Jalen Santoro was behind center when Bellevue advanced to an Ohio state football final in Division III in 2012.
Now, he’s back in a title game, still as a quarterback of sorts, as Sandusky Perkins’ head coach for a Division IV championship matchup Saturday against unbeaten Indian Valley.
“It’s cool to experience it as a player and be in this spot as a coach,” Santoro said. “You can take the game day process as a player here and implement that. We came up short (to Akron St. Vincent-St. Mary in 2012). We’ve still been chasing another opportunity as coaches.”
Here are five reasons the Pirates (14-1) are playing for a state crown:
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The Pirates fell 29-22 to Van Wert in the second round two years ago and 36-26 to eventual state champ Glenville last season.
“It’s special when you can talk about and manifest something and it comes true,” Santoro said. “Since (graduate) Logan Lesch was a sophomore at quarterback, we lost to Van Wert and Glenville. Those were two good teams. We were on the cusp.
“It’s not often you can manifest something and make it a reality. We were close, a couple plays away. This year, we were mentally ready and physically ready. We had to go through those experiences to use that as fuel and a learning tool.”
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Perkins lost several players to injury this season, most notably defensive back/receiver standout Weston Sturzinger. He tore his ACL before the season.
“Adversity,” Santoro said of a consistent theme to overcome. “We lost starters. (Lineman) Joey Ziegler. We’ve had a next-man-up mentality. It’s not a surprise. We had some kids who waited their turn and stepped up and shined.
“We knew we had depth, and we were able to display that.”
Seniors Isaac Bunts, Mikey Young and Haiden Bollini shared player of the year honor in the Northwest District. Running back Bunts was offensive player of the year, linebacker Young defensive player and Bollini lineman.
Bunts rushed for 2,316 yards and 32 touchdowns on 301 totes without a fumble lost. Junior quarterback Sam Schweinfurth completed 165 of 256 passes for 2,632 yards and 35 touchdowns, with six interceptions.
Potentially saving the best for last, senior receiver Braylon Collier, a Michigan State recruit, has 1,216 yards and 22 scores on 76 receptions.
“Everything he does, he’s smooth,” Santoro said of Collier. “He could have played Division I baseball. He’s smooth when he plays basketball. He does everything on the field. He returns kicks, and he’s backup quarterback. He’s an outstanding receiver and a lockdown corner.”
Dylan Crabtree leads the team with 170 tackles, Reagan Kaufman has 99 tackles, 11 sacks and three forced fumbles, and Bryce Davie has six interceptions.
Perkins averages 34.6 points and allows 14 since Week 10. It averages 37 points and allows eight for the season.
Perkins is plus-22 in turnover margin, including 23 interceptions and eight fumbles recovered. The Pirates lost only one fumble and tossed eight interceptions.
Young, a Harvard commit, Joey Diederich and Braxden Martin each scored twice on defense. Perkins had two interceptions and recovered two fumbles in last week’s 13-11 victory over Glenville.
The Pirates are plus-10 in the postseason, without a turnover on offense.
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