The Perry Puma football program has flown a bit under the radar in recent years, but that may not be the case for long,

Thanks to an outstanding second half from quarterback Kael Snyder and an impressive defensive effort,  the Pumas came away with a 21-12 victory over visiting Queen Creek in a 6A non-region contest.

Snyder, a 6-3, 210 pound sophomore, outdueled his Queen Creek counterpart Tait Reynolds in the second half, throwing scoring passes of 60 and 61 yards to senior LJ Walker, and another from nine yards to Talen Frazier.

The scoring pass to Frazier opened up a 14-0 lead for Perry near the end of the third quarter. Queen Creek fought back, as Reynolds threw a pair of touchdowns to Crew Leavitt.

But it was too little too late for the Bulldogs (2-1), whose offense was stifled for much of the game despite great efforts from Reynolds and Leavitt.

 

"This is a great win but we've got a lot to work on," Perry coach Joseph Ortiz said afterward.

"Sometimes Perry's worst enemy is our own mistakes. We had some chances in the first half but couldn't convert. Snyder missed some open receivers early in the third quarter, but that's ok because he made up for it with the way he threw the ball and led the offense the rest of the game."

Perry good passer

Snyder finished the game with 295 passing yards, most of which came in the second half. After hitting Walker early in the third quarter, the Perry defense continued playing its fast and physical defensive style and forcing Queen Creek punts. Snyder and the offense then starting finding more ryhthm in the passing attack, with Walker, Max Wendelschafer and Hayden Moon finding space in the Queen Creek secondary. 

Meanwhile, Reynolds--a Clemson commit and one of the country's top prospects--continued chipping away in the second half, but without a comparable deep threat to that of Perry's Walker. After the Pumas took a 14-0 leaed on Frazier's nine yard touchdown reception, Queen Creek receiver Crew Leavitt gave the Bulldogs a spark they needed early in the fourth quarter.

After Reynolds once again escaped defensive pressure from Perry, he located Leavitt for what looked like a 10-15 yard gain the at the most. But Leavitt found an extra gear, zig-zagging and juking Puma defenders for nearly 50-yards of spectacular running before hitting paydirt. The point after attempt failed, but Queen Creek was right back in the game, trailing 14-6 with a full quarter to play.

Game changers

It wasn't long before Perry took back control of the game, and the Snyder to Walker connection was the reason. After Walker got past defenders in the secondary, Snyder placed it right in the hands of Walker from 61 yards. That score made it 21-6 with 6:28 left in the game, and also reiterated Walker as a deep threat for remaining opponents.

Queen Creek got its second touchdawn late in the game when Reynolds found Leavitt again for an eight-yard score, cutting the lead to 21-12, but after another failed two-point try, it was too little too late for Queen Creek.

Open Showdown

Perry's victory sets up a big game next week against a talented Brophy squad (3-0). The Pumas schedule only gets more difficult as the season goes on, as they will have to do battle in Premiere region play against powers Basha, Hamilton and Chandler. A victory over Brophy next week would not only keep Perry undefeated, but would keep it in contention for an Open division playoff spot.