Elusive Perez sparks Maine South over Loyola
It was a good thing that Maine South junior Matt Perez had his hand warmer as a part of his uniform Saturday.
It wasn't because of the snow flurries, the 30 mile per hour winds or even the chilly temperatures - though it did help to keep his hands warm.
Instead, it proved to be just what Perez needed on a long touchdown run.
With the Hawks clinging to a 13-0 lead over visiting Loyola, Perez broke through the defensive line.
As Perez was about to get tackled, a Loyola defender grabbed Perez's hand warmer instead of the runner. His hand warmer broke free and so did Perez - for a 51-yard touchdown.
His second score of the day lifted the Hawks into the quarterfinals with a 26-7 Class 8A second-round win over the visiting Ramblers.
"I have a Velcro strap on my hand warmer so that the defense can't grab it and bring me down," Perez said. "It worked because they grabbed my hand warmer and I didn't go down.
The Hawks (11-0) will hit the road Saturday, traveling to Barrington to face the Broncos, a 7-2 winner over New Trier. Loyola (6-4) will play in the Prep Bowl next week.
The Hawks tried to avoid the slow start that haunted them in their opening-round win over Stevenson last week.
"We had a real slow start last week, and we knew Loyola was a better team than Stevenson so we couldn't start slow this week," said Hawks senior Zach Timm.
Vanderbilt-bound senior Charlie Goro got the Hawks going. On the third play from scrimmage, Goro broke through the defense for a 51-yard touchdown run and a 6-0 lead.
On the final play of the opening quarter, Perez spun through the defense for an 11-yard score and a 13-0 lead. Perez rushed for 92 of his game-high 135 yards in the second half. Goro also hit the century mark with 112 yards.
"Matt is just an amazing back," Timm said. "We know if we make the blocks for him up front he can take it all the way."
The defense was tough on the Ramblers, who gained 65 yards on the ground and were sacked five times. Loyola avoided the shutout when Lucas Ruske hit James Martin with a 19-yard touchdown pass late in the fourth quarter.