McKeesport followed the game plan to a T on Friday and it netted a 43-0 win.
The Tigers (10-1) shut down Mars (6-5) in a WPIAL Class 4A playoff game at Weigle-Schaeffer Memorial Stadium in McKeesport.
“I was telling our guys, after you lose a game, it took me until now until I started feeling a little bit better,” McKeesport coach Mike Miller said. “It was nice to get a game in and not have to keep thinking about what we did wrong and how you could have fixed it. It is nice to get the win and keep moving on.”
Senior stars Jahmil Perryman and Bobbie Boyd Jr. were explosive on offense and helped power their defense to a shut out of a Mars team that had scored 341 points coming into Friday’s game.
“I knew from the jump,” Perryman said of the win. “(Our) energy was there. … We had a great game plan.”
Perryman had 13 carries for 197 yards with three rushing touchdowns. He was also 4 of 4 passing for 84 yards and a touchdown. Boyd rushed eight times for 69 yards.
Before the game kicked off there was a moment that set the tone for the Tigers.
“We made (Da’Mier Clark) a captain today,” Miller said. “He was a captain because he worked his tail off all week.”
No one took the Tigers’ lone loss of the season – a 20-10 defeat last week to Thomas Jefferson – harder than Clark.
“It was so humbling, for real,” Clark said. “It did hurt, but we just had to bring the energy tonight.”
As Clark walked out for the coin toss, he was full of pride.
“It was great to step up and really be that guy,” Clark said. “To lead the team. We took a tough loss last week, so it feels good to bounce back.”
“He deserves it,” Boyd said. “He comes out to practice and leads every day.”
Mars got the ball first and maintained possession for its longest drive of the game. That drive ultimately stalled out at the Tigers’ 30, when Mars turned the ball over on downs.
“Our biggest thing was watching where we were making our drops, fine tuning some things on our drops on our defense,“ Miller said. “Then we were able to make the quarterback uncomfortable. That helped, trying to stymie their offense a little bit.”
Once McKeesport got the ball, it was off to the races. It took five plays for the Tigers to get the ball down to the 10-yard line.
On first-and-goal, Perryman carried the ball to the right side, but he had defenders in his path, so he made the pitch to Clark, who took the ball straight into the end zone.
“It felt good to start it off and be the spark of the team,” Clark said. “To get us going and have a little fun.”
Boyd was not surprised to see the source of the score.
“That is him,” Boyd said. “You can’t expect anything less from him. He’s a home run hitter.
He can break anything.”
Miller noted the execution.
“It was big for (Clark), but it was also big for the guys,” he said. “We ran the triple option the way it is supposed to be run. It was the third option, and being able to punch it in the end zone makes it even nicer.”
Mars went three-and-out on the ensuing possession, and the rout was on.
“This win just got us back on our feet,” Boyd said. “So, we are back on track and focused now.”
Boyd, Perryman and Clark all grew up together. They have been friends for most of their lives. Along with others on the team, they refer to themselves as the Trench Bros.
“Since (we were) kids we have always been together as one,” Clark said. “Growing up playing together, growing up being a squad.”
If there is one thing this squad does better than putting up points, it’s stifling defense. Everyone on the team was ecstatic at the shutout.
“This is major,” Boyd said. “We are not known for giving up points. Our defense is really strong. So, we came out and showed them that our defense still got it.”
“They get after the ball,” Miller added. “They were fast to the ball. We’ve got a lot of good athletes, tough kids, hard-nosed kids. Once we settled down after the first series, we played lights out defense. It was a really good job by them. Our coordinators do an amazing job.”
Once the starters were pulled in the fourth quarter, Mars was able to move the ball a bit. The Planets got the ball to the 18 and looked poised to end the drought, but they ultimately had to settle for a field goal that sailed wide left.
“We preach that we want to have one of the better defenses,” Miller said. “You have to pitch shutouts. I tell those guys, if you put on our jersey, we expect the same thing out of you as we do from the starters. A lot of those second- and third-teamers came out and played hard, and they were able to stop them a couple times at the end, so I was really proud of them.”
With Armstrong next up in the WPIAL playoffs, the Trench Bros. know what they need to do now.
“It is time to get back in the lab, get better,” Clark said. “We will watch film and show up next week.”
Saul works in sports for the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, but he's currently on strike. Reach him at saulbt2009@gmail.com.