L-P wins 125th meeting with Ottawa, extends rivalry win streak to 10

The 125th meeting of one of the state’s longest running rivalries was all La Salle-Peru as the Cavaliers dominated the line of scrimmage on defense and got some timely plays for a 33-0 victory over Ottawa on Friday at Howard Fellows Stadium.

The Cavaliers have won 10 consecutive games in the series with four shutouts during that stretch.

After the Cavaliers defense forced the Pirates to punt quickly on the opening possession, L-P’s Mikey Hartman nearly returned the punt for a touchdown after 39 yards.

But the Cavs were denied as Marion Persich was picked off inside the 5-yard line.

The Pirates were unable to do anything with the ball and were forced to punt again.

On a third-and-2, Persich picked up 19 yards to keep the drive going. After a 7-yard run by Easton Moriarity, Persich took the quarterback keep and busted free for a 19-yard touchdown run that put the Cavs ahead 7-0.

Ottawa’s Mark Munson found Owen Sanders for a 15-yard completion on the next Pirates possession and nearly had another long completion, but the pass was dropped and the Pirates eventually punted.

The Pirates defense did a nice job on first and second downs throughout the game, but third down was another story. On third-and-5, Persich rolled right and found Andy Medina for a 20-yard strike, but a dead ball foul put the Cavs in a hole and they were forced to punt.

“Give Ottawa credit, they played tough on early downs,” L-P coach Jose Medina said. “Not the ideal situation to be in, but the line came through and Marion (Persich) made some nice plays to pick up the first, but we have to clean up the silly penalties.”

With 6:41 remaining in the half, Munson took a shot to the head and did not return.

“I was happy with our effort on those early downs,” Pirates coach Chad Gross said. “But then LP would roll out and either get a completion or a big run to keep things going and when Munson went out we became one dimensional. We were short three starters coming in and then lost a couple more and then L-P was just very physical up front and took control.”

The Pirates looked to be driving late in the first half with the help of two Cavs penalties and a 12-yard run from Jace Veith along with a 13-yard scramble from Weston Averkamp.

However, the drive camp to a screeching halt with a fumble that Nick Hachenberger recovered for the Cavs.

L-P wasted little time marching down the field as the half was coming to a close. Persich could not find an open receiver so he took off for a 33-yard run.

On third-and-5, Persich ran for another 8 yards before finding Hartman in the corner of the end zone for a 15-yard touchdown pass to put the Cavs ahead 14-0 at the break.

The second half opened with Persich finding Medina for a 47-yard reception, but another dead ball foul pushed the Cavs back.

The penalty did not halt the drive this time though as a Persich pass was tipped by Ottawa’s Michael McGill into Hartman’s hands for a 36-yard gain.

On first-and-goal, Persich made it 20-0 with a 3-yard scramble for a TD.

L-P’s defense quickly shut down the Pirates and then went on the attack again.

Moriarity had runs of 8 and 3 yards, but after a 9-yard loss on the next play, Brevyn Vogel turned on the jets and busted free for a 49-yard score and a 26-0 lead.

On the next Ottawa series the offense still could not get things going as the L-P defensive line continued to dominate, which resulted in a blocked punt.

Ottawa once again tough on the first two downs, but on third-and-7, Persich found Walter Haage for 23 yards, which led to a 2-yard TD run from Moriarity and a 33-0 victory.

Persich was 18 of 22 for 243 yards and a touchdown to go along with 75 yards rushing on 11 attempts. Moriarity added 55 yards and a score while Vogel had 53 yards on two carries.

Averkamp led Ottawa with 34 yards on 14 carries while Munson added 30 yards passing.

L-P (2-1) takes on Morris to open Interstate 8 Conference play next week while the Pirates (1-2) return home for a conference battle with Kaneland.

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L-P's Michael Hartman leaps in the air to celebrate scoring the teams second touchdown with teammate eEaston Moriarity against Ottawa on Friday, Sept. 13, 2024 at Howard Fellows Stadium. (Scott Anderson)