Published: September 06, 2008 01:10 am            

FOOTBALL: Peru survives Eastern

Peru opens up 26-0 halftime lead, holds on to win 32-27

PERU — It was a tale of two halves here Friday night as Peru and Eastern, each looking for its first win of the new season in the opening week of Mid-Indiana Conference play, battled to the wire. The Bengal Tigers, who jumped out to a 26-0 halftime lead, hung on and survived a furious comeback from the Comets to pick up a 32-27 win.

In the first half, Peru (1-2) played Dr. Jekyll on the strength of senior quarterback Mason Zimmer’s arm while Eastern (0-3) haplessly played Mr. Hyde. Zimmer was nearly flawless in the first 24 minutes, connecting on 20 of 34 passes for 227 yards and four touchdowns before haftime. Tiger Owen Jamison, the primary beneficiary, snagged nine catches for 130 yards and three TDs, and had an interception as well.

In the second half, the teams reversed roles. Versatile Comet tailback Joel Hoover was the catalyst, rushing 13 times for 83 yards in the final two stanzas and scoring three times, twice on passes from QB Jonathan Keith and once on a 3-yard burst up the middle.

Eastern coach Josh Edwards saw plenty to be optimistic about.

“At halftime, we didn’t really change anything offensively,” he said. “The difference was that we executed. I’m extremely, extremely proud of the fact that [the Comets] were down 26-0 and they still believed that they could come out and do something in the second half.”

Despite suffering its 24th straight loss, Eastern didn’t look like a loser in the second half.

“We have a saying that we started last November, ‘It’s coming,’” said Edwards of the long wait for a win. “We just keep telling the kids it’s coming, we’re getting better, and sooner or later, this monkey’s going to be off our back.”

After the frustrating first half, the Comets got rolling in the third. A 68-yard drive resulted in a Hoover TD reception. Then Eastern got a big break by recovering the ensuing kickoff. Just six plays later, the Comets cut the margin to 26-13 on Hoover’s 3-yard run.

Peru regained its poise and mounted a 60-yard drive to make it 32-13, but the Comets had no quit in them. Eastern responded with a 62-yard drive that culminated in freshman Joey Price’s 19-yard TD catch to make it 32-20.

Eastern kept fighting to score its last six-pointer on another Hoover catch with 14 seconds left, but it was too late.

Peru coach Bill Skelton, who notched his first win as the Tigers’ head man, said, “You gotta take your hat off to Eastern. They came out and definitely set the tone [in the second half]. They played hard and we played a little on our heels. We played not to lose instead of playing to win.”

        

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