports.com on Thursday afternoon. “At the end of the day er have to be assignment sharp and knowing what your responsibility is.  Getting lined up correctly and once the ball is snapped you have to attack.  They have running backs that run really hard.  It’s got to be a gang effort there a little bit and make sure we get hats to the football.  If we do those things, it'll give us a chance, but at the end of the day they have some playmakers that are going to make plays.”

          With the Edison offense they love to eat up the clock.  Santoro says they have to make them play lefthanded.  “When you play a team that runs the triple option, or something like wing-T with St. Mary’s last year that we had from the playoffs, it's not necessarily about winning third down as much as about winning first and second down and making sure they're down isn’t a third and short or a fourth and short.  It's hard to stop any team like that from getting more three yards a pop, but if you limit them to three yards a pop and you’re getting them to third and longs that's where you make your money.  So, you have to win first and second down.  I think the fancy trend is win third down, but against teams like this you have to have got to make sure you have to make sure your forcing them into third and fourth and long,” said Santoro.

Published 10/04/24

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Perkins Ready for Surprises

          Sandusky Perkins beings its defense of the title in the Lake Division of the Sandusky Bay Conference on Friday night as they host the Clyde Fliers in a division game.

          Last week, they beat Bellevue (43-0) in a crossover game.

          Coach Jalen Santoro says they won the game up front.  “I thought we came out and executed the game plan pretty well.  You're playing Bellevue and they're going to want to run the quarterback and to defeat that you have got to win in the trenches.  So, I thought we won the battle of the trenches last week.  We had some explosive plays on offense and got some guys going a little bit.  So, overall pretty pleased with how we played,” said Santoro.

          Perkins (5-0,0-0), #1 in the Swankonsports.com football coaches poll in the large school division, has Clyde (4-1,0-0), #5 in that poll, on Friday night.

          Santoro says the Fliers are tough to put a game plan together for because they do so many things.  “They're a very good team.  They are very well coached.  They show you a lot of different things on the field and they do a lot of different things both in their offense and defense.  It's a lot to prepare for so.  Again. it was a tough week of practice making sure we're trying the looks we want to get from our scout team.  Again, trying to put in a game plan with the weather as well possibly coming.  So, overall got to ready to go (Friday),” he said.

          Clyde has featured a two quarterback system this year with both kids on the field at the same time.

          Santoro says they have to be ready for almost anything.  “They do a lot of different things like I said on offense and defense.  At the end of the day, they have got athletes on the field and they try to get their playmakers the ball and then they do a really good job of doing that,” he told Swankonsports.com on Thursday night, “We have got to be prepared for what they've shown and what they do and you have to prepare for everything that they haven't done yet too.  Coach (Ryan) Carter is a really good coach.  Again, like I said he's been in these types of games before in big games.  He's going to have something ready to go for us.  So, we have got to make sure we're prepared mentally and physically for (Friday) and be prepared for everything we haven't seen yet as well.”

Published 9/27/24

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Perkins Doing the Job

          Sandusky Perkins takes on Bellevue on Friday night in a crossover in the Sandusky Bay Conference.

          The Pirates (4-0), #1 in the Swankonsports.com football coaches poll in the large school division, got their first real test of the season last week when they rallied to beat Harvest Prep (28-22) in a non-conference game.

          Coach Jalen Santoro says they responded when they had to.  “They were a very good team.  We got out to an early 21-0 lead.  We just didn't close the door.  We had our opportunities too and we kind of got dismantled a little bit and had some injuries.  Had some guys that kind of playing out of position that kind of threw us out of our groove for a little bit there.  At the end of the day, we came out and got done what we needed to get done in the second half.  That’s after going down 22-21 and put together a nice drive to answer real quick and got the lead and held it the rest of the game.  Again, that's a very good football team, that's probably going to make a pretty deep playoff run in division V.  It's the type of team and with the type speed and athletes that you want to see this early in the season,” said Santoro.

          Santoro says that they faced some adversity and that’s a good thing.  “You try to emulate those situations and practice where you have got to respond.  You try to put your guys in high pressure situations in practice, but it's something totally different on Friday night.  We have some guys go down.  We got down late in the third quarter.  It was the first time trailing all season.  Our guys didn’t bat an eye and went out there and scored on the next drive and put a nice drive together,” he told Swankonsports.com on Thursday evening, “Adversity is going to happen at some point in the year and darn near every game.  So, at the end of day, you have got to be ready for it.  You have to keep your head cool no matter what the situation is.  No matter what the score is.  I thought our guys did a really good in stepping up and being ready to go when some other guys went down and I thought the answered the bell when they had to.”

          Bellevue (2-2) got past Norwalk (21-18) in another crossover last week.

          Santoro says Bellevue isn’t going to make mistakes.  “They're a very good team as far as you know being coached and being very disciplined.  You're not going to find them out of position.  You're not going to find too many chinks in their pre-snap as far as what they do with lining up on offense and defense.  They do a very good job of trying to out formation you.  Their key run games have been that way for a while.  There's obviously things that you know you look at and you know what you have got to stop, but that's easier said than done on Friday night.  We have to make sure we’re ready to go.  We have to make sure we're lining up and doing the best job on our end pre snap and make sure we’re in the right position,” he said.

Published 9/20/24

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Perkins Ready for Athletic Harvest Prep

            Unbeaten and unscored upon Sandusky Perkins hosts undefeated Harvest Prep on Friday night in an interesting non-conference matchup.

          The Pirates (3-0), #1 in the first Swankonsports.com football coaches poll in the large school division, blasted Rocky River (49-0) last week.

          Coach Jalen Santoro says they played well in bad weather.  “It was a good game.  A good win for us.  It was one of those games early in the year where you’re facing some adversity with the weather.  It was probably the rainiest game I’ve ever played in.  It was a torrential downpour just about the entire game.  So, for us to play like we did and continue to play like we did regardless of the elements it was good to see,” he said.

          The Pirate defense has been outstanding this fall.  Santoro says are in the right spots and they tackle well.  “I just think right now we are really we are assignment sharp.  We don’t have a lot of missed assignments.  We are where we need to be pre-snap and when you are where supposed to be pre-snap it allows you to play more free and play fast,” he told Swankonsports.com on Tuesday morning, “So, we have to make sure were winning the pre-snap, and make sure were are lined up correctly and be were supposed to be and be on top of that.  Make sure we are talking.  You can do whatever you want on defense, do whatever scheme and move people around, blitz wise, whatever you want to do, but at the end of the day you have to tackle.  We are tackling well right now, were playing aggressive, we are getting 11 hats to the football.”

          Harvest Prep (3-0) has already beaten division I Pickerington Central (24-21) on week one.  They beat a team from Kentucky last week (26-10) on week three.

          Santoro says they have a lot of very good athletes.  “They are a really good team.  They have a lot of guys that go both ways.  They have a lot of guys that want to be division I football players at the next level.  When you have got that talent on the field, you have to make sure that again you very assignment sharp on both sides of the ball.  It doesn’t allow for a lot of room for error.  Making sure we understand what we are trying to do defensively.  What we are trying to accomplish which allows you to play free and fast.  We have to do a great job understanding the game plan and go out there and execute on Friday night,” said Santoro,

          No one has been competitive with Perkins so far.  Santoro says when that happens they have to be ready.  “It’s something we haven’t seen this year yet, but this group of guys that are playing for us right now a lot of them have been playing for two, three, four years and they have seen a lot in their time as starers and their time as a team. You know it’s going to happen at some point.  When it happens you can’t bat an eye you have to stick to what you are coached to do since August.  It’s going to happen at some point whether it’s this week or down the road,” he said.

Published 9/11/24

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Perkins Has to Stop Big Play

          Sandusky Perkins will have a tough challenge on Friday night as they travel to Parma Padua to face the Bruins.

          Last week, they overwhelmed Clear Fork (55-0) limiting the Colts to only 37 total yards.

          Coach Jalen Santoro says it was a good start to the season.  “We came out we played a clean game.  I thought we actually played pretty well in the opening game of the season.  Obviously, a lot of things that we still need to correct and clean up and sure up and that’s what you expect week one. So, come out healthy following a win on week one is a good thing,” he said.

          Padua opened with a (34-6) win over Alliance.

          Santoro says they have kids that can make plays all over the field.  “They are muti dimensional.  They do some things on offense.  They throw the ball well.  Their quarterback has a good arm.  They have some good receivers, they like to stretch the field.  They kind of stretch the field as far as vertically and then with the run game as well.  They'll run sideline to sideline with a really good running back in Roderick Love, he’s a kid who's very talented with a lot of speed and when he has the ball in his hands, he's pretty electric.  So, we have to do the job to contain him make sure we know where they're playmakers are and be assignment sharp as far as lining up on defense,” said Santoro.

          Perkins makes a lot of big plays, but Santoro says Friday night they can’t allow those big plays.  “That goes for anybody, but when you have some big playmakers as they do.  You saw it in their first game against Alliance with them kind of with some big plays.  When you get out in space you want to limit those big plays, limit the explosive players with any high school team regardless of how good you are,” he told Swankonsports.com on Tuesday afternoon, “It’s always tougher when you're putting 10 to 15 plays to get down the field versus two, three play drives and a big score.  So, obviously you keep everything in front of you and make sure nothing gets behind you and that comes from lining up correctly on defense and being sure tacklers.”

Published 8/28/24

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Perkins Out to Prove Some Things

          Sandusky Perkins didn’t lose last year until their 15^th game of the season in late November, they start this season at home against Clear Fork in non-conference play on Friday night.

          Coach Jalen Santoro says they can’t wait to strap up and get going.  “I mean I think you get to that point after five days of camp and five days in two a days.  Obviously, you get a little a little taste with your preview and your scrimmages, but going out playing games it's a little different feeling.  It's kind of like I think what everybody is waiting for, so everybody's excited and everybody’s ready to roll,” he said.

          Perkins was the choice of about every member of a regional media panel to win the Lake Division of the Sandusky Bay Conference again this year, but Santoro says that doesn’t mean anything now.  “We have got the opportunity to be a very good football team.  We have got great pieces.  No matter what it is whether you have great pieces there is always a little luck involved to get where you want to go.  Part of that luck is staying healthy.  So, I think we have got the guys to go out and do what we want to do and to get where we want to go, but at the end of the day you have got to take it day by day and focus on the day by day process of getting there,” said Santoro.

          Clear Fork is a new opponent for Perkins and Santoro expects them to be an improved football team.  “They went 2-8 last year and that was not what they wanted to do, but at the end of the day they played a lot of younger guys and brought a lot of guys back from that team.  Looking back on it, we've had some teams in the past where we played a lot of younger guys and I mean the end of the day it pays off the following year,” he told Swankonsports.com on Thursday afternoon, “They do a lot of different things on offense.  They get under center, they change the formation and personnel groupings very frequently, almost every play.  So, I mean they pose some different things on offense that we have go to make sure we’re prepared for.”

Published 8/23/24

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Perkins Ready to Rip

          Sandusky Perkins is coming off a tremendous season from a year ago in which they won the “SBC” Lake and didn’t lose a game until the division IV regional final.

          They are expecting to be very good again this year.

          Coach Jalen Santoro says they have some quality experience returning to the lineup.  “We bring back a handful of starters back from last year's team.  I think our guys were able to do a little more than we did in previous years just schematically because we've had some experience returning.  I mean we bring back a lot, so trying to test these guys, keep these guys hungry.  I think everyone is in the same boat as far as getting ready to play somebody else. You have been going against each other here for a few weeks now at this point in time now it's like I said everybody is really ready for somebody else.  So, I mean it's kind of get these guys fresh this week and get ready for our preview,” said Santoro.

          However, the Pirates are looking for a new quarterback for the first time in a while.  Santoro says they have a couple good choices.  “We are replacing a three year starter in Logan Lesch.  Sammy Schweinfurth right now is doing a great job.  He's another kid whose kind of been waiting for his turn.  Between him and T Bowls, they've done some really good things.  They both bring something different to the table and we will be able to utilize them both.  So, another kid who's been patient and worked his tail off to get the spot he's in.  Just kind of go to see what happens here when the lights come on,” he said.

          Perkins scrimmages against Holland Springfield on Thursday.  They open the season at home against Clear Fork in non-conference play on August 23.

          Santoro says they really can’t wait to play some football.  “Just kind of fighting that complacency and fighting that camp mindset.  In camp you get pretty tired and get worn out, you get tired of two a days, tired of hitting each other.  The only thing as a staff that we see as a staff is fighting complacency and finding ways to get better.  That's something I think a lot of teams struggle with.  For us, it's been something we focus on as coaches as far as trying to find ways of making them compete, trying to find ways to keep them hungry, trying to find a way to make sure every day we're going out there getting better,” he told Swankonsports.com on Monday evening, “I think a lot of that is going to be solved once we start getting into game week and game prepping for another opponent.  The thing with any high school team is you know fighting injury.  Football the tough sport and a lot of people get the nicks and bruises, so it's just kind of battling that and make sure everybody fresh come week one.”

Published 8/13/24

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Perkins Has to Play Pirate Football

          Unbeaten Sandusky Perkins, the “SBC” Lake champ, plays defending state champion Cleveland Glenville on Friday night at Elyria High School in a regional final in division IV.

          Perkins (12-0) beat West Holmes, the “OCC” runner-up, (38-21) in a semifinal last week in Marion.

          They shutout the high scoring Knights in the second half and coach Jalen Santoro says they made some halftime adjustments.  “We got off to a fast start there earlier in the game.  We got the kick there that bounced our way it wasn't a called onside kick, but it bounced off one of their frontline guys and obviously when that happens that's the way to start the game off.  So, we go in the halftime in a close game.  I think all our kids are pretty composed knowing that we're doing the things on both sides of the ball we just need to crack a few little details there and at halftime we did that,” said Santoro.

          Glenville (10-3) smoked “MOAC” co-champ Shelby (50-14) in their semifinal.

          Santoro says the Tarblooders have big time talent, but at the same time they are still a high school football team.  “Yeah, for sure it's a different animal.  It's a team that has guys going to power five schools that are committed power five schools all across the board, so they’ve done a good job getting some talent over there at Glenville and their defending state champs for a reason,” he told Swankonsports.com on Thursday afternoon, “We have got to do a good job of being us.  Again at the end of the day it's a high school football team and that's the way we're treating it.  You have to go out and be prepared and ready to do what you do.”

          Santoro says they have to get great pursuit and when they get there, they have to get the ball carrier to the ground.  “One thing you have got to do is you have to make sure you get guys to the ball.  You have got to make sure you can do what you want schematically to put people in positions to be in the right spot to make plays, but at the end of the day you got to make the plays and that's the crucial part to it.  It's a running back who's fast and can take it the distance and big enough to run you over, so you have got to do a good job of gang tackling him.  Again, we have just got to play Pirate football and get 11 hats to the ball and play together.  So, obviously it’s a tall task at hand, but I think our kids are ready for the challenge,” said Santoro.

          For the first time this year, Perkins likely isn’t the favorite.  Santoro says their goal is to win the state championship and this is another step.  “I think that's kind of been our mentality all along.  We knew we wanted to get to this point, so that we've talked about all throughout the season up to this point that if we want to go do what we want to do and win the whole thing you have got to go through Grenville.  If have got beat the man, you have to beat the man.  So, now we have got the opportunity to do that and the opportunities here, so again it's something that we talked about for a long time.  The week of preparations is in the books now, so now it's time to strap it up and play the game,” said Santoro.

Published 11/17/23

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Perkins Must Have Pursuit

          Sandusky Perkins takes on West Holmes in a division IV regional semifinal on Friday night at Marion Harding Stadium.

          Perkins survived a scare last week to beat St. Mary’s Memorial (28-21) in a quarterfinal game.

          Coach Jalen Santoro says they had to make adjustments in order to defend the Roughriders run game.  “They came out and we knew they could pose some threats running the ball and eating some clock and that's exactly what they did.  So, going into halftime there they were four of four on fourth down and they had 21-14 lead at halftime.  The time of possession was actually 19 minutes to five them.  We had to come in and make some adjustments with our defense and we did that the best we could take away their right hand after halftime.  Our defense came out the second half and held them underneath 70 yards for the total of the half.  Our offense got two quick scores on the board.  At the end of the game our defense had some big stops.  So, obviously it wasn't pretty but at this point in the year you’re just trying to get a win and advance and get another week of football,” said Santoro.

          Perkins (10-1) is the outright champion of the Lake Division of the Sandusky Bay Conference.  West Holmes (10-2) was the runner up in the Ohio Cardinal Conference.  The Knights beat Galion (22-19) last week on a tipped TD pass with 19 seconds remaining.

          Santoro says they have an explosive offense and a defense that gets to the football.  “They have some really explosive players.  They have got a quarterback who can run and pass and he does you know everything pretty well, so you have got to make sure you keep your eyes on him in the pass game because he has the threat take off and run.  So, obviously between the receivers that they have that are very good and make some big plays out there on the catch you have got to make sure you're trying to keep them at bay as much as possible,” he told Swankonsports.com on Thursday afternoon, “At the end of the day it comes down to making sure you're tackling and getting of blocks and doing a little things right.  This week it's been a lot of mental prepping to make sure we're ready for what they do.  Defensively, they have some players that make some plays.  They have some players on the defensive line that are really good.  Any game you turn on this year on the film they're rarely getting blocked.  So, it's very important to win the trenches.  You can stress that every week, but I think even more so important this with what they want to do on offense and defense.”

          West Holmes quarterback Morgan Smith is among the state leaders in points scored this season.  He accounted for eight TD’s in game this year against Lexington.  Santoro says their defense must have great pursuit.  “Everything starts their quarterback whether it's run or pass.  Then once he gets rid of the ball pretty quick sometimes you got to make sure that you're pursuing to the football and make sure you're getting people around the ball and gang tackle when you can.  So, they put him in a great spots.  He does a great job of making the right reads and playing mistake free football.  So, again it just kind of comes down to making sure that we're in the right spots, we're ready pre-snap.  The big thing, like I said, is just getting off blocks and pursuing the football,” he said.

Published 11/10/23

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Perkins Faces Run Happy St. Mary’s Memorial

          Sandusky Perkins, the winner of the Lake Division of the Sandusky Bay Conference, will host St. Mary’s Memorial Friday night in a regional quarterfinal in division IV.

          Perkins (9-1) hammered Vermilion (44-6) last week in their playoff opener.

          Coach Jalen Santoro says they accomplished what they wanted.  “We came out and had a hot start.  Basically, it’s just about going out there and executing and making sure we're doing what we do as far as our base offense and base defense and running that correctly and doing those things well and I thought we did that.  So, I mean we're able to get a lot of guys some minutes last week there, which is nice to see our younger guys go out and execute at a high level against a varsity team as well.  All in all, it was a good Friday night and we got all healthy,” he said.

          Memorial beat Wauseon (42-14) last week.

          Santoro says this is a power run team.  “They’re going to run the football quite a bit.  You look at the two offenses, the offense that we run and the offense they run and it's you know pretty much a polar opposite.  So, they're going to go out there and they're going to pound the rock.  They're going to be in their big personnel and their going to have two of their running backs in the backfield and they’re going to be under center and they're pound the rock and that's what they do.  That’s what they have done all year long and whether they're winning by 30, losing by 30, tie ball game, two-minute drill, they are going to run the ball,” he told Swankonsports.com on Thursday afternoon, “You have got to do a great job playing physical up front, you have got to do a great job at not getting lost with the eye candy, the motions, and doing your 1 11^th  on defense.  It's going to be a task, it’s not something that you see every day or every week at this day and age.  It's an offense that's an old school offense.  We've been preaching to our kids this week it's not really and offense that they run, it's a style of playing and the lifestyle they live by.  So, they're going to do what they do and they do it really well.  So, we have to be ready to go up front and make sure playing physical football.”

          Santoro says they saw a little bit of this with Bay Division champ Edison, but still this is different.  “Edison ran the triple option more than what these guys do, but I mean similar formations.  There are some similarities in their games.  St Mary’s is their own beast.  Like I said, they do things a little bit differently.  They are very good at what they do.  So, those kids kind of run their offense from sixth grade, seventh grade on up.  So, they know it very well, like the back of their hand and they're very good at doing it,” he said.

          On defense, Santoro says Roughriders also have a different approach.  “They run a 4-2-5, it’s a little different than a traditional 4-2-5.  They bring a good amount of pressure and they get into 3-3 packages a little bit.  Overall, they send some pressure.  That's one of the things we have to make sure we stop.  They’re aggressive up front and they shoot gaps very well and inside the box their pretty good tacklers.  We have got to make sure we're prepared up front for a bunch of different stunts and blitzes and a few different alignments up front.  So, if we take care of that and we play sound football, communicating up front, that'll be a big goal this week and the big test for us,” said Santoro.

Published 11/03/23

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Perkins Has to be Focused

          Sandusky Perkins, the top seed, and outright champion of the Sandusky Bay Conference Lake Division, plays host to Vermilion, out of the Bay Division, in a first round game in division IV on Friday night.

          Last week, they pounded Tiffin Columbian (55-28) in the Lake Division championship game.

          Coach Jalen Santoro says they came out and did things well and followed the game plan.  “We came out and I felt we got off to a hot start there.  Our defense came out there and got two three and outs, which is huge when you're playing offense like Tiffin Colombian.  It gets the momentum going in the right direction and gets your energy going in the right direction and builds confidence early in the game.  That was a big start for us.  Then we had a longer, sustained drive there was a 18 play, eight minute drive right before halftime.  That was obviously big as well to take a two score lead going to half, knowing we were get the ball back out of half.  We felt confident with what we could do up front and running the football and we kind of made sure we're trying to kind of take the wind out of their sails as much as possible respecting their offense a little bit and their big play ability,” he told Swankonsports.com on Tuesday afternoon, “We wanted to make sure that we went out driving the football and eat some clock when we could.  When you can do that and then those drives result points too, that’s the best case scenario.  So, I was happy with the way we played.  I was happy with the kids and how they came out executed the game plan and totally came out healthy as well so.”

          Isaac Bunts had 240 yards rushing and three touchdowns for the Pirates in that win over Tiffin.

          Perkins (9-0), #1 in the final Swankonsports.com football coaches poll in the large school division, entertains Vermilion (3-7) on Friday night.  The Sailors lost (20-0) to Bellevue in a Bay Division game last week.

          Santoro says it will be important for them to keep their focus.  “Right now, we have to make sure we're really focused making sure we're taking care of ourselves here, taking care of the football.  When you look at a team like Vermillion you have got to make sure that obviously in any game I mean it was important, especially this time of year in the playoffs you have got to jump on the team early.  So, we have got to make sure we have a good week of practice here,” said Santoro.

          Santoro says they must contain the Vermilion quarterback.  “Vermilion has a quarterback that makes some plays and is a good athlete.  So, we have got to make sure we do our due diligence and make sure we're containing them and knowing what he's doing and make sure we're keying him as much as possible.  So, it kind of starts with good week of practice here and then with mental prep and make sure we're ready for Friday night,” he said.

Published 10/25/23

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Perkins Faces Athletic Columbian

          Sandusky Perkins locks horns with Tiffin Columbian in the Sandusky Bay Conference Lake Division championship game on Friday night in Tiffin.

          Both are unbeaten in division play.

          Coach Jalen Santoro says they embrace playing in these types of games.  “These are the ones that they work for, that you play for, you kind of talk about these types of games going into the season trying to put yourself in a situation to play in these types of games.  Fortunately enough, you know that time is here now for us.  So, I think we've been looking forward to it.  Obviously, not just this game in general, but trying to win a league title.  We put ourselves in that situation to be fortunate enough to be in a situation in a game like this to play for league title,” he said.

          Perkins (8-0,3-0), #1 in the Swankonsports.com football coaches poll in the large school division, travels to Tiffin Columbian (8-1,3-0), #2 in the poll, on Friday night.

          Columbian has amassed more than 4,000 total yards this season and Santoro says they have a lot of weapons.  “They're explosive, they do a lot of good things on offense.  The quarterback (Brayden) Roggow, he's a darn good quarterback.  He always does a good job putting them in the right situation, doesn't make a lot of mistakes, he puts the ball on the spot, which I think is very beneficial for them because where his ball placement let's those guys run after the catch, which is huge for them.  I mean a lot of it starts with him, but they're not a one facet team,” he told Swankonsports.com on Wednesday afternoon, “They have a big ole line and Brockington at running back, who's again a very explosive kid who can take it to the house at any point in time.  So, it makes them hard to defend because you have to defend all of the field, you have defend the east and west side of the field.  So, you have got to make sure you're locked in what you're supposed to be doing.  You can't get lost in the eye candy type stuff.  At the end of the day, you have to tackle well.  Even when you think you have them bottled up or you think you're in a good spot defensively you have got to make sure you tackle because they do a good job running with the ball in their hands after the catch or the handoff.”

          The Tiffin defense has been improved too as they have allowed just five scores in the last three games.

          Santoro says they will come with a lot of different looks.  “They have a lot of athletes in the field, so it’s trying to figure out what they're doing.  They throw a lot of different things at you on that side of the ball, so trying to diagnose is hard right off the rip.  Again, it’s going out and doing what we do and executing and making sure we're putting ourselves in a good situation post snap and make sure you know we have the numbers where we want them and our eyes in the right spot.  Doing the correct things on our end to make sure we put ourselves in a good situation.  They get to the ball well and again the last couple games here they've shown what they can do defensively, so definitely be a tough task,” said Santoro.

Published 10/19/23

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Perkins Wants to be Mistake Free Versus Sandusky

          Sandusky Perkins, the co-leader in the Lake Division of the Sandusky Bay Conference, plays at Sandusky in a big game in the division on Friday night.

          The Blue Streaks trail Perkins and Tiffin Columbian by a game.

          The Pirates (7-0,2-0), #1 in the Swankonsports.com football coaches poll in the large school division, destroyed Norwalk (52-3) last week.

          Coach Jalen Santoro says they did what they wanted too pretty much.  “We came out and played well in the first quarter there.  We kind of had a lull in second quarter, our offense kind of sputtered out a few times and had some penalties that set us back.  So, obviously there's some things to fix there, but overall, I was happy with the way we came out and played.  I thought we tackled well, I thought we were assignment sharp, and that's pretty much all we are going to ask for,” he said.

          Sandusky (5-3,2-1) beat Clyde (32-22) in division game last week.

          Santoro says they are very explosive.  “They have been part of some crazy games so far this year, so they're going to be a be tested and they're not going to get rattled.  They have seen it all this year whether they won or lost it.  They're an athletic team.  They have a running back who can take it to the house pretty much anytime he touches the ball,” he told Swankonsports.com on Wednesday afternoon, “We have to do a really good job of making sure we're on our keys defensively and we're tackle well and getting hats to the ball.  Offensively, we have to make sure we do what we do and do it efficiently.  Last week, we talked about penalties and that’s going to set you back no matter who you play.  When you're playing good ball team, you have got to make sure you go out and play mistake free football and you limit penalties and limit the mistakes.”

          Both teams score quickly and frequently.  Santoro says this is going to be a game about big plays.  “You're trying to exploit and make sure you're getting the 20 yard gains and big plays and then I'll defense obviously limit them.  So, it's a goal obviously, but easier said than done to make them drive the field.  Offensively, if we run our stuff right and make sure we're on our keys and making sure we're reading things correctly then I mean obviously push the ball down the field whether it's through the air or through the ground.  So, it's one thing to see it on film and one thing to have a game plan ready, but it's nothing like playing on Friday night, so we have to be ready to roll,” said Santoro.

Published 10/12/23

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Perkins Talking Pursuit

          Unbeaten Sandusky Perkins, the co-leader of the Lake Division of the Sandusky Bay Conference, plays host to Norwalk in a division game on Friday night.

          They have won all of their games by at least 20 points.

          Last week, they hammered previously unbeaten Edison (49-14), scoring 42 points in the first half.

          Coach Jalen Santoro says after some early adjustments, they rolled.  “Early on in the game there we had some opportunities to get on the board early and we did.  We took our first drive 99 yards, which ate some clock and got settled in a little bit after we got a stop there.  They came out responded well.  They came out and had a long run to the house.  There were just some things that we had to correct on the defensive side the ball as far as lining up goes.  They did some stuff that we didn't see yet.  Again, just getting guys lined up properly and that's very crucial when you're playing a team that runs the triple option.  So, we did that, we made the adjustment and then from that point on defense so we did a very good job lining up and then on top of that playing against Edison they have some running backs that are some really big boys guys and run the ball real hard.  So, I was happy the way we tackled.  I thought we had a lot of guys get to the ball, so it was good to see,” said Santoro.

          Perkins (6-0,1-0), #1 in the Swankonsports.com football coaches poll in the large school division, plays at home against Norwalk (3-4,0-1) on Friday night.  The Truckers were smoked by Sandusky (48-12) in a division game last week.

          Santoro says they have a lot they have to stop.  “They're a team that obviously improved a lot from last year.  You can tell they have some camaraderie now and they have got some athletes in space.  They do a bunch of different things offensively and defensively.  So, we have got to make sure we're doing a really good job of doing what we do and practicing what we do against a bunch of different looks,” he told Swankonsports.com on Monday afternoon, “I mean that's going to be the challenge this week just making sure we're understanding what we're seeing from them on the defensive side of the ball.  Then we make sure we settle in when we are on defense depending on who's playing quarterback, depending who's where and what they're running that week that we can get settled in and get lined up properly.”

          Norwalk’s Jarren Mclendon is one of the top running backs in the area and Santoro says they are going to have to rally to the ball.  “He's a fantastic running back, runs hard, has got a lot of speed so I mean a lot of it is going to be about, first man wrapping up and the second man in make sure take them down.  So, we always preach about pursuit being one of the biggest things we preach on the defensive side of the ball.  So, it’s no different this week we have got make make sure we get hats to the ball and make sure were talking and wrapping up and do a good job communicating,” he said.

Published 10/03/23

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Perkins and Edison Match Unbeaten Records

          Sandusky Perkins welcomes Edison in an “SBC” crossover between unbeaten teams on Friday night.

          Their last meeting was in the playoffs two years ago when Perkins won (28-0) that night.

          The Pirates (5-0), #1 in the Swankonsports.com football coaches poll in the large school division, smoked Clyde (31-7) last week in a Lake Division game.

          Coach Jalen Santoro feels their quick start and their ability to adjust made the difference.  “I thought we came out got to a fast start, which has been something been striving for the last three years here and especially this year.  So, we got out to a fast start in both halves.  We came out and executed the game plan pretty well.  We made some adjustments with our kids and they adjusted pretty well on the fly with some things, especially with a few guys going down and moving some guys around.  So, I was happy and pleased with the way we played,” he said.

          Edison (6-0), #1 in the small school poll, punished Bellevue (41-7) in a Bay Division game last Friday.

          Santoro says they are very disciplined and they have backs that run really hard.  “They run hard, they run really hard they have a you know a handful of backs that they get the ball to and they're all big bodies.  The quarterback is kind of the kickstarter to their offense.  The (Marcus) Medina kid has been three-year starter for them now and he's a really good athlete.  So, it all starts with him and making sure we can corral him a little bit but, it's obviously a challenge trying to prep those offenses not something you see every single day.  So, the challenge, and kind of what we have been telling our guys that you know this game is going to be won Monday through Thursday,” he told Swankonsports.com on Thursday afternoon, “We have been coaching our scout team guys as much as possible and get them watching film and make sure we're getting a really good look out of them this week.  So, that's been crucial.  Like I said they have some guys that run really hard and usually don't go down on first contact.  When you’re facing a team that runs triple option or some power reads and some stuff out of the gun that they run so make sure you're tackling your responsibility every single play.  You want to say gang tackle with the same sense you can't say that because you have going to have certain guys in certain parts their offense every single place.  So, it'll be a challenge and we'll test us on the printer and see if we could tackle and see if we play some disciplined football.”

          Santoro says they must play assignment football or they are going to give up big plays.  “People that run the triple option thrive on teams that play undisciplined football.  So, obviously that's been a coaching point this week again we have got to make sure we do a good job and execute that on Friday night and make sure you play disciplined football and tackling our keys,” he said.

Published 9/29/23

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Perkins Has to Ready for A lot

          Sandusky Perkins begins defense of its title in the Lake Division of the Sandusky Bay Conference on Friday night as they visit Clyde to take on the Fliers.

          Perkins overwhelmed Bellevue (49-0) in a crossover game last week.

          Coach Jalen Santoro says their defense put them in good position.  “We came out came out early, we obviously had the fumble on the goal line there and that's you know something we have got to get cleaned up.  We put together a good drive.  I was happy the way our defense played.  They moved the ball on there early in the game and we made some slight adjustments there and we made some plays in the red zone, which is big.  Anytime you let a team drive on you the field is condensed a little bit and that's when you play your best defense.  I thought we did a good job in the red zone of forcing two turnovers, which is huge,” he said.

          Perkins (4-0,0-0), #1 in the Swankonsports.com football coaches poll in the large school division, travels to Clyde (4-1,0-0), #4 in our poll, on Friday night.  The Fliers beat Port Clinton in their crossover (34-14) last Friday.

          Santoro says the Flier defense will show them a lot of looks.  “There a Clyde team that's always going to be physical, coach (Ryan) Carter does a great job you know picking apart as far as opposing team’s weaknesses.  They do a good job at finding their strengths and then abusing it.  They run the ball hard.  They get to the football very well on defense.  They also pose a lot of different looks on defense too,” he told Swankonsports.com on Thursday afternoon, “They give you different fronts, looks, coverages.  I think they try to confuse you a little bit so you have to do a good job recognizing coverages and recognizing fronts, so make sure we're putting in the best play call possible and making sure our guys are ready for a bunch of different looks on the offensive side of the ball.”

          Santoro says against Clyde you have to make the right play call and the key is to figure out what defense they are in before the snap.  “You're dealing with 14, 15, 16, 17, 18 year old kids, so I mean obviously the more you see it the more it slows down.  Everything we want to do we want to be fast when we play, playing fast, not thinking, just going.  So, pre snap you are going to do everything you possibly can to figure out what they're in.  Their going to move around showing bunch different looks and coverages at you.  So, we have to a good job of simplifying it and making sure our guys are on the same page and once that ball snaps last thing going on just playing,” said Santoro.

Published 9/22/23

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Perkins Faces Diverse Bellevue

          Two of the better teams in North Central Ohio square off as Sandusky Perkins hosts Bellevue in a crossover game in the Sandusky Bay Conference on Friday night.

          Perkins (3-0), #1 in the Swankonsports.com football coaches poll in the large school division, did not play last week after Warren JFK cancelled their game due to a lack of numbers.

          Coach Jalen Santoro says they decided that it was not in their best interest to try and pick up a game.  “It was definitely a different opportunity.  Something I haven't experienced in my coaching crew obviously.  There was a team from West Virginia, I think was around four hours away, that reached out and that was the only one.  They had to do a home game otherwise it wouldn't have worked out for them.  So, we figured that out that too late to kind of do that.  So, a week off as far as the game goes, but still a lot of mental prep, a lot of keeping guys fresh and get some guys healthy,” said Santoro.

          Bellevue (3-1) blanked Norwalk (26-0) last week in a crossover.

          Santoro expects when you normally expect from Bellevue and that’s a disciplined and physical football game.  “They are a very disciplined football team.  They really don't do much wrong.  They make you play your game to the best of your abilities.  They want to make sure that they keep everything in front of them and tackling well,” he told Swankonsports.com on Thursday night, “I mean it's a well coached football team.  So, they have really got some guys that can hurt you on the offensive side.  They have some guys that run hard and always falling forward for three.  So, I mean it should be a physical football game.”

          Jax Lapata, one of Bellevue’s best players got hurt on the opening kickoff last week against Norwalk and did’t play the rest of the game.

          Santoro says no matter who is in there for the Redmen they are going to do the same things.  “I mean it kind a little bit, obviously losing a player like LaPata changes some things you want to do, but you know they going to be able to do what they want to do on offense.  It’s always next man up for them, so they're going to find a way to run the football.  The (Ashton) Martin kid has got a good arm too, so they're little more diverse this year on offense.  So, you have to be ready for everything,” he said.

Published 9/15/2023

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Perkins to be Tested

          Sandusky Perkins, who has looked outstanding in their first two games of the season, entertains Rocky River in a non-league game on Friday night.

          Last week, they whipped Elyria Catholic (62-19) and have scored more than 140 points the first two weeks.

          Coach Jelan Santoro says they got off to a very good start and that is always a goal for the team.  “We came out and we played well.  We’ve been preaching about getting out to a fast start and we've done that both games this year.  I think that's really contusive to the way we play.  So, that's obviously something we preach.  We came in and executed our game plan pretty well.  Obviously, there's things we clean up as in any other game, but I was happy with the players, I was happy with the energy they came out with.  We had a good week of practice, so it was nice to see everything come together on Friday night last week,” said Santoro.

          Rocky River (2-0) smoked Cleveland John Marshall (42-6) last week.

          Santoro says they a team that can light up the scoreboard with their pass offense.  “They like to throw it.  They have scored some points so far.  They have a 6’3” quarterback, the (Julian) Patti kid.  He’s got a good arm, just a great job at staying up in the pocket.  It's usually not the first guy that’s going to tackle him,” he told Swankonsports.com on Thursday night, “He's done some good things as far as getting the ball out and getting the ball to his playmakers.  They have another good running back, who is catching the ball in the backfield there too.  So, like I said, they like to spread it out like to throw it around, so it will be great test for our defense.”

          Santoro says they will have to play well because this is the best team they have played so far this season.  “Absolutely, it will be our biggest test so far.  We just have to make sure we go out and execute the game plan and come out focused ready to go,” he said.

Published 9/01/23

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Perkins Expects Everything

          Sandusky Perkins faces a lot of unknowns as they hit the road for Elyria Catholic for a non-conference game on Friday night.

          Last week, the Pirates took Toledo Woodward to the woodshed of a whipping to the tune of (81-0) in their first game.

          Coach Jalen Santoro says they got to play a lot of young kids.  “It was one of those games where you want to go out and play assignment sharp football and I thought we did that pretty well on both sides of the ball, special teams included.  I mean it was nice to be able to get a lot of people reps, a lot of young kids got a lot of reps,” he told Swankosports.com on Thursday night, “That's pretty valuable at this point in the season.  As you progress through season, especially as you get into league play, it's kind of hard to get kids reps because of the level competition.  So, it was good to do that earlier on the season here and like I said a lot of people reps.”

          Elyria Catholic lost its opener (45-14) to Liberty-Benton last week.

          Santoro says they are still trying to get acclimated to a new system.  “It’s a handful of new coaches, a new head coach (Chase) Farris.  They're still trying to implement their systems.  They are still trying to get their kids to learn the base of their system.  Anytime you take over a program and your flip flop names and changing things to get to where you want them I mean, it's going to take some time to get everything you want in and for the kids all to understand.  So, for us we have just got to be prepared for anything and everything,” said Santoro.

          What Santoro does expect is a much better performance on week two from the Panthers than they produced last week.  “They’re going to get better, dramatically better week to week.  So, we have to be prepared for everything we put on the scouting report and then some because, like I said, it’s a team right now they're trying to find a rhythm little bit in searching for that first win, so again you have to be prepared for a lot,” he said.

Published 8/25/23

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Perkins Faces Athletic Woodward

          Sandusky Perkins takes its act to Toledo to face the Woodward Polar Bears in a non-league game on Friday night.

          Perkins is the defending champion in the Lake Division of the Sandusky Bay Conference.

          Coach Jalen Santoro says they had a good camp and preseason.  “We were able to focus a lot of things that we need to focus on.  A lot of kids obviously want to come out and prove themselves.  Like I said, we had a lot of good work.  It was a long camp and just like everybody else we are ready to play somebody else now,” said Santoro.

          Santoro says everybody, players and coaches, are excited to get the season going on Friday night.  “I mean want to go out when the lights are on and get the Friday night experience.  Obviously, that's a big deal for some kids, especially kids that haven't played and done that before either.  So, I mean I think I said everybody is going to be excited for it,” he said.

          Woodward was (0-9) last year and lost (57-6) to Perkins in last year’s opener.

          However, Santoro believes they will be much better this year. “They have a new head coach and I think that obviously they look way more organized this year.  I think they're doing some good things.  They have an athlete at quarterback,” he told Swankonsports.com on Thursday night, “Anytime you have an athlete at quarterback it tests you a little bit and makes sure that things up front as far as reading your keys and you know not getting nosy up front on the defensive line.  So, that'll be a test for us.  Like I said I'm kind of excited to get going again.”

Published 8/18/23

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Perkins With Same Goals

          Sandusky Perkins, the defending champion of the Lake Division of the Sandusky Bay Conference, definitely has the goal of repeating as division champs in 2023.

          Coach Jalen Santoro says they are trying to feed off the momentum of a (10-2) season that ended with a loss to Van Wert in the second round of the playoffs.  “We had a good year last year we are just kind of trying to build on that momentum. We bring back a good amount of starters from last year and then we're obviously replacing the a few new guys up front on the defensive line, but again just trying to build upon what we did last year,” said Santoro.

          Santoro says he loves putting together a team.  “At the high school level it's definitely kind of reassembling parts.  Find some guys to fill some roles, that's kind of the beauty of it too is that you get those younger guys ready year’s prior and now it's their turn,” he told Swankonsports.com on Wednesday afternoon, “So, we have got a couple guys we're looking forward to see what they can do and step up and you know take on bigger roles.”

          There are only five teams in the “SBC” Lake this year with Bellevue moving to the Bay Division.

          Santoro says their goal is to defend as champs.  “That’s always the goal.  The “SBC” Lake is always going to be tough and the “SBC” in general always tough.  So, that's kind of our always our goal, is kind of always our standard expectation here is to compete for an “SBC” Lake title.  We know that's again what we're going to try to do,” he said.

Published 8/02/23

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Perkins to Play Explosive Van Wert

          Sandusky Perkins, the winner of the tough Lake Division of the Sandusky Bay Conference, will host Van Wert, of the Western Buckeye League, in a division IV regional quarterfinal on Friday night.

          Last week, Perkins (10-1) destroyed River Valley (65-14) in a first round playoff game.

          They scored eight times in the first half and coach Jalen Santoro says that fast start was key for them.  “We came out and we executed all three phases of the game.  We came out and played a clean game.  We got off to a fast start, which is something we have been preaching.  Obviously, any team wants to get off a fast start it makes the game a little bit easier.  That’s exactly what we did.  We played hard and with focus,” he said.

          Van Wert has had tremendous success in the playoffs in recent years.  They won the division IV state championship in 2020 and lost to Port Clinton in the regional final last year.

          Last week, the Cougars (10-1) smoked Wauseon (40-7) in their playoff opener.

          Santoro says play fast and have a lot of great athletes.  “They are a very good football team.  They have a very rich tradition over there.  They do a lot of things that make it difficult to prepare for them.  They play with a lot of speed in between snaps.  They have a special player at quarterback,” he told Swankonsports.com, “So, you have to stay on your toes and stay disciplined and key your eyes on your keys defensively.  Offensively, you can’t make mistakes.  They keep everything in front of them and they tackle well.  They do all of the little things in space well.  They have talent on both sides of the ball and they have speed as well.”

          Van Wert quarterback Aidan Pratt threw for 138 yards and two TD’s and ran for 63 yards and two more scores against Wauseon.

          Santoro again emphasizes that they have to remain disciplined against Van Wert in order to contain the Cougars.  “You have to play disciplined football.  Make sure you get your eyes on your keys and get lined up properly.  Like I said, the quarterback is a special player.  If you are misaligned or don’t tackle well and you are not playing to their speed then they will make you pay.  So, yeah, he is a special player and we just have to make sure in practice stay disciplined, keep communicating and play quick,” said Santoro.

Published 11/04/22

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Perkins Meets High Scoring River Valley

          Sandusky Perkins, the winner of the Lake Division of the Sandusky Bay Conference, hosts River Valley, of the Mid-Ohio Athletic Conference, on Friday night in a first round playoff game in division IV.

          Perkins (9-1), #2 in the final Swankonsports.com football coaches poll in the large school division, hammered Sandusky (37-7) to win that title last week.

          Coach Jalen Santoro says they didn’t make a lot of mistakes.  “We came out and we played an efficient game.  I thought we did a lot of good things on offense and defense.  I have said each week it is important to win the line of scrimmage.  If you want to win a game and go deep in the playoffs and make a run it is really important to win the line of scrimmage and I thought we did that,” he said.

          River Valley (5-5) lost (56-49) to Galion in an “MOAC” game last week.  They average 40 points a game and are led by the conference’s leading passer in Cayden Shidone, who has 3,257 yards and 33 touchdowns this season.

          Santoro says he is the engine that runs that offense.  “They have a high potent offense.  They have a quarterback that is very good an All-Ohio player.  He makes things happen.  He is one of the kids that you might have him bottled up and he squirts out there and throws the ball down the field.  He is a fun kid to watch.  He is a really good player.  So, we have to do a good job bottling him up.  I think that is going to be the key to hanging in there and getting a win,” said Santoro.

          Perkins has the best defense in terms of yards allowed in the Lake Division this year and they rely on a lot of man coverage.

          Santoro says a quarterback like Shidone stresses that defense.  “It makes it hard on your defensive backs because now they just have to cover the original two to three seconds that you usually do, but also make sure when this guy brakes the pocket you have to stay with the guy for the whole play until the whistle blows,” he told Swankonsports.com on Wednesday night, “That is something that the defensive backs aren’t used to because the amount of time you see a scramble drill in a game isn’t going to be what you see on Friday night.  You can’t just let him stand back there and sling it and once he is out of the pocket, he is a threat.”

Published 10/27/22

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Perkins Can Win it Outright

          Sandusky Perkins will win the title outright in the Lake Division of the Sandusky Bay Conference with a win on Friday night at home against the Sandusky Blue Streaks.

          The Pirates (8-1,4-0), #2 in the Swankonsports.com football coaches poll in the large school division, belted Tiffin Columbian (31-14) last week breaking the tie with Columbian for first place.  It gave them at least a piece of their first title since 2013.

          Coach Jalen Santoro says they showed some new wrinkles.  “We played a petty complete game in all three phases offense, defense and special teams.  We came out and did some different things that favored us a little bit as far as the offense and defense went,” he told Swankonsports.com on Wednesday night, “Some stuff that we have been working on all year.  Some stuff that we finally got to showcase last Friday.  Overall, it was a well played game.  Tiffin is a really good football team, so for us to go out and play like that against Tiffin it is probably our best game so far.”

          Perkins has won its last five games and Santoro believes they are beginning to peak at the right time of the season.  “We have been telling the kids that you want to play your best football at this time of the year.  That is something that we have been preaching as well going into this week.  We had a big win last week, but after Saturday morning was done and watching film it was time to forget that and move on to Sandusky,” he said.

          Sandusky (3-6,1-3) lost (34-14) to Bellevue in Lake Division action last Friday.

          However, Santoro say they have a lot of game breakers that they must contain on Friday night.  “They do a good job of getting athletes in space.  They have some athletes that if you are not tackling in space or if you not crowding them at the line of scrimmage they can make you pay.  They have athletes all over the field.  We have to do a great job tackling in space and gang tackling whoever has the ball,” said Santoro.

Published 10/20/22

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Perkins Has to Tackle Well

          Sandusky Perkins hosts Tiffin Columbian in a battle of co-leaders in the Lake Division of the Sandusky Bay Conference on Friday night.

          Last week, the Pirates (7-1,3-0), #3 in the Swankonsports.com football coaches poll in the large school division, survived a scare from winless Norwalk, winning (21-19) in a division game.

          Coach Jalen Santoro says they got caught looking ahead.  “They came out and they played well.  Their running back is a very good player and we stressed that to our kids all week long.  He is a kid that can take it to the house at any point in the game and we had to be very sound in what we do.  They ran some wing-T style stuff that I think coach (Jason) Ziegler ran in the past and they did it pretty well.  Our kids weren’t necessarily all that prepared for it.  They got us there a little bit at the beginning the game and even a little bit in the third and fourth quarter,” he told Swankonsports.com on Wednesday night, “Playing after a big win like we had two weeks ago against Bellevue and going into this week, we knew what the stakes where and we stressed we have to be on our feet here and focus on the task at hand.  I think we got caught looking ahead a little bit.  That is a learning experience for us.  All and all you will never be mad with a win.  There are a lot of things to correct and that’s what we did this week.”
          Tiffin Columbian (7-1,3-0), #2 in our poll, edged Bellevue (33-27) on Friday night.  They have won seven in a row since losing to Fremont Ross on week one back in August.

          Santoro says they have a lot of weapons.  “They do a lot of good things on both sides of the ball.  They have a lot of athletes.  They are a well coached team.  They are aggressive on both sides of the ball.  They have some big time players and some guys that have some offers at some big time schools.  The Roggow kids are both bigtime athletes.  The running back they have has kind emerged as a very strong runner.  There is only one thing when there is a game of this magnitude and you look at a team like Tiffin, they don’t have a weakness.  That makes it fun to game plan for them and a headache at the same time,” said Santoro.

          He says they tackle will on defense too.  "They are aggressive, they fly around and they tackle well in space.  They run sideline to sideline very well.  You don’t see a lot of high school defenses doing that.  You are playing a good team and that’s what they are going to do.  They are very fast, very physical.  They tackle well and that is 90 percent of the game,” he said.

Published 10/13/22

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Perkins Must Have Focus

          Sandusky Perkins, the co-leader in the Lake Division of the Sandusky Bay Conference, plays at winless Norwalk on Friday night in a division game.

          Perkins shares the lead with Tiffin Columbian and plays the Tornadoes next week.

          They beat Bellevue (21-6) last week.

          Coach Jalen Santoro says on defense they were able to limit the Bellevue running game and they got a very good performance from their defensive backs in man to man situations.  “It was a big win for us.  It was a good game, hard fought game.  I thought we did a very good job on both sides of the ball.  To beat Bellevue, you have to play well up front and that’s exactly what we did last week, especially on defense.  We did a good job taking away their “Q” run as much as possible and forced them to do something they didn’t want to do,” he told Swankonsports.com on Thursday night, “Our defensive backs were put in some tough situations last week and we knew we were going to have to play a lot of man coverage, but they did a good job last week.  At the end of the game, we were able to chew up some clock and run the ball and that has a lot to do with our “O-Line”.  We came in and executed the game plan we wanted to do and came out on top.”

          That was Santoro’s first win against his alma mater.  He had lost the previous two.

          Perkins (6-1,2-0), #3 in the Swankonsports.com football coaches poll in the large school division, is at Norwalk (0-7,0-2) on Friday night.  The Truckers were belted (45-7) by Sandusky last week.

          Santoro says they have a very good run game.  “They are a very good 0-7 team.  Their schedule doesn’t play them any favors.  They play a tough schedule all year.  They have some really big boys up front and they have a really good running back with the (Jarren) Mclendon kid.  He is a treat to take it to the house at any point in the game.  You have to do a great job bottling him up and gang tackling him and make sure you are assignment sharp,” said Santoro.

          With Columbian looming next week, this could be a trap game, and Santoro says the coaches must remind the players to have focus.  “I think a lot of people outside our team are looking forward to next week.  That is kind of our job as coaches talking to our captains and our players and making sure you are taking it day by day and when it comes to Friday take care business.  Next week doesn’t mean anything if you don’t take care of this week.  That has been our message all week long,” he said.

Published 10/07/22

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Perkins to Play at Bellevue

          Perkins plays at Bellevue on Friday night and they share the lead in the Lake Division of the Sandusky Bay Conference with Tiffin Columbian after wins last week.

          Perkins (5-1,1-0), #3 in the Swankonsports.com football coaches poll in the large school division, beat Clyde (24-13) last week a game where quarterback Logan Leash threw two TD’s and ran for another.

          Pirates coach Jalen Santoro says they battled again.  “It was a tough game.  Clyde did a lot of things well, especially on defense.  We didn’t start like we wanted with by dropping the kickoff, but that happens sometimes.  We got down there and our kids showed some fight to get back in there are finish the game,” he said.

          Bellevue (5-1,1-0), #4 in our poll, blitzed Norwalk (40-3) in their division opener.  The Redmen have the best turnover ratio in the division at plus-5, at minus-3, Perkins is at the bottom in that category.  Perkins leads the division in total defense and passing offense.

          Santoro says Bellevue shows a lot of discipline as a team.  “They are a very well coached team, disciplined team.  They do some things on offense that really make you think,” he told Swankonsports.com on Tuesday night, “On the defensive side of the ball, they are a very disciplined team.  You don’t see them out of position too much.  We have to play four quarters and get off to a hotter start than we did last week.”

          Santoro was an All-Ohio quarterback at Bellevue.  He admits this game has a little different feeling for him.  “We just like to treat it as another game.  We are playing a good football team.  Obviously, there are familiarities with me going back to Bellevue just seeing some people that you grew up with when you were playing.  Little things like that.  Nothing big, I just have to treat it like another game and prepare for it like you would any other game,” said Santoro.

Published 9/28/22

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Perkins to Battle with Clyde

          In a key early season game in the Sandusky Bay Conference Lake Division, the Sandusky Perkins Pirates host the Clyde Fliers on Friday night.

          Clyde shared the Lake Division title with Bellevue last year.  Their only division loss coming to Perkins by a point.

          Last week, with some late game heroics, Perkins rallied to beat Huron (29-28), going for two and converting in the final minutes.

          Coach Jalen Santoro says they kept fighting.  “It was a hard fought game both ways.  We got off to slow start and that is something we have to try and avoid this week.  They showed their resilience there and they kept fighting.  I don’t think for a second we thought we were out of the game, which is a good sign.  We have been in that situation before over the last two years.  We made some plays when it counted and came out on top there,” said Santoro.

          Perkins (4-1), #3 in the Swankonsports.com football coaches poll in the large school division, is at home against Clyde (4-1) on the opening night of division play.

          Clyde beat Toledo Scott (34-16) last Friday to finish up non-conference play.

          Santoro says the this is a typical Clyde team.  “They are just a sound football team.  Coach (Ryan) Carter is a very good coach and he is going to have them ready to play.  He will have a good game plan ready to roll.  They tackle well, they get to the football well, they are hardnosed, they are physical,” he told Swankonsports.com on Wednesday night, “That is every Clyde team year in and year out.  It doesn’t change very often.  They have some athletes, (Abe) Morrison is a very good player.”

          Santoro says Clyde makes you execute in order to make plays.  “On defense, they are athletic on the perimeter.  They have some guys that can run with you and cause some different problems for you on the offensive side of the ball for us.  They are a disciplined football team and they play very sound football,” he said.

Published 9/22/22

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Perkins Faces Very Good Huron

          In one of the better matchups in North Central Ohio on Friday night Sandusky Perkins is down the road at Huron to face the Tigers in a cross over game in the Sandusky Bay Conference.

          The Pirates (3-1), #3 in the Swankonsports.com football coaches poll in the large school division, lost for the first time (20-12) to Warren JFK last Friday.

          Coach Jalen Santoro says they just didn’t execute well enough.  “Warren JFK they were a good team.  They had some athletes.  They play a physical style of football.  I thought we played pretty well the whole game.  We went into halftime with a lead.  We had a chance to capitalize in the red zone there a couple of times and came away with two field goals.  Overall, looking back on the game it just came down to execution for us.  We didn’t execute at a high level when we needed to do it, especially on the offensive side of the football.  There are a lot of things we can imrove this week,” said Santoro.

          Huron (4-0), #3 in our small school poll, downed Lima Central Catholic (38-14) last week.

          Tiger quarterback Dylan Hohler has thrown for 1,030 yards and 11 touchdowns and ran for 321 and seven more scores.

          Santoro says he is a playmaker.  “They have a lot of team speed.  They have the (Dylan) Hohler kid and he is a very good quarterback and a very good player.  He is just a very good football player in general.  He does a lot of things that you can game plan for, but in the same sense you can game plan for him all you want, but when it comes down to making a play you can be 100 percent on all of your keys and be in the right spot and he is still going to make something happen,” he told Swankonsports.com on Tuesday night, “When you are playing against a kid like that you know he is going to get his and just have to try and do a great job trying to contain him.  They have some team speed and they are a very disciplined football team.”

          Santoro says their goal is to keep Hohler in the pocket, but that won’t be easy.  “Like I said, he does a great job making plays.  He makes a lot of reads, they let him make the decision and it is tough.  He is a very good athlete and can throw the football.  Even when he is in the pocket, he keeps his eyes downfield.  You want to keep him in the pocket, but obviously that is easier said than done,” he said.

Published 9/14/22

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Perkins Playing With Confidence

          Sandusky Perkins has a long bus trip in front of it Friday night as they travel to Warren JFK for battle the Eagles.

          Perkins (3-0), #2 in the Swankonsports.com football coaches poll in the large school division, destroyed Port Clinton (49-0) last week.

          Coach Jalen Santoro says they were able to get some momentum early.  “One thing that I always talk about is getting off to good start and that was big for us last week.  We got off to a fast start with a couple of scores early on.  It got our guys some confidence.  That is big for us right now.  In the game plan we did a lot of things that we wanted to do.  There are a lot of things we can still clean up,” said Santoro.

          He didn’t get specific, but Santoro says they have a lot of little things that need refinement.  “There are not always things that are glaring issues, but there are minor details that can bite you in a really close game.  There are things that you can pick up and clean up on.  I think over all our kids are progressing pretty well,” he said.

          Warren JFK (3-0) is a consistent playoff team in division VII.  They are (3-0) so far this year coming off a (22-21) win over Garfield last week.

          Santoro says they are loaded with playmakers.  “They have some playmakers.  Some of the running backs and receivers they have are some of the better playmakers we see all year.  Their guys are explosive.  They do some different things offensively that you don’t normally see in this area,” he told Swankonsports.com on Tuesday night, “They present some unique problems that make you focus on and get extra details on.  Moving forward this week our kids have got to make sure we are mentally sharp.  Again, they have some playmakers that can take it to the house at anytime.”

          Santoro says they will not see the spread from the Eagles, but instead more of a power running look.  “They use some more unbalanced looks.  In this area mostly you see are spread offense teams that run out of the gun 90 percent of the time.  This team is under the center a lot.  The old school power “I” unbalanced stack like deal.  It something you don’t see on a weekly basis,” he said.

Published 9/07/22

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Perkins Must Win Turnover Battle

          Sandusky Perkins is on the road for the first time this season on Friday as they travel to Port Clinton to take on the Redskins.

          It was a dramatic win for them last week when they held on to beat Elyria Catholic (42-41) in overtime, stopping a two point conversion attempt.

          Coach Jalen Santoro says it was a fun game to be part of.  “That was a pretty crazy game, one the more crazy ones I have been part of.  Both teams played really good football, clean football for the most part, it was who had the ball last was feeling they were going to win at the end of the game, but Sam Sturzinger made a great play on the goal line when “EC” went for it in overtime there.  When I got into coaching I always wanted to be involved in game like this and I think it was fun for everyone involved,” said Santoro.

          Speaking of crazy games, Port Clinton outscored Rossford (58-51) last week in a game that did not go to overtime.

          Santoro says the Redskins have talent all over the field.  “They are good.  I think they could very well be 2-0, they had a close game with Bellevue and lost.  They had a big win against Rossford last week.  They have big boys up front, they are talented.  They have a lot of guys that played meaningful football last year with their playoff run,” he told Swankonsports.com on Wednesday night, “The whole “O-line” and “D-line” are big boys and strong and come off the ball.  The young man at the quarterback position is a very good athlete and can move.  They cause all kinds of different problems for you.  Overall, a very good football team.”

          Santoro believes turnovers are going to be a big factor in this game.  “When you are in a game where a lot of points are being scored, or any game, if you win the turnover battle, you probably win the game.  That has been huge for us so far this year.  A lot better than where we were at this point last year.  Whoever wins that turnover battle I think is going to be huge,” he said.

Published 9/01/22

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Perkins Plays Always Good Elyria Catholic

          Perkins will be at home Friday night for a matchup with the Elyria Catholic Panthers in a non-conference game.

          In their opener last week, the Pirates pounded Toledo Woodward (57-6) also at home.

          Coach Jalen Santoro says they lit up the scoreboard and their defense was very good too.  “We played well on both sides of the ball.  Our defense game up no scores, it was a special teams touchdown that they got, so we have to clean that up a little bit.  They had some athletes, they had a quarterback that was pretty shifty.  I think that will prepare us down the road for a quarterback that can move in the pocket.  We executed our game plan and played well. We got through the night pretty healthy too, which is huge,” said Santoro.

          Elyria Catholic edged Elyria High, a division I school, last week (14-6) to open the year.

          Santoro says they are well aware of the Panthers.  “They are a solid team.  That is obviously a team that we played last year.  It was a wild game for us.  We learned a lot about ourselves in that game losing 68-42 when we were leading 35-27 at halftime.  They bring back a heck of a lot of starters, 16 of 22,” he told Swankonsports.com on Tuesday night, “So, they had a lot of talent on the team last year that went pretty far in the playoffs.  They are good.  They are physical up front and they fly to the ball.  They play with a lot of energy.  They are a good team, so we have to come out ready to play.”

          Santoro knows they will be challenged by Elyria Catholic.  He is proud of the schedule they play.  “Our non-conference schedule is about as good as you can get here.  Between the “EC’s” and the Warren JFK’s and Huron and Port Clinton, they are all good teams, so we have to be prepared for that to prepare us for play in the Lake.  A game like this will have a playoff like atmosphere.  I think there will be a lot of people there.  It’s a big game, I think they know that, and our kids know that.  That will be good for our experience,” he said.

Published 8/24/22

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Perkins Must Contain Woodward

          Sandusky Perkins, who ended last season playing some pretty good football, starts this one at home Friday night against Toledo Woodward.

          Head coach Jalen Santoro, in his second year at Perkins, says they are ready to play some football.  “It is an exciting time of the year for everybody involved with the players, coaches, families, the school, you name it.  There is a buzz around it, everybody is ready to get going,” said Santoro.

          Santoro likes the progress they have been making, but says they need to make a lot more too.  “We are heading in the right direction.  We are not where we need to be yet, but I don’t think many teams are at this point in the year.  So, we have a lot of room to grow, but I am happy with how we have played in camp.  We are excited to go against somebody else (Friday),” he said.

          It was (61-0) Perkins when the teams played last year.

          However, Santoro says Woodward has a lot of big play potential in their skilled positions.  “They have athletes that is one thing when you play Woodward they are going to have some athletes.  You have to be able to tackle in space and you just have play disciplined football.  You have to go out and play your game.  The biggest thing is you can’t let some of their guys get loose,” he told Swankonsports.com on Thursday night, “Once they get loose, they will make you pay.  They have guys that have the big time speed and take it the length of the field.  You have to do a great job of staying home and make sure you tackle in space.  You play a team like this you have to have 11 hats to the ball.”

Published 8/19/22

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Perkins Wants to be Physical

          Sandusky Perkins made a three week deep run in the division IV playoffs last year and this year their going into the season, which starts in just over a week trying to be a physical football team.

          They play their first regular season game at home August 19 against Toledo Woodward.

          Coach Jalen Santoro says they just want to play some football.  “Obviously, camp is tough at this time you want to start hitting somebody else.  It’s that time in camp when things are starting to get monotonous a little bit.  Overall, it has been a good camp.  Most importantly we have stayed healthy and that has been important for us so far.  We have the scrimmage (Thursday).  We are looking forward to that and going against someone else,” said Santoro.

          Perkins scrimmages Madison on Thursday night in their final tune up for the regular season.

          Santoro has some goals.  “Go out and play physical and see what football shape we are in, that’s the big thing.  You have the do the little things right like lineup and communicate and getting your pregame procedures down.  The stuff that a lot of guys haven’t gotten a chance to do yet on a Friday night.  I think that is the biggest thing with a preview scrimmage is going out and getting your pregame and halftime procedures down,” he said.

          The Pirates are going to return some skilled position guys this season, but Santoro says their big goal is to be a physical football team.  “To be found yet, I guess.  Overall, we do have experience returning on the perimeter both on offense and defense as far as our skilled guys go.  We are replacing a few guys up front from last year,” he told Swankonsports.com on Wednesday evening, “Overall, right now I think we are playing a physical brand of football and that is what we have been stressing the whole off season being the most physical team on the field.  That is what I hope our strength is, but that is to be determined until we get live against somebody else.”

Published 8/11/22

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Perkins Faces Physical Port Clinton

          Sandusky Perkins, the only team to beat Port Clinton this year, plays the Redskins again on Friday night, this time in the division IV regional semifinals at Sandusky High School.

          Last week, Perkins (9-3) blanked Edison (28-0) in a quarterfinal matchup.

          Coach Jalen Santoro says they were very focused against the Edison triple option.  “We did a good job, especially defensively.  It is not easy replicating what they do with the triple option in practice.  I think that is where it started.  Our scout team gave us a great look all week and that’s not easy to do.  We came out and played selfless football last Friday night.  We had a lot of guys that had responsibilities on the field.  You had to do your responsibility each time, rather if he had the football or not.  It is kind of hard to get high school kids to see that an understand why, but they did a good job of doing that.  That showed last Friday night and that was a big reason why we were successful,” said Santoro        .

          Port Clinton (11-1) advanced with a (44-13) destruction of the LaGrange Keystone last week.

          Perkins beat Port Clinton (21-20) back on September 3, the third week of the regular season as Pirates picked off four Port Clinton passes.

          Santoro says this is a different team they are playing on Friday night.  “Obviously, they are a different team from when we played them.  That was almost two and half, three months ago since we played them last.  We are a different team as well.  Watching that game, you can take a lot of different things away from they first time we played them, but the totality it is a different ball team that we are playing now, so you have to prepare differently and they are a very good football team,” he told Swankonsports.com on Tuesday night, “They do a lot of things offensively.  They are a balanced offense.  They can throw the ball, they can run the ball.  They have a big offensive line.  You have to be playing your best to give yourself a chance to win.”

          Port Clinton quarterback Cam Gillium has thrown 33 scoring passes this year.  Josh Hurst has caught 18 of those.  Plus, Santoro says they have an outstanding offensive line.  “They have some players.  They have the “SBC” player of the year out at receiver.  He is a very good player.  It’s the best receiver that that we have faced all year.  That’s a big task within itself right there.  They are the biggest offensive line that we have seen all year.  You have to make sure that you are playing sound defense.  You have to make sure that you are aligned properly pre-snap that way and that gives you the best chance to win the rep,” he said.

Published 11/10/21

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Perkins Again Must Stop Run

          Sandusky Perkins has a regional quarterfinal date with Edison in the division IV playoffs Friday night at home.

          Perkins got off to a good start last week and went on to beat Lutheran West (34-14) in their first playoff game.

          By getting off to a good start, coach Jalen Santoro says they took Lutheran West out of what they wanted to do.  “We came out early and got up two scores and that was huge for a team that wants to run the ball, that’s the identity of their team and their offense.  It has hard to run the ball when you are down a handful of scores, especially when you get down early like that.  Our defense came out and played really well last week giving us the opportunity to with a couple of three and outs and a couple of stops early on to get us up two scores,” he said.

          Perkins (8-3) hosts Edison (6-5) on Friday night.  The schools have a long tradition as members of the Sandusky Bay Conference, but now are in different divisions.  Perkins in the bigger school Lake Division and Edison in the middle tier Bay Division.

          Edison, a #16 seed, upset Lake Division co-champion Bellevue, the #1 seed, (23-22) in a first round game last week.

          Santoro says Edison is dedicated to what they do and they do it well.  “They are a very good team.  Obviously, you can’t overlook anybody.  They run the ball well.  The run triple option, which is what coach Hall has been doing for a while now.  They are very good at doing it.  They are a gritty group up front.  They get after you up front.  They do a very good job with hiding the ball.  The quarterback does a great job, he is a good athlete.  I think they have only lost one game since he has been starting,” he told Swankonsports.com on Thursday, “They are going to come out and give you their best shot.  They have some momentum right now with their big win last week, so we have to come out and be ready to go.  The key again will be to stop the run.”

          Against an option team, Santoro says you have to be assignment sound.  “You have to be disciplined in what you do.  Everybody has their responsibilities.  It can’t be a situation where you go out and try and do somethings special and forget your responsibility you have on the play.  You have to make sure you trust your teammates that they are going to do their job and you have to do your job,” he said.

Published 11/05/21

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Perkins Must Contain the Run

          Sandusky Perkins is on the road Friday night to face Lutheran West in a first round playoff game in Division IV.

          The Pirates (7-3) got a TD pass from Logan Lesch to Kadien Nixon with 31 seconds left in the game last week to beat rival Sandusky (21-17) in a Sandusky Bay Conference Lake Division game.

          Coach Jalen Santoro says they found some rhythm on offense late in the game.  “It was a good win.  It was good to build some momentum going into the playoffs here.  Sandusky came out and played very well.  They did a good job controlling the clock early in the game and made some big plays on offense.  We did come back to win that game late,” he told Swankonsports.com on Monday night, “I think our offense finally got clicking late and that was because we didn’t get much rhythm in the first half.  We came out in the fourth quarter and put a nice drive together and won the game.  Got some good momentum going into the playoffs here.”

          Lutheran West (8-1) not play last week.  Their game with Painesville Harvey was cancelled.  They have won seven straight games and their only loss is to statewide powerhouse Kirtland (47-0) on week two.

          Santoro says they have size and want to run the football.  “They are a good team.  They have one of the bigger teams we will face all year.  They are a little bit younger, but the guys they have that are younger are good players.  They are athletic.  They like to run the ball.  They present us with some challenges that we haven’t seen in a while, especially with all that they run.  We just have to have a good week of practice and make sure we are prepared for them come Friday,” said Santoro.

          Santoro believes the state of the game is going to be important and they need to put the Longhorns behind the chains.  “We have to win on first down and stop the run, on defense that is huge.  We need to get off to an early start.  When we have opportunities in the first half we have to score.  We want to try and get ahead of these guys early and get them out of their rhythm in the run game,” he said.

Published 10/26/21

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Perkins Playing for Home Playoff Game

          Sandusky Perkins is now locked out of a share of the Lake Division title in the Sandusky Bay Conference, but they do have a chance to secure a home date in the first round of the division IV playoffs and they can do that with a win at Sandusky on Friday night.

          Last week, they lost to Tiffin Columbian (52-24) to fall two games behind division leading Bellevue.

          Coach Jalen Santoro says made some mistakes that led to big plays for the Tornadoes.  “It is one of those games that kind of got away from you.  Tiffin has some very good athletes.  They are very explosive, especially on the offensive side of the ball. We were down a couple of guys in the secondary.  We knew going in that it was going to be a tough week being down a couple of guys.  I am not making excuses for it.  It is next man up,” he told Swankonsports.com on Tuesday evening, “We did a good job with the guys we had in there.  We had some communication mistakes on the back half that resulted in some scores.  Offensively, we got clicking but it was a little too late.  Tough one and we have to rebound from that.”

          Perkins (6-3,2-2) visits Sandusky (3-6,1-3) on Friday night.  The Blue Streaks are coming off a (52-7) destruction at the hands of Bellevue last Friday.

          Santoro says this is a typical Sandusky team from the standpoint that they have athletes that populate the team.  “They have athletes all over the field.  They do a good job of getting the ball in space and you have to contain them.  They have guys that can take it deep, so we have to keep the ball between the tackles and do a good job tackling in space,” he said.

          Right now, Perkins is in the final spot that would allow them to a host a playoffs game and Santoro says to earn that they have to beat Sandusky.  “That is something to play for and obviously it is the crosstown rivalry with Sandusky, so there is plenty to play for this week.  Our kids are staying hungry and that is something we have to keep preaching to them.  You are playing for a home playoff game and that’s huge.  There is no guarantee if you win or you lose that you get one.  The best chance to be home for the playoffs is go out and win this one,” said Santoro.

Published 10/20/21

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Perkins Must Win to Have a Chance

          Sandusky Perkins, a game back in the Lake Division of the Sandusky Bay Conference, plays at Tiffin Columbian in a division game on Friday night.

          They trail Bellevue by a game in the standings and they must win to have a chance at earning a piece of the division title.

          Last week, tied 7-7 when lighting struck early in the third quarter, the Pirates exploded and beat Norwalk (35-7) in a division game.

          Coach Jalen Santoro says they were able to make some adjustments.  “The lightning delay, that was the first we have that this year.  We have been fortunate to have pretty good weather throughout the year this year.  We came out there and we started to move the ball there.  We traded possessions there.  We punted after three and outs.  The second time we got the ball we got to the 35 and that’s when the lightning struck,” he told Swankonsports.com on Thursday evening, “We went in the locker room.  We had to set there and wait a little bit.  We got back out there and made some slight adjustments and we went out and executed and we were able to do what we wanted running the football there in the second half.  We took control there and got Collin Nemitz going a little bit and we never looked back from that point.”

          Nemitz ran for 301 yards and four scores.  He leads the Lake Division with 1,530 yards rushing and 17 scores.

          Perkins (6-2,2-1) plays at Tiffin Columbian (4-4,1-2) on Friday night.  The Tornadoes lost (41-12) to division leading Bellevue last week.

          Santoro says they are athletic and they are good.  “They have athletes all over the field.  You name the position and they have athletes out there.  They are well coached.  They are fast.  They sling the ball around.  They present numerous amounts of challenges to prepare for.  4-4 doesn’t jump out at you, but they are a very good football team,” he said.

          Columbian leads the division total offense and passing offense and they feature two quarterbacks that play equally in Brayden Roggowand Logan Beaston.

          Santoro says they both are excellent signal callers.  “The thing with those two is it’s not like one is a heavy runner.  They are both very good at what they do.  They are both taller kids.  It presents a different challenge because they do some minuet things differently, but all and all they are somewhat similar players and they both do what they do very well.  They both throw the ball.  They both see the field really well.  They are very good with their timing.  They are both good quarterbacks.  There is not much difference that we have to prepare for.  They both present problems that your secondary has to be ready for,” said Santoro.

Published 10/15/21

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Perkins Can’t Have Turnovers

          Sandusky Perkins, a game back in the tough Lake Division of the Sandusky Bay Conference, plays host to Norwalk in a division game on Friday night.

          They lost to first place Bellevue (26-0) last week.

          Coach Jalen Santoro says they have too many turnovers to compete with a good team.  “Anytime you turn the ball over five times in a game it is tough to win.  Their defense did a good job tackling last week, they tackled well in space.  We just made a lot of mental mistakes that are pretty hard to overcome in a game like that when you are playing a good team.  It was a situation when a lot of guys were playing in a big game, playing in a big moment, for the first time.  I just think it was something new for them.  Like I said, they did a good job tackling in space.  The did a good job running the ball.  It comes down to it in a big game like that you can’t afford to have turnovers, let alone five,” said Santoro.

          Santoro feels they did a good job this week in refocusing and getting ready to play.  “I think the Monday practice that we had was one of the better Mondays that we have had.  We just got done with our Thursday practice and that was a very good one as well.  Guys just getting back in the groove of things and getting back to what you do well.  Getting the guys mentally prepared to go out and forget about last week, that is over and done with, there is nothing we can do about it, all we can do is take care of business and move forward,” he said.

          Perkins (5-2,1-1) plays at home against Norwalk (1-6,0-2) on Friday night.  The Truckers fell (26-13) last week.

          Santoro says the Pirates have they have to contain Norwalk quarterback Plane Flores and reiterates they can’t have turnovers.  “They are a really good team.  Their record does not speak for how well they have played and how well they are coached.  They do a lot of really good things.  They have an athlete at quarterback.  He gets out of the pocket and moves around a little bit, so it forces you stay home and be responsible for the quarterback.  They tackle well in space too.  It is not going to be a situation where you allow home run plays left and right have to make sure they earn it down the field,” he told Swankonsports.com on Thursday. “When the defense executes you can force a turnover.  For us, that is one thing we can’t do no matter who we play it is going to be lose the turnover battle.  We have been fortunate to win some games when we have turned it over.  Moving forward with the rest of the Lake schedule and in the playoffs, we have to make sure we are limiting those turnovers.”

Published 10/08/21

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Perkins With Big One with Bellevue

          Sandusky Perkins plays host to Bellevue in a huge game in the Lake Division of the Sandusky Bay Conference on Friday night.

          Both are 1-0 in the division after wins last week in their division openers.

          Perkins rallied to nip Clyde (21-20) in thriller at Clyde.  Perkins got a TD run from Collin Nemitz with 1:20 to go to take the lead and then survived as Clyde scored with :11 left, but missed a two-point conversion.

          Coach Jalen Santoro says they were able to find some rhythm late in the game.  “It was a big win and it was against a very good team.  We were down 14-0 there, but all game I felt like we were putting some drives together and moved the ball.  We had one called back early on.  That was promising for us going into the half that at least we could move the ball,” he told Swankonsports.com on Tuesday, “We had to wait for our moment and finally we took off there and we stared figuring out what we needed to do and got it done there and made some big plays in the fourth quarter.  It was good for our kids to be able to battle against a good team like that and battle back and come out on top.”

          Santoro was an All-Ohio quarterback at Bellevue for coach Ed Nasonti.  The Pirates lost to the Redmen (28-14) last season in Santoro’s first game against his alma mater.

          On Friday night, the Pirates (5-1,1-0), #5 in the Swankonsports.com football coaches poll in the large school division get Bellevue (5-1,1-0), #2 in our poll, at their place.

          Santoro says Bellevue wants to run the ball.  “Bellevue is obviously a very good team.  Deegan Horn, a kid I know really well, he runs the ball really well, he is very explosive, and runs hard.  Their offensive line is a physical line.  A lot of those kids I have coached before.  They are well coached.  They are going to be tough in the trenches.  Obviously, you have to stop the quarterback from running the ball.  Everybody knows that about Bellevue, but it is easier said than done,” said Santoro.

          Nemitz (1,115) and Horn (746) are the top two rushers in the division.  Bellevue has the top rushing offense in the division.

          Santoro says they need to put the Redmen behind the chains.  “I think everybody has the same idea when they play Bellevue, but you still have to do it.  Obviously, it is a similar system from when I played to now, but again that’s easier said that done.  They have good athletes they are coached well up front and they are physical up front.  If you can get some stops on first and second down that would be huge,” he said.

Published 9/29/21

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Perkins Faces Physical Clyde

In one of the key battles on the first week of action in the Lake Division of the Sandusky Bay Conference the Perkins Pirates are on the road to take on the Clyde Fliers on Friday night.

Perkins has won its last three, including a (35-20) win at home against Huron in an “SBC” crossover game last week.

After a (3-6) season last year, second year head coach Jalen Santoro, a graduate of Bellevue, says they are a more mature and experienced team this year.  “I think there are a multitude of things.  A big thing is we were pretty young last year and a lot of guys got meaningful game reps, that was a big thing last year.  We knew we were younger last year and we are somewhat younger this year, but a lot of those guys got reps last year and it is starting to pay off know,” he told Swankonsports.com on Thursday evening, “A lot of the kids are starting to buy into what we are doing.  We also had a full off season with them and last year we didn’t get that due to COVID, so that makes a big difference.  This year getting a full off season was big for us.”

          Collin Nemitz leads the Lake Division in rushing yards this fall with 937.  He got 402 of those, a school record, in one game against Ashland two weeks ago.

          Santoro says he is a kid that wants the ball and has tremendous speed, which gives him big play ability.  “The last two weeks we have run the ball pretty well.  Collin Nemitz, a senior running back, we converted him from receiver to running back when we got here.  He is a hard nosed kid.  He wants the ball in his hands.  He is a great athlete.  He is a track star, he is one of those guys that has track speed.  We have had some success here running the ball the last couple of weeks.  Our offensive line has been playing their butts off and playing physical up front and Collin has done a great job running the ball,” said Santoro.

          Perkins (4-1,0-0), #5 in the Swankonsports.com football coaches poll in the large school division, plays at Clyde (4-1,0-0), #4 in our poll, on Friday night.  The Fliers crushed Toledo Scott (48-6) last week.  Clyde has the number one rushing defense in the division, allowing only 39 yards per game.

          Santoro predicts a battle up front.  “Clyde is just very physical.  They have some guys up front that are going to get after it.  That’s the thing with Clyde since I have been playing against and coach against them is they are always physical.  It’s going to be a physical game.  They tackle well and they do what they do and they do it well.  Again, up front on both sides of the ball they get after you.  You know you are going to be in a battle for four quarters,” he said.

Published 9/24/21

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Perkins is Battle Tested

          Sandusky Perkins, out of the Lake Division of the Sandusky Bay Conference, will be at Toledo Scott to challenge the Bulldogs in sectional semifinal in division II on Tuesday night.

          The winner plays at Sandusky (9-7) also of the Lake Division on Friday night.

          Perkins is (7-11), but all seven of its wins have come since January 27 and their four losses have come by no more than eight points, two by one, and another in overtime.

          Coach Scott McVeigh, the coach of the year in the District 6, says they are ready for some tournament success.  “When you look at everything, we have gone though this year as far as quarantines and ups and downs and coming out of it playing well in a tough league.  I think we are confident that we can get one here.  Obviously, we have to take care of ourselves.  Toledo Scott is a team that is very athletic.  They go up and down and rebound.  If we go out and execute and take care of ourselves, I think we have a good shot at winning,” he said.

          Toledo Scott (8-6) lost the Toledo City League championship game to Toledo Start (52-40) on Friday night.

          McVeigh says he Bulldogs have some physical kids and they are going to run the floor well.  “I watched them against Start in the city league championship, they did end up losing by 12.  There are some definite players there.  The (Jequan) Pack kid is a lefty that does a real nice job.  He is kind of thick and muscular.  He puts it on the floor well, he shoots it well, he rebounds well, does a lot of good things.  The (Christian) Neal kid is probably like 6’3” and another lefty that can do a lot of things.  They have sone nice players.  They are going to want to get up and down the floor and try and speed us up I’m sure, that’s not all bad.  We just have to make sure we take care of the ball and rebound and keep them out of the paint,” said McVeigh.

          Perkins has over the last month played in a lot of close games that have come down to one possession and McVeigh says that has prepared them well for the tournament.  “We had some nice wins that we really did grind out, like down at Tiffin, where we basically won at the buzzer.  Over at Sandusky where basically over the last minute and a half we kept them scoreless and ended winning by two.  We have had some real close ones, two Clyde games that we lost by one point, Norwalk, who we took into overtime and just feel one possession short against them,” he told Swankonsports.com on Monday night, “Those types of games and those types of atmospheres really get you ready for the tournament.  It boils down to getting defensive stops and just being able to make open looks just because come tournament time you don’t get that many.”

Published 2/23/21

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Perkins Putting it Together

          Sandusky Perkins, after playing only one game in a month, has now won five of its last six games and is playing some of the best basketball in the area right now.

          They host Bellevue in a Sandusky Bay Conference Lake Division game on Tuesday night.  They are at Vermilion on Friday and at home for Norwalk on Saturday, also in division games.

          Coach Scott McVeigh says over the last 10 days they have been defending really well and limiting their turnovers.  “We have been defending a lot better and we have been taking care of the ball.  We came out of our third quarantine on January 27, Wednesday, our JV kids were off the 26^th, our varsity kids came off the 27^th and we played that night.  We got together at 6:30 in the morning and shot and then we went over to Cedar Point Sports Center and played North Olmstead.  We had a 1-3-1 slapped on us that we hadn’t seen all year, so that was nice, but we handled it.  We got that first one under our belts and I think that was a huge confidence boost,” he told Swankonsports.com on Monday evening, “We went the next night and beat Sandusky at their place and then beat a pretty good Bowling Green team that Saturday.  That third quarantine seemed forever and I think they were just sick and done with it and just as happy as anything to be back in the gym and on the court.  We have been playing three games from then on.”

          McVeigh says in the year of COVID, they have learned to play with a sense of urgency.  “You don’t know what the next day brings, it is not even daily anymore, it is hourly it seems.  It is not even under our control.  That is what we have been trying to preach to them that anything can happen, so any day in the gym take full advantage of it we got through that week.  Then we went down last Tuesday and got a real nice win against Columbian.  We were supposed to play them on Monday and got snowed out.  Luckily, we could bump it back a day and got a nice win against them and turned around beat Vermilion.  We had five in a row going into Clyde on Saturday and just came up a possession short.  I think it is a sense of urgency with the kids and I think its sunk in after three quarantines that let’s do the best anytime we can step on the floor,” said McVeigh.

          Perkins (5-8,3-5) entertains Bellevue (3-11,1-7) on Tuesday night in Lake Division play.  The Redmen lost to Clyde (87-58) on Friday and Oak Harbor (53-38) on Saturday.

          Bellevue beat Perkins (53-36) on January 12.

          McVeigh says the Redmen are young, but have talent.  “They do a nice job and they beat us the last time, they beat us at their place when we came off of our second quarantine.  We had basically two practices and played them and we played well with them through three.  We just physically hit a wall in the fourth quarter and were exhausted and we gave up some straight line drives and some wide open looks.  They are young and they are scrappy.  They will shoot as many threes as they do twos, spread you out and put it on the floor.  They do some real nice things and if they are clicking, they are dangerous,” he said.

Published 2/09/20

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Perkins Working on Getting Better

          Perkins has a lot of getting better to do this year, but they appear to have the puzzle pieces, it’s just a matter of finding a way to put them together.

          They play at Bellevue in their first game in the Lake Division of the Sandusky Bay Conference on Friday night.

          They lost their opener (71-63) to Sandusky St. Mary’s on Friday night.

          Coach Scott McVeigh says there were a lot first game errors, it was even like an early scrimmage.  “I think opening up it was really like our second scrimmage, but it counted.  We played like a team that hadn’t practiced and that is kind of how we looked.  We put ourselves in a good position.  It was a one possession game late in the third and numerous times in times in the fourth we gave ourselves a chance to win.  One of the big things is we threw the ball away like crazy.  We are not in game shape yet, but the COVID hit us and we had an extended period of time off.  We are going to get better this week and get ready for Bellevue,” he said.

          McVeigh believes his team will show improvement, it’s just a matter of time.  “November is most coaches favorite month just because you see so much growth from that first practice to the last practice going into your first game.  Every coach coming out of that first scrimmage you have a laundry list of things we needed to get better at, but we just didn’t have that much time to do it and we didn’t have that second, third, fourth scrimmage.  Usually by that fourth scrimmage we are fine tuning things and getting ready to play,” he told Swankonsports.com on Monday, “I think our mentality is anytime we can get in the gym we are going to get better.  We talked about Friday night is important being our first league game, but we need to take care of Monday through Thursday first and give ourselves a chance Friday to do something.”

          Perkins (0-1,0-0) is at Bellevue (0-1,0-0) in Lake Division game on Friday night.  The Redmen lost Saturday night (60-55) in overtime to Margaretta of the Bay Division.

          McVeigh says they are a tough team to defend.  “You watch the Margaretta game and they have some young kids that can really shoot.  They do a nice job of spreading you out and attacking the rim and shooting the three ball.  We really have to be on out best game as far as on the ball defense and guarding the perimeter.  They have just about everybody back, I think.  They were young and inexperienced like us last year, especially playing over there it will their first home game and I think it will be a good game,” he said.

Published 12/01/20

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