PERU — Through the air or on the ground, Peru has “targets” that can overwhelm opponents, Nighthawk quarterback Jake Frechette said.
“I think playing defense against our offense is so hard because the ball is getting dished out to everybody,” he said. “They can’t hone in on one player. It’s not like that.
“We have so many athletes and so many targets. It’s just kind of hard to focus on one player.”
That was on full display as Peru (3-0, 2-0 CVAC) defeated Plattsburgh High (0-3, 0-2 CVAC). 35-7, Saturday at the Apple Bowl.
Despite Frechette spreading the ball to six different targets and four passing touchdowns on 11-14 passing and 198 yards, he and Peru head coach Ryon O’Connell said the intensity wasn’t on full display against Plattsburgh.
“We have to be more physical,” Frechette said. “That’s our biggest thing. We want to be known for being the most physical team.
“Today, our intensity just wasn’t there. I mean, we won the game, but all in all, like we have to be better.”
“I was happy with our execution,” O’Connell said. “We executed well. Our intensity wasn’t where it needed to be.
“In general sense, we need to come out this week in practice and be a lot more focused, a lot more on point. We made some mistakes lining up things like that, things of that nature, the little things.”
Peru built a 21-0 lead on the back of Frechette, throwing touchdown strikes to Mason Starke, Trenten Taylor and Isiah Hendrix making a one handed snag to build the early lead.
The Hornets cut into the deficit when Colden Johnson connected with Ryan Colburn who broke a tackle and sprinted all the way for a touchdown.
Taylor and Frechette connected again in the final minute to push the lead to 28-7, effectively closing the door on PHS.
At the start of the third quarter, Chase Carpenter took a handoff 53 yards to finalize the scoring.
With the win, and Beekmantown’s 51-20 win over Ticonderoga, the stage is set for the rivals to meet and see who will walk away still undefeated. The game is set for 1 p.m., and will be Beekmantown’s home opener.
“We have to come in on Sunday night and take care of our jobs and make sure we have a good film session and hit the ground running on Monday,” O’Connell said. “We have a lot of work to do there.
“Beekmanown’s a great football team. They’re well coached. And, you know, we’ll give it our best shot on Saturday.”
These are the games you live for, and as Frechette put it, something he and his teammates will remember for the rest of their lives.
“We’re gonna give it our all, for sure,” he said. “There’s no doubt about that.”
Maggie’s 100
The cheerleaders have a chant and the crowd begins to chant, “Maggie! Maggie!”
Saturday, Peru senior Maggie Garrow lined up for what would be a routine extra point. There was a little extra on this one.
As the ball went through the uprights, the crowd erupted. Garrow had unofficially become the 70th player — and third female — to record 100 extra points.
She joined Cambridge’s Helen Mooney and Jamestown’s Ella Propheter as the only other females to reach the mark.
“I’m very thankful for all the boys on this team and all the past three teams that have helped me to get these points,” Garrow said. “Without them, it would have been possible.”
Garrow credits specifically the holder and center who snap the ball as being a group that works together to make it easy for her.
“I think it’s a connection,” she said. “I mean, in my four years, I’ve had a connection with each of my holders, and they’ve always just encouraged me so well to know that I trust them and they trust me. It just makes it so much easier.”
Garrow is a multi-sport athlete at Peru and during the fall she splits time between soccer and football. It’s a balancing act that she manages along with her school work.
It’s one of the reasons O’Connell has faith in her.
“She’s been the reliable one for years,” he said. “Now, I remember four years ago, we had a kickoff for practice. We came up to the girls soccer team, and I asked Bill Pafford, and she said she’d do it.
“We had a few girls interested, and she was the one that said, ‘I’ll do it.’ I had a conversation with her parents, and you know she’s been here ever since, and she’s a great kicker, and we got all of the faith in her in the world.”
With this being her senior year, Garrow said she only hopes to be a role model for other girls to give the sport a try.
“I really hope after I graduate, some little girl in Peru believes they can do it and wants to do it,” she said.
—
Peru 35, Plattsburgh High 7
PCS 14 14 7 0 – 35
PHS 0 7 0 0 – 7
Scoring Summary
First quarter
P- M. Starke 13 pass from Frechette (Garrow kick), 6:09.
P- Taylor 19 pass from Frechette (Garrow kick), 2:46.
Second quarter
P- Hendrix 54 pass from Frechette (Garrow kick), 5:01.
PHS- Colburn 70 pass from Johnson (Holland kick), 2:57.
P- Taylor 8 pass from Frechette (Garrow kick), 0:49.
Third quarter
P- Carpenter 53 run (Garrow kick), 11:40.
Individual statistics
Rushing
PHS- DeJesus 15-32; Wineglass 3-34; Team 1-(-15); Johnson 6-(-20); Durney 1-0. Totals: 26-31.
P- Carpenter 2-45, TD; Bridges 4-33; Frechette 2-6; Blaise-Smith 7-27; Team 2-(-16); M. Starke 1-34. Totals: 18-129, TD.
Passing
PHS- Johnson 8-14-0-139, TD.
P- Frechette 11-14-0-198, 4TD.
Receiving
PHS- DeJesus 1-(-3); Colburn 5-119, TD; Holland 1-8; Wineglass 1-15.
P- Taylor 4-50, 2TD; Hendrix 3-75, TD; M. Starke 1-13, TD; Bridges 1-10; Carpenter 1-8; Blaise-Smith 1-42.
