Zahniser returns two kicks, Perkins shuts down Columbian

Two touchdown receptions, one of 34 yards, the other of 36 yards. Two kickoff returns for touchdowns, of 85 and 90 yards. Seven catches for 112 yards. By just about any standard, Sandusky Perkins’ wide receiver Luke Zahniser had an outstanding game. Thing is, the Pirates’ wide receiver did all of the above in the first half Friday at Frost-Kalnow Stadium. By the time Columbian and Perkins left for the locker room at halftime, the game’s outcome was a foregone conclusion. The Pirates led 36-10.But Perkins — fighting for its playoff life — wasn’t done. It added two more touchdowns and improved to 5-4 with a 50-10 throttling of the Tornadoes. The big story was, naturally, Zahniser, who came into Friday’s game with 465 yards receiving and four touchdowns. "We had our gameplan going into this week that we were going to get him the ball," Perkins coach Jason Ziegler said. "He responded. He had a great week of practice; our kids blocked for him. We have confidence in him." Zahniser’s kick returns were especially disheartening for the Tornadoes, as they immediately followed the team’s only two scoring plays. Perkins took an early lead when Noah Henry blasted into the end zone from 6 yards out, and gave the Pirates a 6-0 advantage. The Tornadoes responded, as quarterback Todd Simonds led a drive that went down to the Pirates 11-yard line. Parker Johnson then drilled a 28-yard field goal to cut Perkins lead in half. But Zahniser returned the ensuing kickoff 85 yards to make it 12-3. After Zahniser caught a pair of touchdown passes from Dawson Nason, upping the Pirate lead to 24-3, Columbian attempted a rally.First, its defense made a big play. Columbian forced a fumble by Perkins running back Dylan Nason, and TC lineman Austin Bell picked up the ball and rumbled down to the Perkins 5. On third-and goal, Columbian ran a direct snap to running back Caden Blust, who moved left and flipped the ball to receiver Blake Steinmetz, who was coming right. Steinmetz stopped and lofted a short pass to Simonds, who had come out of the backfield. The TC quarterback caught the ball and went untouched into the end zone. "That’s a play we put in several weeks ago," Columbian coach Judd Lutz said. "You know, the opportunity presented itself to run it, and it was well-executed." But the momentum was thwarted when Zahniser returned the ensuing kickoff 90 yards. "Every time we got momentum, a big play came out," Lutz said. "Two kick returns for touchdowns after scores are just killers." Henry capped the first half scoring by breaking a 49-yard TD run 2:49 before the break. In the second half, Dawson Nason plunged into the end zone from a yard out, and backup quarterback Isaac Grude found the end zone on a 5-yard dash. Henry finished with 80 yards rushing and two touchdowns. Zahniser finished with nine catches for 132 yards. Dawson Nason finished 16 of 21 passing for 232 yards. He had two TD passes and was not intercepted. The Pirates defense was just as impressive. It held the Tornadoes to just 19 rushing yards and just 158 yards of total offense. "Defense played great; I was really happy with the way they performed," Ziegler said. "That’s what we talked (about) all week, getting 11 guys to run to the football. It wasn’t a perfect game, but we were pretty darn close." Simonds completed 9 of 24 passes for 134 yards and no interceptions. Daniel Bupp had four catches for 60 yards. Columbian fell to 1-8. It closes at home with Willard next week.Perkins, who came into the game ranked 11th in its region in Division III, finishes the regular season by hosting Edison. "I thought our kids got better this week," Ziegler said. "Now, next week’s for all the marbles."