Staff photo by Mike Buhler Kennett seniors (from left) Donald Sims, Jarvis Finley and Patrick Barnes watch during the fourth quarter of the Tribe's 31-12 loss to Perryville on Friday night at Metz Cherry Stadium. [Click to enlarge]

Josh Perreault ran for 240 yards and the Perryville Pirates held on to the ball for over 34 minutes as they defeated the Kennett Indians 31-12 in the Class 3, District 1 opener Friday at Metz Cherry Stadium.

"That was the goal coming in, four yards and a cloud of dust," Perryville coach Jim May said afterwards. "We knew if we could control the ball, (Kennett) quarterback (Blake Parr) would be standing on the sidelines and that was huge for us."

Staff photo by Mike Buhler Kennett's Cameron Conder (left) tackles Perryville's Josh Perreault during the Tribe's 31-12 loss to Perryville on Friday night at Metz Cherry Stadium. [Click to enlarge]

The loss did serious damage to the Tribe's quest for its first playoff berth since 1986. Kennett (6-2, 0-1 District 1) will now need a lot of help if it is going to make the playoffs this fall.

"They had a great gameplan," Kennett coach Kirk Welch said. "They were going to come in here, ball-control it and keep our offense off the field."

Perryville did just that, allowing the Tribe to hold the ball for just 13 minutes and 51 seconds Friday night, and less than eight and a half minutes over the final three periods.

The Pirates (2-6, 1-0 District 1) also dominated up front, helping the Perryville running game to rack up 330 yards on the ground and eat clock.

"Their offensive line is monsters," Welch said. We knew they were big and physical but…they're a lot better than 1-6."

Kennett scored first, marching 56 yards in 12 plays and taking a 6-0 lead with 5:56 left in the opening period when Parr punched it in on a 1-yard quarterback sneak.

However, the lead did not last long. Perryville answered with a seven-play, 70-yard drive as Josh Hargrove scored on a two-yard run with 2:07 left in the first. Ben Prevallet's kick put the Pirates up 7-6, a lead they never relinquished.

It took Perryville less than 30 seconds to score again, as Andrew Martin intercepted Parr on the Tribe's next play from scrimmage. Perreault ran it in from eight yards out at the 1:38 mark of the opening stanza as the Pirates took a 14-6 lead and the momentum.

"We got in a hole early and just couldn't get ourselves out of it," said Welch. "I think we felt like we just had to make plays and pressed too much."

The Pirates made it 21-6 with 4:58 left in the first half when Brent Roth caught an 11-yard pass from Garrett Flentge, then pushed it to 24-6 on Ben Prevallet's 32-yard field goal shortly before halftime.

Kennett did not give up, as Jimmie Gooden intercepted a pass in the end zone to set up a 10-play, 82-yard scoring drive midway through the third quarter. Greg Bowles caught a 10-yard pass from Parr with 5:29 left in the period to cut the lead to 24-12.

However, Perryville responded with a 16-play, 75-yard drive on the ensuing possession icing the game with 9:10 left in the contest as Roth scored on a one-yard run.

The Pirates outgained the Tribe 409-204 in total yards and racked up 330 yards on the ground. The Pirates also finished with 19 first downs to the Indians' 11.

Roth added 49 yards on 12 carries for the Pirates and also had three catches for 62 yards as he and Perreault led the offensive attack.

"I didn't know how (many yards Perreault) had (but) we just kept feeding it to him and Brent," said May. "They're good runners, but those five guys up front won the game for us. … They did an awesome job."

Flentge was 4-for-7 passing for 79 yards on the night and hurt Kennett several times in the first half.

Tribe signal-caller Blake Parr was 20-for-33 with 163 yards passing and a touchdown, but was intercepted four times.

Gooden finished with six catches for 83 yards, while Cameron Conder added 24 yards on a pair of catches, Bowles had 23 yards on two catches and Jarvis Finley had two catches for 22 yards before leaving the game with an injury.

Perryville hosts Dexter next week in District 1 play, while Kennett heads to New Madrid County Central. NMCC defeated Dexter 34-14 on Friday night.

Notes: The Pirates also capitalized on five Kennett turnovers, turning them into 10 points. … Parr went over 2,000 yards passing for the season Friday night, passing the mark on an 18-yard completion to Gooden early in the fourth quarter. ... The Tribe has lost three straight games to the Pirates with Friday's loss.