Perry, Preston power past American Falls to claim conference crown

PRESTON — Entering Friday’s game, Preston quarterback Carter Perry was averaging 317 yards of offense and more than three touchdowns per game.

Hosting American Falls, with a conference championship on the line, the dual-threat senior outperformed his averages, rushing for 149 yards, passing for 196 yards and accounting for all five Preston touchdowns in a 33-16 conference-claiming victory.

“He’s awesome,” Preston head coach Brandt Reese said of his senior signal-caller. “He’s a great leader — he comes to work every-freaking-day and just grinds. He’s a leader by example, and we can count on him for anything.”

And he did a bit of everything Friday, carrying the ball 30 times and throwing it 18 times — completing 11 of those tosses.

Perry’s favorite target, sophomore tight end Cash Harris, said that he still finds himself in awe of the things Perry does, both on and off the field.

“He’s very athletic, the best QB I’ve ever played with,” Harris said of Perry. “And he’s a good role model — great person to look up to.”

Playing for the 4A South East Idaho Conference crown in its first season in the conference, Preston continued a hot streak that carried it from a 0-4 start to a 4-4 finish and a state tournament berth.

But things didn’t get off to the best start for Perry and Preston (4-4, 3-0).

Preston went into the halftime break up 7-0, relying on a solid defensive effort but not getting much from its offense — aside from a 27-yard touchdown pass from Perry to sophomore receiver Cash Hyde.

Reese admitted after the game that his team wasn’t ready, at least in the first half, for the physicality of the Beavers (5-4, 2-1).

“It took us a while to get going, we were missing some blocks early on, but we responded well,” he said. “We kept on chugging and started making some plays — just kept on going. I’m proud of the kids.”

In a microcosm of the season as a whole, Preston found its groove in the second half.

Perry capped his team’s first possession of the third quarter by hitting Harris for a 46-yard score for a 13-0 lead.

Two possessions later, Perry scored his first rushing touchdown, a six-yard sprint around the edge, for a 20-0 advantage.

Then, capitalizing on an American Falls fumble, Perry connected with Harris for a second touchdown.

Harris finished the game with five catches for 116 yards and two scores.

Perry, who added a 32-yard scoring run in the fourth quarter, said his sophomore tight end has become a valuable safety valve for him, noting that Harris has a knack for finding openings in the secondary when he sees the quarterback scrambling from pressure.

American Falls eventually got some offense going behind senior running back Onyx Kunsaitis, who finished with 78 yards on 12 carries. Junior quarterback Austin Teichert scored two touchdowns for the Beavers, carrying the ball 12 times for 61 yards while completing just one of six pass attempts.

But it was too little, too late for the visitors.

The Beavers entered the game as the No. 10-ranked 4A team in the state, and will have a shot to earn a state at-large berth.

Preston will not have to concern themselves with rankings, as they claim the auto-bid that comes with a conference championship.

Asked what led to Preston’s turnaround after a 0-4 start, Reese said that a 49-35 loss at Sugar-Salem on Sept. 25 was the turning point.

“We didn’t win, but we were right there with them the whole game,” the coach said. “This school has lost to Sugar by a lot for a lot of years, so I think it gave us confidence. We were like, ‘If we play well, we can play with anybody.'”

Now, Reese, Perry and Preston will focus on the state tournament, which starts next week.

If they are to continue their four-game winning streak and make a push for a state trophy, Perry said he and his team just have to keep doing what they’ve been doing.

“We’ve got to keep working,” he said. “We’re on the right trajectory, so we’ve got to keep having good weeks of practice. We can’t have a bad day.”