Port Clinton remains undefeated with win over Perkins

PORT CLINTON - Clinging to a six-point lead with 1:39 left on the clock and facing fourth-and-goal at the Sandusky Perkins’ 2-yard line, Port Clinton coach Beau Carmon said he thought about going for it.

“For just a second. For just a second,” Carmon said.

Perkins had no timeouts remaining and the Redskins missed an extra point and a field goal try earlier in the game. But Carmon opted to try a field goal, again on the right leg of senior Taylor Rollins, and she came through in the clutch for Port Clinton.

Rollins nailed a 19-yard field goal and the Redskins held on for a 23-14 Sandusky Bay Conference win over Perkins on Friday night to remain undefeated.

“We’re very confident in Taylor. She’s got a big leg,” Carmon said. “She’s a tough kid and she’s going to be a very successful person. That just goes to show how tough she is. She just happens to have a nice leg behind that toughness. We’re blessed to have her on our team. That’s a pretty cool experience for her and I’m happy for her.”

Port Clinton (6-0 overall, 2-0 SBC) took over at its own 11-yard line after a pooch punt by the Pirates (3-3, 1-2) with 7:15 remaining in the game. Holding on to a 20-14 lead, the Redskins methodically picked up first downs on the strength of quarterback Joey Brenner and running back Emerson Lowe. Port Clinton faced third-and-6 from the 38-yard line later in the drive.

Brenner found Donte McClure on the Redskins’ sideline for a 20-yard gain and a first down. Sensing an almost-defeated Perkins defense, Lowe weaved and scampered his way through the Perkins defense for 12- and 20-yard pickups to the Pirates’ 10-yard line.

“The most important thing was to keep the driving going,” Lowe said. “When Donte caught that pass, it was perfect. I had a couple of nice runs and we kept going and running the clock and ended up on top.”

With 109 yards rushing in the first half, Lowe became the all-time leading rusher for yards at Port Clinton in a career. Lowe finished with 19 rushes for 156 yards for the game.

Two short runs by Lowe and a pass from Brenner to Kyle Fitzpatrick set up Rollins’ kick to seal the win.

“That’s something we’ve been working on since the off season,” Carmon said. “That’s why we put in the work and that’s what it’s all about. It’s nice to see it pay off on a Friday night because it doesn’t always pay off. The guys believed in themselves and this is one of the more special wins at Port Clinton. I couldn’t be more proud of our kids and it’s exciting.”

Defense was the name of the game in the second half, especially for Port Clinton. Perkins racked up 245 yards of offense in the first half but was held to negative-7 yards in the third quarter and no first downs. The Pirates tallied just 22 yards of offense and two first downs in the entire second half.

“That’s a halftime adjustment. We were able to take away their outside run plays and we were able to cover their sprint out passes,” Carmon said.

Meanwhile, Brenner manned the offense as Perkins was able to bottle up Lowe for the time being. Brenner connected with Skyler Cook in the endzone for a five-yard touchdown pass and Port Clinton led, 20-14, with 2:14 left in the third quarter.

“The runs on the final drive by Emerson were huge,” said Carmon. “A part of Emerson’s maturity is he doesn’t have to bounce it outside anymore just to get one or two yards. He will put his helmet in one of lineman’s back if there’s nothing now. That’s the difference between Emerson Lowe two years ago and now. That’s just maturity and a kid that understands how strong he is, and what he needs to do to help his team.”

The Redskins started the game off with a bit of trickery. Brenner tossed a sweep to Lowe, who instead of blasting forward, stepped back and lofted a pass to a wide-open Darius Daniels for a 69-yard touchdown and quick 7-0 lead just 22 seconds into the game.

It didn’t take Perkins long to respond as it went 78 yards in nine plays, capped by a two-yard touchdown run by Dylan Nason to knot the game, 7-7.

On the ensuing drive, Lowe burst through the line on consecutive plays for runs of 36 yards and 47 yards to the Pirates’ 8-yard line. The drive would fall apart there and Port Clinton settled for a 26-yard field goal try by Rollins, which was no good.

The Perkins offense again went to work. This time, the Pirates covered 80 yards in 12 plays, as Dawson Nason connected with Luke Zahniser for a 35-yard score and 14-7 lead.

The Redskins responded on the next drive. Lowe scired from three yards out tying the game at 14-all with 8:33 left in the second quarter.

“Tonight was a tough one but we’ll rise to the challenge,” said Carmon of the impending schedule. “We’re going to play our best football every Friday night and put our best effort. We’re going to prepare the kids the best we can and they’re going to play their hearts out every Friday night.”

It is the third consecutive win for the Redskins over Perkins, a team that consistently is in the hunt for a league title and a playoff spot.

“It’s hard to wrap your mind around it as a coach,” said Carmon. “I enjoy seeing this more than I ever did playing the game. Watching the kids play their hearts out and see it pay off — you can’t put a price on that.

“Perkins kind of always looks at us as their little brother and to beat them three years in a row and prove to them that we’re a good football team too, is good,” said Lowe.