Perryville football prides itself on defense, and for good reason. The unit largely carried the Panthers to a state semifinal appearance and stymied opponents throughout the season.

It was put to the test again Saturday against eighth-seeded Fort Hill, the three-time defending Class 1A state champions who upset the bracket’s top seed last week to give fourth-seeded Perryville a home semifinal game.

The home team’s defense did enough to clinch a championship game berth, but an offense that deteriorated as the game went on kept the Panthers from capitalizing in a 24-21 season-ending loss.

Still, the Panthers see growth.

“Three years ago, we didn’t hold a candle to this team,” Sandora said. “That’s the three-time defending state champ, probably gonna be a fourth one. We took them to the brink.”

Sandora’s defense forced two turnovers on downs, a punt and a fumble in the fourth quarter with Perryville trailing by just three. But each time, the Panthers’ offense had a similar outcome.

A punt by Fort Hill preceded an interception by Perryville quarterback Joey Thomason. A goal-line stand by the Panthers returned the ball to their offense, which punted from the end zone four plays later. Fort Hill fumbled to give the ball back to the home team with three minutes to play, but a fumble by Perryville gave it right back 90 seconds later.

One more fourth-down stop gave Perryville’s offense a final chance, needing to drive from beyond midfield with under a minute to play. Thomason escaped a collapsing pocket on fourth down, spun to evade a defender and threw short of the first-down marker. Senior receiver Devin Clore was brought down well before the line to gain, and Perryville’s season ended there.

Perryville’s defense gave up just 17 points — one of Fort Hill’s scores came on a kickoff return touchdown.

“We just didn’t make some plays toward the end of this game,” Perryville coach Sean Sandora said. “Our guys played with a lot of heart all year long. I couldn’t be prouder.”

Thomason and junior receiver Jayden Byard led an aerial attack that let Perryville race out to a 21-7 lead in the second quarter. The duo connected on an 80-yard touchdown, one of Thomason’s two passing touchdowns of the afternoon. They nearly had another, but Byard — who also added an interception on defense — fumbled nearing the goal line and Perryville pounced on the loose ball to complete the score.

After Byard’s touchdown, Sandora told his two-way star on the sideline “I need more from you,” a plea to continue the scoring.

But that was it for Perryville’s offense, which punted four times and turned it over twice in a scoreless second half. Fort Hill only needed one second-half touchdown to leap ahead for good.

Thomason and Byard, both juniors, will return next season. They hope to lead their team back to this stage with a different result at the end.

In the postgame huddle, with most heads pointed toward the turf, Sandora told his underclassmen to remember that feeling. He hopes it’ll provide the motivation needed to clear this last hurdle.

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