The St. Paul Buckaroos beat the Perrydale Pirates, 34-24, in a hard fought and physical 1A contest this last Friday night.

Both teams came out fired up in the first quarter, as St. Paul took their opening drive to their own 42 yard line before being stopped cold by the Pirates on 4th down.

In the second quarter, as Perrydale began their possession from the 21 yard line, St. Paul recovered a fumble as a result of a bobbled handoff on a Pirate wildcat play, taking over on the Pirate 27 yard line. 4 plays later, the Buckaroos capitalized on a short TD pass from QB Daley Smith to WR Cole Wiesz, to take a 6-0 lead. After the kickoff, the Pirate drive fizzled on a muffed snap that Pirate QB Corban Reed could not handle, which resulted in a 20 yard loss. As it was now 4th down, the Pirates were forced to punt  from their own 18 yard line. The Buckaroos took over on the Perrydale 45 yard line, and after smash mouthing their way to the Pirate 28 yard line, Ryan Pierson busted loose for a 28 yard score. The two point conversion was good, making the score St. Paul 14, Perrydale 0.

With 1:19 remaining in the first half, and after the ensuing bad kickoff, the Pirates took over on the Buckaroo 45 yard line. On the very next play from scrimmage, Pirate QB Corban Reed hit WR Bryce Farris, and Farris took off for a 45 yard touchdown, to make the score St. Paul 14, Perrydale 6. After a St. Paul possession that resulted in a Pirate interception, Perrydale ran out the clock on running plays to make the score at halftime, St. Paul 14, Perrydale 6.

At the start of the second half, the Pirates and the Buckaroos exchanged possessions with no scores. On their second possession in the 3rd quarter, the Pirates drove down the field, and scored on a short TD pass from Reed to Thomas Gallagher, to make the score St. Paul 14, Perrydale 12. After the ensuing Pirate onside kick failed, the Buckaroos drove down the field and scored on a 4 yard run by Pierson to make the score St. Paul 20, Perrydale 12.

After the kickoff, Perrydale drove down the field, aided by an interference call on St. Paul, and scored to make the score, St. Paul 20, Perrydale 18 with a little over 10 minutes remaining in the game.

After Perrydale's onside kick failed, the Buckaroos quickly scored on a Pierson 50 yard run to make the score St. Paul 26, Perrydale 18 with a little over 9 minutes remaining in the game.

On the next drive, the Pirates drove the ball down to the Buckaroo 4 yard line only to have a Reed pass intercepted in the endzone by  St. Paul. The Buckaroos took the next possession and drove the ball down the field, and scored on a long run by Pierson to make the score St. Paul 34, Perrydale 18.

After the kickoff, Perrydale drove down the field on pass plays and scored one more touchdown to make the final score, St. Paul 34, Perrydale 24.

In the end, St. Paul's offensive line overpowered Perrydale's defense, opening huge holes for St. Paul's Pierson to lumber through. St. Paul's Pierson is a good running back, but St. Paul's line is a force to be reckoned with. Perrydale put up a brave and valiant fight, but in the end, the Buckaroo line was just too much to handle for the Pirates.

Perrydale defenders stop St. Paul's RB Ryan Pierson

Perrydale's Blake Barnes and Thomas Gallagher stop St. Paul's Ryan Pierson for a short gain.

Pirate defenders pursue Buckaroo RB Ryan Pierson

St. Paul's QB Daley Smith directs traffic

Pirate defender Thomas Gallagher goes in for the stop against St. Paul's Ryan Pierson

Pirate QB Corban Reed launches a long pass against incoming Buckaroo pressure

St. Paul's RB Ryan Pierson runs for the score with Pirate defender Ryan Brooks in pursuit