Peru — The Peru Nighthawks took care of business Friday, beating the Plattsburgh Hornets in a decisive 37-12 victory that will see them meet the Beekmantown Eagles next week in the Section 7, Class A championship game.
After defeating the Hornets in Plattsburgh in a blowout 54-22 back in September, the Nighthawks proved to be the sharper sword yet again, securing their third consecutive win against Plattsburgh in the Apple Bowl.
On the first play, Peru capitalized with a Mason Starke interception.
“That’s been our mentality all year,” Peru junior quarterback Jake Frechette said.
“It’s just punch, punch and quick, striking, fast, you know, quick, explosive plays. I think that lowers their momentum, and overall, that’s what kills the other team.”
The first quarter saw little scoring. Plattsburgh would serve Peru the first points on the board with a safety.
After a snapped ball went over the head of Hartmann and into the back of the end zone, the Knighthawks took an early lead of two with 6:30 left in the quarter.
Besides the unconventional plays, the game also yielded several flags. Unofficially, both squads combined for a total of 25 penalties.
“I think our mentality and flags were horrendous,” Frechette said. ”We need to stop, we need to stop talking and just play football.”
Peru would find the end zone again with 4:35 to go in the first quarter. Following a 10-yard Elijah Hendrix touchdown run, Peru took a 9-0 lead.
In the second quarter, Peru went to the legs of junior running back Wyatt Bridges. He carried the run game against Moriah with 188 yards and a score the week before. Bridges has filled the role for Peru since Sawyer Schlitt has been out due to injury.
Bridges started what would be a career night midway through the second quarter, scoring on a one-yard draw and increasing Peru’s lead to 16-0 with 6:29 before halftime.
The junior ran for 117 yards on 18 carries and cemented himself as the Knighthawks’ leading contributor on offense with four touchdowns at the end of the contest.
“I was counting them in the back of my head,” Bridges said.
”We all know Sawyer is out right now. I just took my opportunity in the last few games, and I’ve loved it. Until the fact everyone told me, ‘You had a four-touchdown game,’ I was like, no way. Honestly, I felt like I played like trash.”
The Hornets didn’t find the end zone until 3:15 left before the half but placed a 16-6 dent in the Nighthawks lead after a two-yard keeper from Dan Hartmann put Plattsburgh on the board.
“The key to the game was staying on the receivers,” said Peru Senior and linebacker Elliot Supley.
“We forced a lot of broken plays that take a long time, and they end up being chucked up balls,” he said. “If a receiver is open, Dan can get it to him. But we stayed up. We did an amazing job in staying locked up.”
Peru’s defense held the Hornets to 215 total yards. They corralled Hartmann to 144 passing yards and didn’t let him score in the air.
Peru’s front seven went straight for Plattsburgh’s throat from the get-go, forcing incompletions and blitzing to get Hartmann, which forced most of his throws out of bounds.
To Supley, it was a team effort on the night.
“It’s everyone on our team setting up different people to make big plays,” he said. “I’m so glad that they allowed me to make big plays because it’s exhilarating to make a big tackle in the game.”
Peru head coach Ryon O’Connell credits his team’s success to weeks of rigorous training and disciplined preparation in the film room.
“I think we had a really good month of practice and focus,” he said. “It shows that we’re coming out ready to play football. I think it’s just practice and how we focus.”
Another Bridges touchdown run helped Peru start the second half and pull away from Plattsburgh. With 8:24 left in the third quarter, it was 23-6 Nighthawks.
It took the Hornets until the second half to get one of their star players, Dominic Deangelo, the ball. Peru limited him to just one catch of 37 yards.
Plattsburgh’s defense began to build up steam halfway through the third quarter, stalling multiple Knighthawks drives and forcing a turnover on downs.
The Hornets would sting back after a Jahvari Anderson touchdown with 3:03 left in the third.
The remainder of the game belonged to Bridges and the Nighthawks. He scored two more times in the fourth, icing the game seconds into the quarter with a 19-yard touchdown run and another 29-yard score with 5:45 remaining.
For the seniors, it will be their final drive on their home field.
“This is my last game, playing in the Apple Bowl with all the seniors, it’s super emotional,” Supley said. “But in the end, I’m so happy. It’s what we’ve all been looking forward to this whole season, moving on to the section game.”
Peru combined for 328 rushing yards, 117 coming from Bridges and 98 from Frechette.
“I love my offensive line,” Bridges said. “There’s a 100% reason why I’m doing so good. If Sawyer is not back soon, I’m hoping for the same result.”
O’Connell will be hoping for the same result against Beekmantown next week.
“Our running backs run hard, and Jake’s growing a lot this year,” O’Connell said. “We got all the confidence in him going forward.”
Following the win for the Nighthawks, the mood was celebrative. However, Beekmantown is still far away, and the ensuing week is business as usual.
“Beekmantown is a good team,” O’Connell said. “We have a lot of work to do.”
The Beekmantown game is personal, but they put those feelings behind their preparation.
“We might not be as big as them,” Supley said. “But we’re gonna come out and we’re gonna play harder at every position of our 11. Play harder than their 11. We’re gonna come out with a win if we play sound, no penalties. We gotta come out efficiently.”
It’s setting up another iteration of a classic rivalry between the two programs, which are the best of the CVAC this year.
Peru’s only loss in the Section came from Beekmantown in September. The Eagles beat the Nighthawks 31-6.
“They have a revenge factor because for us both,” Bridges said. “It’s the fourth year in a row going head to head in the sectional championship. So they have it. We have it because they just beat us. We have that chip on our shoulder. We’re ready to go.”
Peru will face Beekmantown for the Class A crown for the second consecutive time in the final. Last season the Nighthawks shut the Eagles out 20-0.
“Beekmantown has a really good football team,” O’Connell said. “We got a lot of work to do, and we’ll have to do some film study and figure it out.”
The Section 7 Class A Championship game between the Eagles and Nighthawks will be held Friday Plattsburgh High School at 7 pm.
“I have nothing to say about the Beekmantown game,“ Frechette said. “We’re gonna celebrate this one and then get ready. That’s all I got to say about that.”
—
Peru 37, Plattsburgh 12
PCS 9 7 7 14 – 37
PHS 0 6 6 0 – 12
Scoring Summary
First Quarter
PCS- PHS Safety (overhead snap), 6:30.
PCS- Hendrix 10 run (Garrow kick good), 4:35.
Second Quarter
PCS- Bridges 1 run (Garrow kick good), 6:29.
PHS- Hartmann 2 run (Deangelo pass to Calknis failed), 3:15.
Third Quarter
PCS- Bridges 16 run (Garrow kick good), 8:24.
PHS- Anderson 26 run (Hartmann pass to Kemokai failed), 3:03.
Fourth Quarter
PCS- Bridges 18 run (Garrow kick good), 11:39.
PCS- Bridges 29 run (Garrow kick good), 5:45.
Individual Statistics
RUSHING
PCS- Bridges 18-117, 4TD. Frechette 14-98. Blaise-Smith 6-35. Carpenter 5-55. Hendrix 2-14, TD. Wilkins 1-8. Porter 1-1. TOTALS: 47-328, 5TD.
PHS- Hartmann 9-37, TD. Anderson 3-32, TD. Deangelo 1-6. Calkins 1-(-4). TOTALS: 14-71, 2TD.
PASSING
PCS- Frechette, 5-13-0-33.
PHS- Hartmann, 8-29-1-144.
RECEIVING
PCS- Carpenter 2-40. Clowney 1-(-1). Starke 1-3. Bridges 1-(-9). TOTALS: 5-33.
PHS- Calkins 3-18. Dejesus 3-38. Deangelo 1-37. Kemokai 1-51. TOTALS: 8-144, INT.
INTERCEPTIONS
PCS- Starke