Tigers strike back: Peru avenges lopsided loss with big win at Logansport

Aug. 21—It was a role reversal from a year ago.

Last season, led by 18 seniors, Logansport recorded a 44-0 win at Peru. This season, led by its 17 seniors, Peru rolled to a 42-28 win at Logansport on Friday night.

"They're a good football team. They've got about 18 seniors and those guys are good and you can tell they've been in the weight room and they're very physical," Logansport coach Mike Johnson said. "They're going to win a lot of football games. So we didn't get beat by a bad football team, I can tell you that."

The Berries did a good job of keeping it a competitive game most of the way with a younger team. They were within 28-14 at halftime before the Tigers took a 42-20 lead after three quarters of play.

Peru was the bigger and more physical team and it was especially evident in the running game. The Tigers rushed for 335 yards on 56 carries while holding the Berries to 60 yards on 29 attempts.

"We have seven seniors. We're young and inexperienced," Johnson said. "But I was happy really with the way our kids responded. I thought offensively we were trying to find things that were working because it was tough sledding inside there with their defense.

"Defensively I thought the second half we did play a little better defense. We were able to stop some runs. I thought we matched their physical play a little better in the second half than we did in the first half."

A highlight of the night for the Berries was their passing game. Sophomore quarterback Bryson Herr was 10 of 15 passing for 194 yards and two touchdowns with one interception.

Senior Isaac Russell was the top target, hauling in five catches for 132 yards which included a 61-yard touchdown catch that tied the game at 7-all with 5:00 left in the first quarter.

Russell also made some defensive plays that kept it a close game. He stripped the ball away from the Tigers twice, one near the goal line that stopped a potential score in the first half and one that gave the Berries good field position early in the second half.

But the Berries really didn't take advantage of either play. Peru's Isaiah Korba had a 40-yard punt return for a touchdown following the Berries going three-and-out after the turnover in the first half. The Berries went four-and-out in their opening possession of the second half which later resulted in a 53-yard TD run by Alex Ross, who led the Tigers with 141 yards on the ground on just 12 attempts.

The Tigers overcame three lost fumbles and 14 penalties for 137 yards.

When not fumbling or getting penalized, the Tigers proved hard for the Berries to handle. Roettger, who's also a basketball standout, completed 2 of 5 passes for 79 yards. Both completions went for scores — one an 11-yard pass to Isaac Beam in the first half and the other a 68-yard pass to Lucas Boggs to cap the scoring for the with 5:34 left in the third quarter.

Tanner Boggs added 58 yards rushing on nine attempts which included a 21-yard TD run with 55 seconds left in the first half to give the Tigers a 28-14 lead at halftime.

Peru tight end Braxton Strong, a Colorado State recruit, didn't have a catch on the night but made his presence felt with his blocking on offense and his effort on defense at defensive end.

Logansport freshman Elliott Baldini led the Berries on the ground with 60 yards on 10 attempts, including a 25-yard TD run with 2:20 remaining in the game.

The Berries' passing game showed promise while they'll work to improve their running game in their wing-T offense.

"Bryson Herr's first start at quarterback, he played extremely well and played with some real poise," Johnson said. "He took some hits. You certainly don't want to take those but he was able to get back up and I thought did a really good job for his first outing. And Russell really was going to have to be able to provide some offense and get some strikes and he did. So we're happy with both of those guys."

The Berries had several players leave the game throughout with injuries and cramping.

The last time Peru beat Logansport and won the Don Baldini Trophy was in 2020. That year the Berries started 1-5 before winning five of their last seven games which included a Class 4A sectional championship.

They had a younger group then with some key seniors, similar to this year's team, and they'll hope to see similar improvement throughout the season.

"Like I told these guys, we're young enough and inexperienced enough that we're not worried about Peru. We're not worried about the scoreboard," Johnson said. "We're worried about us. At this point in time we've got to take care of us and things will work out, things will be the way it should be."

It was the 120th meeting between the programs. Logan leads the all-time series 62-53-5.

Logan hosts South Bend Adams Friday, while Peru hosts Whitko Friday.