Blaise-Smith, halftime surge carry unbeaten Peru over Moriah

MINEVILLE | Brody Blaise-Smith rushed for 157 yards and two touchdowns as Peru scored twice around halftime to pull away from Moriah for a 28-6 CVAC football victory Oct. 2 at Linney Field. The Nighthawks improved to 5-0 overall and 4-0 in the CVAC, while Moriah fell to 2-3 and 2-2 after consecutive wins over Saranac Lake and Saranac. Moriah cut Peru's lead to 14-6 on Skyler Frasier's 1-yard touchdown run with 36 seconds remaining in the first half. But Peru answered almost immediately. Starting at its own 41 with 28 seconds remaining, Drew Engstrom completed a 9-yard pass to Isaiah Hendrix, and a roughing-the-passer penalty moved the ball to the Moriah 35. After Engstrom spiked the ball and completed a 4-yard pass to Deacon Giroux, Blaise-Smith broke free for a 31-yard touchdown run. The four-play, 59-yard drive took only 20 seconds and sent Peru into halftime with a 21-6 lead. "We practice two-minute. We practice one-minute. We practice one timeout," Peru head coach Ryon O'Connell said. "That wasn't a situation where we were nervous. The kids were nice and calm and relaxed, and we hit a run play, and they were playing pass." Peru received the second-half kickoff and extended the lead with a 10-play drive consisting entirely of runs. Logan Porter capped the possession with a 12-yard touchdown on a jet-sweep reverse to make it 28-6 with 6:15 remaining in the third quarter. The Nighthawks outgained Moriah 343-144, including a 269-78 advantage on the ground. Blaise-Smith carried 13 times for 157 yards and two touchdowns, while Deon Lawyer added 76 yards on 15 attempts. Porter finished with 42 yards and a touchdown on three carries. "I thought our offensive line was outstanding tonight," O'Connell said. "They definitely opened up some major holes for Brody and Deon. Moriah really took away the pass game. They decided that they were going to cover us, and so we had to go to the run game, and it wasn't as explosive a night, but it was a great night of football." Blaise-Smith has rushed 66 times for 569 yards and six touchdowns through five games. "On the offensive side of the game, our O-line looked great," Blaise-Smith said. "They've been progressing every week. They've been looking great all throughout the season, so I've got to give my props to them. "On the defensive side, our nose guards, our ends, all our D-linemen got in there, our linebackers filled." Blaise-Smith also credited Lawyer, an AuSable Valley student-athlete, for giving Peru another option in the backfield. "He's been a great addition over here at Peru," Blaise-Smith said. "It's always great to have split backs. They don't really know what to expect with either of us. He's really physical, and I just feel like with that approach, we can really run the ball." Peru had built its initial 14-0 lead on Engstrom's 22-yard touchdown pass to Hendrix with 1:51 left in the first quarter and Blaise-Smith's 35-yard touchdown run with 4:51 remaining in the second. Blaise-Smith's first score came on fourth-and-11 from the Moriah 35, when he took a shotgun draw and raced to the end zone. Engstrom completed 9 of 14 passes for 74 yards and a touchdown. Hendrix caught two passes for 31 yards and a score, while Giroux had four receptions for 17 yards. Frasier led Moriah with 63 yards and a touchdown on 17 carries. Joey Kazlo completed 4 of 10 passes for 46 yards with an interception, while Frasier completed his lone pass for 20 yards to Kazlo. Finley Coon recorded Peru's interception. Peru was penalized three times for 35 yards after experiencing penalty troubles earlier in the season. "We have talked about that over the last two weeks," O'Connell said. "I think our kids have responded well. We told them that type of penalty was unacceptable, the discipline stuff, and they've responded nicely, and hopefully they continue to focus on that side of the ball because we can't give up free yards." Peru, No. 20 in the latest New York State Sportswriters Association Class B rankings, has outscored its opponents 192-35 through five games. The Nighthawks next face longtime rival Beekmantown (2-2, 1-1 CVAC). "First, Beekmantown's a really good football team," O'Connell said. "They're well coached. I'm excited for the game. Anytime Beekmantown and Peru play football, the place will be packed. We're just excited for the game. We're going to do our best, and we'll have a good week of preparation, and hopefully we play well." Week 5 Peru Nighthawks 5-0 overall · 4-0 CVAC No. 20 NYSSWA Class B Final Moriah Vikings 2-3 overall · 2-2 CVAC 28 - 6 Score by Quarter Team 1 2 3 4 T Peru 7 14 7 0 28 Moriah 0 6 0 0 6 Scoring Summary First Quarter Peru1:51 Isaiah Hendrix 22 pass from Drew Engstrom (Liam MacDougal kick) Second Quarter Peru4:51 Brody Blaise-Smith 35 run (Liam MacDougal kick) Moriah0:36 Skyler Frasier 1 run (pass failed) Peru0:08 Brody Blaise-Smith 31 run (Liam MacDougal kick) Third Quarter Peru6:15 Logan Porter 12 run (Liam MacDougal kick) Individual Statistics Rushing Peru Player Att Yds TD Brody Blaise-Smith 13 157 2 Logan Porter 3 42 1 Drew Engstrom 4 -8 0 Deon Lawyer 15 76 0 Marco Amato 1 -3 0 Deacon Giroux 1 3 0 Dane Nelson 1 2 0 Totals 38 269 3 Moriah Player Att Yds TD Skyler Frasier 17 63 1 Joey Kazlo 4 -9 0 Austin Mandy 4 15 0 Gavin Hughes 4 8 0 Team 1 -1 0 Wyatt Chappell 1 2 0 Totals 31 78 1 Passing Peru Player C-A-I Yds TD Drew Engstrom 9-14-0 74 1 Team 0-1-0 0 0 Totals 9-15-0 74 1 Moriah Player C-A-I Yds TD Joey Kazlo 4-10-1 46 0 Skyler Frasier 1-1-0 20 0 Totals 5-11-1 66 0 Receiving Peru Player Rec Yds TD Finley Coon 2 24 0 Isaiah Hendrix 2 31 1 Deacon Giroux 4 17 0 Marco Amato 1 2 0 Moriah Player Rec Yds TD Bo McGinness 2 28 0 Gavin Hughes 1 -1 0 Kohin Sargent 1 19 0 Joey Kazlo 1 20 0 Interceptions Peru Finley Coon - 1

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Blaise-Smith, halftime surge carry unbeaten Peru over Moriah

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