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PERHAM — The Perham football team nearly ended the regular season with an upset win.
The Yellowjackets (4-4) fell to Class 3A’s No. 12 team, Pequot Lakes (6-2), 22-12 in their final game before the Section 8-3A playoffs.
A fumble by Perham’s Grant Wiser to start the second half set up the Patriots with great field position. They scored the only points of the second half on Grant Loge’s four-yard touchdown pass, extending the lead to 10 points.
Pequot Lakes found themselves on the scoreboard first after taking the first possession of the game to the end zone. The Patriots ran nine plays for 80 yards, capped off by a Loge-to-Riley Larson 17-yard touchdown pass. The extra point by Tommer Blomer was good, giving his team a 7-0 lead early in the first quarter.
Perham wouldn’t find themselves on the scoreboard until the opening minutes of the second quarter. The Yellowjackets produced a seven-play, 62-yard drive that ended in six points. Blaiz Schmidt threw to Evan Kovash for a 32-yard touchdown to bring Perham within a point before a failed two-point attempt.
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The Yellowjackets would force a three-and-out to regain possession after their first score. The defensive stand would lead to another Perham touchdown drive. Schmidt found Braylon Rach for a 16-yard touchdown pass to give their team their first lead of the game at 12-7.
The Patriots responded with a touchdown drive of their own before the first half to take a three-point lead. Loge found Cullen Kratochvil for a 13-yard score with just under three minutes left in the first half.
The second half was started with a fumble on the opening kickoff by Perham to give the Patriots starting position on the 50-yard line. The fumble recovery was followed by a 10-play, 50-yard drive, leading to Loge’s second touchdown pass to Kratochvil.
Perham lost a fumble, turned the ball over on downs and three two interceptions on four of its next five possessions.
Schmidt finished the game 14-of-24 for 196-yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions. Hudson Hackel led the team with 61 rushing yards on 13 attempts. Noah Thompson led the team with 64 yards on five catches. Kovash and Rach both caught a touchdown.
