6A FB: Perry nips Hamilton in OT, 63-60

November 11, 2016 by Les Willsey, AZPreps365


Perry quarterback Brock Purdy wasn't as prolific in some respects Thursday night in Perry's second battle this season with sister-school Hamilton in the 6A quarterfinals.

But Perry coach Preston Jones won't quibble with the 465 yards of offense Purdy produced, his lost fumble and one interception. Jones got seven total touchdowns and more importantly, the game-winner from his junior signal caller  that gave No. 3 Perry a 63-60 overtime win over No. 6 Hamilton in a wild, I mean really wild, contest at Perry's John Wrenn Stadium.

Perry (11-1) moves on to the semifinals Nov. 18 for the first time in school history. The Pumas get a chance to avenge their only loss this season against Chandler High, which advanced by crushing Desert Vista, 62-7. Perry and Chandler will meet at Hamilton High School. Hamilton finished its season 7-5.

"What can I say about Brock," Jones said in the aftermath of what may be the first playoff game to see both teams score 60 points. "He had a couple turnovers, but the other things he did covered them up."  A regular-season game in 2014 between Higley and Apache Junction yielded a 95-75 final in favor of Higley in a truly outrageous scorefest.

Purdy accounted for seven touchdowns --five passing, one receiving and the final one -- a 15-yard scramble that he burrowed the final two yards to land on the goal line and end the nearly 3 1/2 hour game. Hamilton, which had the ball first in OT, settled for a 27-yard field goal from kicker Anthony Rusch for a 60-57 lead.

Purdy passed for 319 yards and rushed for another 14 - 465 yards. The last tme he faced Hamilton, he amassed 540 yards and accounted for six TDs sans any turnovers.

The game breakdown in a nutshell? There was no frantic comeback by either squad. Neither team led by more than seven points. The game featured 17 touchdowns and they alternated scoring the first 14 TDs.

Hamilton led 28-21 at halftme. Perry didn't get its first lead untii it scored on its first possession of the second half and went for two points to take ta 29-28 edge.

The touchdown that gave Perry that a brief lead was a handoff by Purdy to wide out Nate James who threw back across the field to Purdy for a 9-yard score. On the try for two the Pumas did the same thing only to the left side of the field with Colby Dickey flipping a pass to Purdy.

Three more alternating TDs saw the game tied at 50 with Dickie hauling in a 34-yard TD pass from Purdy. Perry took the lead for just the third time in the game less than a minute later when the Pumas Ty Kofahl recovered a squib kick. Purdy's 16-yard TD pass to Antonio Gomez made it 57-50.

Hamilton tied the game a final time less than a minute later, with 3:29 to play on a beautifully thrown bomb from QB Tyler Shough in stride to Chance Brewington to make it 57 all.

Perry had a chance to win on the final play of reguatlion after a 66-yard run by Kenny Fultz (21 carries, 207 yards and 2 TDs), but Cristian Zendejas's 40-yard field goal was slightly wide left.

It was a tough loss for Hamilton to swallow after losing the first meeting, 55-21. Huskies coach Steve Belles summed up the outcome succinctly.

"If you score 60 points you should win, but that's the way it goes," Belles said.

Hamilton had its share of offensive standouts. Unofficial stats had Shough passing for 275 yards and rushing for 72 yards. He passed for three scores and rushed for two. Running back Jawhar Jordan ran for 209 yards and two scores. Chance Brewington caught five passes for 103 yards and two TDs. Hamilton had 535 yards of offsnse, almost twice what had the first meeting.