La Salle-Peru football hangs on to beat United Township 18-16

PERU – Fireworks lit up the sky over Howard Fellows Stadium on Friday, a fitting end to a night that saw many explosive, game-changing plays on the field.

In a game that featured four touchdowns of more than 50 yards, four turnovers, three fourth-down stops and a missed field goal in the final two minutes, La Salle-Peru hung on to beat United Township in a nonconference game.

“It feels amazing,” said L-P senior Adrian Arzola, who scored two of the Cavaliers’ three TDs. We fought hard. That’s how you want to start off the season.

“[The key was] just not putting our heads down and giving up. We could have gave up at half. We were down. We gave up a big touchdown, but we kept fighting the whole way.”

It was L-P’s sixth consecutive season-opening win and 14th straight victory over the Panthers.

“It’s always a great way to start,” L-P coach Jose Medina said. “I told the kids they played their butts off. The defense stepped up a lot to try to get the ball back. We left some points on the board. We should have capitalized on certain things. We got a couple big plays that sparked a little bit more energy. It was a great way to start the season.”

The Cavs trailed 10-6 at halftime and 16-12 after the third quarter but made a few key plays in the fourth to pull out the victory.

With the Panthers facing a third-and-3 at their own 45-yard line, the Cavs forced a fumble and Richie Santiago pounced on it to give L-P a momentum boost.

On the Cavs’ first offensive play, freshman quarterback Marion Persich lofted a long pass to Arzola, who hauled it in, shook off the initial defender and broke a second tackle en route to a 58-yard TD and an 18-16 lead with 8:36 left.

“Coach told me if the safety is over the top of me directly, make a move on him, make it look like a corner, cut back inside and I’ll score a touchdown,” Arzola said. “That’s exactly what I did.

“It felt really good because I had that fumble that led to that touchdown, so I was really wanting to make a play and make up for it.”

Following Arzola’s TD, the Cavs forced a three-and-out, but L-P was forced into a three-and-out, having to punt with just over 5 minutes left.

United Township’s Jasiah Massey returned the punt 29 yards to the L-P 27-yard line.

The Panthers drove down to the 5 and faced third-and-goal. UT gave it to Isiah Navarrete, who finished with 206 yards and two TDs on 22 carries, but L-P’s Caeden Small burst through the line to tackle him for a 4-yard loss.

L-P's Ricardo Santiago reacts after helping cause a fumble recovery on Friday, Aug. 30, 2024 at Howard Fellows Stadium. (Scott Anderson)

United Township missed a 25-yard field goal attempt with 1:38 left, and the Cavs ran out the clock, sealing it when Persich ran for two yards on third-and-1.

“Our defense came up tough and stopped them there,” Medina said. “They had that missed field goal. We told our offense they just needed to get one more first down, and they did it.”

The Panthers started the fireworks early in the game as Navarrete broke free for a 53-yard touchdown run on UT’s third play.

The Cavs responded immediately as Arzola raced down the right sideline in front of the L-P bench for an 86-yard kick return score.

“That one I’ll just credit to my blockers,” Arzola said. “They gave me space and I just followed my blockers. I had an opening and I just took off.”

The Panthers took a 10-6 lead into halftime after Rowan Kallal booted a 34-yard field goal with 4:53 left in the first half.

After L-P’s offense managed 81 yards in the first half, the Cavs caught a break in the third when a UT player touched a punt and L-P recovered on the Panthers’ 10 for first-and-goal.

On third down, Persich found Andy Medina for a 9-yard TD.

After an L-P fumble, Navarrete ran for an 81-yard TD on UT’s first play for a 16-12 lead.

Persich finished 5 of 15 for 116 yards and two touchdowns, while the Cavs rushed for 54 yards on 30 attempts.

Navarrete had 134 of his 206 yards on his two TD runs. The Panthers finished with 198 rushing yards and 61 passing yards.

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