No-huddle offense helps Perrysburg wear down Anthony Wayne in 63-23 win

Perrysburg’s Mark Delas cuts between AW defenders Josh Schwerer, left, and Blake Alberts, right, during his 151-yard night.

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Perrysburg’s Mark Delas cuts between AW defenders Josh Schwerer, left, and Blake Alberts, right, during his 151-yard night.

Perrysburg employed a no-huddle, uptempo offense and never let off the gas to steamroll Anthony Wayne on Friday night.

The host Yellow Jackets racked up 581 yards of total offense during a 63-23 rout on Homecoming Night. Perrysburg finished with 369 rushing yards at Steinecker Stadium.

“We have what we call our NASCAR where we are at the line and going,” Perrysburg coach Matt Kregel said. “We are gaining momentum, and we have great confidence right now.”

PHOTO GALLERY: Click here to see more photos from this game

Junior quarterback Gus Dimmerling rushed for 153 yards and scored on runs of 6, 6, 34, and 42 yards.

“We are clicking so well on offense,” Dimmerling said. “We have all the confidence in the world.”

What looked to be a blowout briefly turned into a shootout before ultimately going back to a lopsided contest.

The Generals trailed just 28-23 midway through the second quarter. But Perrysburg scored a crucial TD with just 11 seconds left in the second quarter to take a 42-23 into the half. The Yellow Jackets then pitched a shutout during the second half while adding three more scores.

Senior running back Mark Delas finished with 151 yards on 20 carries and scored on runs of one and six yards.

“We have a great line that gets a great push,” Delas said. “Our line is everything to us. Without them we couldn't do what we do. We’re all clicking.”

Perrysburg receiver Seth Durham finds the end zone against AW's Josh Schwerer in the first quarter on a 53-yard TD catch. Durham finished with four catches for 124 yards.

Dimmerling also threw for 131 yards, connecting on 8 of 13 passes and one TD.

“Our O-Line did a great job blocking the whole game,” Dimmerling said. “I know we get all the credit but they did a great job.”

Perrysburg (5-2) remains alone in first place in the Northern Lakes League with a 4-0 record. The Yellow Jackets have won four straight after losing two of their first three games.

Anthony Wayne (3-4) fell to 2-2 in the NLL.

The teams combined for 615 yards of total offense and 65 points in the first half alone. Perrysburg then allowed just 70 yards and no points in the second half.

“In the first half we were in the game, and it was exciting, but then we just couldn’t stop them,” AW coach Craig Smith said. “No. 10 [Dimmerling] is a really good player. Delas is a good player, and they have a good offensive line. They just wore us down up front. We’re beat up anyway. No excuses. They’re a good football team.”

Perrysburg sophomore Trevor Hafner came in at quarterback and threw a strike to Seth Durham for a 53-yard touchdown for a 7-0 Jackets lead just 22 seconds into game. Durham finished with four catches for 124 yards.

The Yellows Jackets then scored on Dimmerling’s six-yard quarterback draw to go up 14-0 just 2 minutes, 35 seconds into the game, and a Yellow Jacket blowout seemed likely.

However, the Generals went on a 10-play, 72-yard drive to make it 14-7 on Jake Reid’s 16-yard touchdown pass to Eric Zelina.

Anthony Wayne's Eric Zelina hauls in a 16-yard TD pass over Perrysburg's Zach Honsberger during the first quarter on Friday.

AW then forced a turnover on downs. But the Generals fumbled and Matt Mesker recovered for the Yellow Jackets, who then scored on Delas’ one-yard romp to take a 20-7 lead.

But Anthony Wayne picked up yards in chunks, scoring on Josh Schwerer’s 11-yard touchdown run to make it 20-14 early in the second quarter. Schwerer finished with a team-high 118 yards on 12 carries.

However, a 57-yard pass from Dimmerling to Durham set up Dimmerling’s six-yard TD as Perrysburg took a 28-14 lead with 9:05 left in the half. Dimmerling rolled right, then cut back across the entire field to score.

“They came out battling and they're a really good team,” Dimmerling said. “But we fought back.”

The Generals sacked Dimmerling, who had fumbled the snap, to get a safety and made it 28-16 with 6:09 left in second quarter. AW then scored on a 40-yard pass from Reid to Jamar Allen down the sideline to pull within 28-23 with 5:27 left in the second quarter.

But it took Perrysburg just four plays to score again as Dimmerling broke off a 34-yard TD run to give the Yellow Jackets a 35-23. Perrysburg then faced a fourth-and-3 and Dimmerling, a shifty back, rushed for a 42-yard touchdown to give the Jackets a 42-23 lead with only 11.2 seconds left in the first half.

“They scored that big one just before half,” Smith said.

Perrysburg took the opening possession of the second half and drove 80 yards on 13 plays to remove any doubt. Dimmerling connected with Nate Patterson on a seven-yard TD.

“The whole idea is to get them worn out and then cram Mark Delas (6 feet, 2 inches and 225 pounds) down their throat. And that’s what we did,” Kregel said. “That’s the way we practice every day … to keep the thing rolling.”

Perrysburg closes the regular-season with games against lower tier NLL teams: Northview, Springfield, and rival Maumee in the finale.

“I will pull the coach card and say everyone of them is a heavyweight to us,” Kregel said.

Contact Mark Monroe at: mmonroe@theblade.com, 419-724-6354, or on Twitter @MonroeBlade.