Lightning strikes were the only thing that stopped Gilbert Perry’s offense on Friday night, as the Pumas breezed by Phoenix Sandra Day O’Connor 55-14 to win their 2017 home opener.

 

After quickly building a 20-0 lead on the Eagles, referees delayed the game with 10:58 left in the second quarter, as frequent lightning bolts struck within sight of the stadium. The teams were forced into their locker rooms for half an hour.

 

Despite its lead, Perry head coach Preston Jones was not at all ready to take his foot off the gas. He had been in this sort of position before, and failed.

 

“I told the boys (during the break) the biggest distraction is to come out not focused,” Jones said. “Forget about the score. We’ve been in that situation seven years ago, up 14-0, then had a half hour delay, an hour delay, and ended up getting beat in overtime.”

 

That night was in 2011, when Jones’ Pumas suffered a 27-21 loss at Queen Creek. Friday night was different though. Almost everything about Perry now is different.

 

“We are just locked in and very focused,” said tight end Tate Speaker, who had two receiving touchdowns on the night. “Coach Jones is pretty good at giving speeches.”

 

O’Connor, who had arrived to Perry’s John Wren Stadium late prior to the game, saw the break as a chance to reset.

 

“I said (during the delay) now it’s like the start of the game,” Eagles head coach Steve Casey said. “(Both teams) are doing the same things, we both came into the locker room for 30 minutes. Let’s go out and do what we have to.”

 

O’Connor did restart the game reenergized, finishing off a 44-yard drive with a 3-yard Danny Jelow touchdown run, cutting the Pumas lead to just 13 points.

 

But Perry responded with several big plays before halftime, stretching its lead to 34-7. First, senior quarterback Brock Purdy connected with wide receiver Colby Dickie on a 32-yard pass on a second and long, extending a drive that he later finished off with an 8-yard touchdown run. On the next possession, Perry faced a third and 19, but Purdy found Speaker running a post route all alone to score on a 28-yard throw.

 

“It’s kind of a trick play,” Speaker said. “It’s either there or it’s not. I was just wide open and it worked out.”

 

Prior to the delay, it was another trick play that capped off a high-flying opening quarter for the Pumas.

 

At the Eagles 4-yard-line, Purdy, out of the shotgun, handed off to the in-motion Dickie. As Dickie took the ball, Purdy ran uncovered into flat to the right of the formation, giving the junior receiver little to do but lob a pass to his quarterback in the end zone.

 

“I don’t even consider it a trick play anymore, because we do it all the time,” Jones said. “It’s just one of our base plays. It worked out well for us this time.”

 

Purdy’s receiving score was preceded by his first passing touchdown to Speaker. On their first connection, the tight end was similarly wide open in the end zone, allowing Purdy an easy toss from four yards out. Before that, running back Kenny Fultz sprang a 42-yard score on the team’s second offensive play of the game, weaving his way through an undermanned and inexperienced Eagles defense on his way to the end zone.

 

“It was tough, our defense didn’t execute the way we needed to,” senior O’Connor linebacker Parker Willis said. “After the first quarter, we just went to zone (defense) with a single-backer blitz. We were just trying to get pressure on him to force a throw.”

 

Purdy handled the Eagles pressure defense well however, finishing the night with five combined scores through the air, on the ground, and by reception. He has 19 total touchdowns this season.

 

“I swear he has eyes in the back of his head,” Speaker said of his All-State quarterback. “He can see guys behind him and just escape every time.”

 

While the Perry offense made the big scoring plays, the Pumas’ defense consistently suffocated the Eagles attack. On the first play of the game, O’Connor quarterback Ethan Moller was sacked by Perry lineman Travis Beckman. It would be the first of five first half sacks for the Perry pass rushers.

 

“We are starting a freshman in 6A football; we are undermanned on the (offensive) line,” Casey said. “Their defensive line is pretty stout.”

 

Though it was Perry’s fourth lopsided win of the year, Jones saw the O’Connor performance as the toughest test his team has yet to face. He was happy to see them fight through the adversity present by his opponents, and by the weather.

 

“Defensively, they gave us problems. We told our kids during the week to be patient,” Jones said. “We knew they were going to win some battles because they are coached well, they’ve got some good players, and that defense that they run, they are going to dial up some good plays.

 

“We had to come back (from the lightning delay) mentally ready to go. We had to be locked in, dialed in mentality. Like it’s a state championship game.”

 

More performance like Friday night’s, and Jones team won’t have to pretend they are playing for a state championship. If they keep this up, pretty soon they could be.