Perham scored a touchdown on the first play of three different possessions in the game and the most snaps they had in any one possession was seven as they utilized a quick-strike, big-play offense resulting in several long TD’s.
Park Rapids had a big play of their own to take a 6-0 lead as Sam Reish went 63 yards for the first TD of the night, capping a 6 play, 78-yard drive by the Panthers with 2:53 left in the first quarter. Perham pulled even on a 55-yard pass from Hackel to Peterson on the first play of the next possession and the first quarter ended with a 6-6 tie.
Hackel broke loose for a 94 yard TD run with 10:46 remaining in the second quarter and the Yellowjackets led 12-6. Reish scored on a 28 yard run with 4:33 left in the half and it was 12-12. Hackel connected with Peterson on a 30 yard TD pass and then ran in for the two-point conversion, giving Perham a 20-12 advantage with 4:06 to play in the first half. Hackel’s 17 yard TD run and two-point pass to Chas Melvin increased the Perham lead to 28-12 with 2:33 on the clock. Thirty-one seconds later Peterson hauled in a 25 yard TD pass and Hackel again hit Melvin for the two-point conversion as Perham took a 36-12 lead into halftime.
Hackel hooked up with Peterson on a 15 yard pass play with 8:58 left in the third quarter and then carried the ball into the end zone on the two-point try, lifting the Yellowjackets to a 44-12 advantage. With 6:52 left in the third Gabe Thompson was on the receiving end of a 68 yard aerial from Hackel and following a Hackel kick Perham led 51-12.
A fumble recovery in the end zone by Austin Aanenson with 10:39 left in the game resulted in the final score of the night and a 57-12 Perham victory.
Perham had 458 yards of total offense, 212 on the ground and 246 through the air. Hackel completed 10-of-17 passes for 246 yards and 5 touchdowns. He also ran for 189 yards on 11 carries. Peterson (5 catches, 149 yards, 4 TD’s) and Thompson (3 catches, 84 yards, TD) were the leading receivers for the Yellowjackets. Defensively, Hackel had an interception and Caleb Lung blocked a punt and recorded a sack. Brian Ramos was the leading tackler with 9 (5 solo, 4 assists). Thompson had 7 solo tackles on the night. Hackel (6 solo, 1 assist) and Austin Schmelz (5 solo, 2 assists) had seven tackles each.
Reish led Park Rapids Area with 132 rushing yards on 17 attempts. Noah Morris completed 5-of-13 passes for 92 yards. The Panthers had 325 yards (99 passing, 226 rushing) on the night.
Perham (4-3) will play at Pequot Lakes in a Section 8AAA semifinal contest at 2:00pm Saturday.