Subscribe

MARINE CORPS AIR STATION IWAKUNI, Japan – For a team transitioning to a spread-option attack this season, Matthew C. Perry looked very much like the ground-pounding Samurai of old in Saturday’s season-opening victory.

Desmond Moore rushed for four touchdowns, Garrett Macias ran for two more and the Samurai racked up 327 yards on the ground and downed Sotoku, a Japanese team out of Hiroshima, 42-0 in a game played the last 14 minutes 30 seconds under the mercy rule and with a running clock.

“We picked up right where we left off,” coach Frank Macias said after Perry earned its sixth victory in eight games since becoming a varsity program again with the start of the 2014 season. The Samurai had been on hiatus since the end of the 2003 season due to lack of players.

The elder Macias had suggested the Samurai would air the ball out more than it had in 2014 because Perry only brought back three linemen weighing 200 pounds or more. It didn’t seem to matter against the Fighting Ducks, against whom the Samurai ran 47 rushing plays.

“I needed more time and more than one football to distribute,” Macias said. “It was hard to distribute so many touches to the guys. They really ran the ball well.”

Moore finished with 97 yards on nine attempts. The younger Macias, the team’s starting quarterback, added 55 yards on 14 carries. Jason DeGrace totaled 70 yards on 14 rushes. Returning Samurai running backs Zach Brown added 49 yards on five carries and Caeleb Ricafrente 56 yards on five rushes.

“We changed our scheme, and yet we still pounded the ball,” Frank Macias said.

Brown also shined on defense from the nose-guard position, recording six tackles, as did Andrew Borrero and fellow returnee R.J. Bolduc, who also recovered a fumble. The Samurai held the Ducks to minus-40 rushing yards.

The Samurai might not have quite as easy a time of it Friday when they travel to Yokota to play a Panthers team that pounded Robert D. Edgren 56-24 in its opener Friday at Misawa Air Base. Kickoff Friday is at 7 p.m.

“It’s going to be a major task to play them next week,” Frank Macias said. “We have to get better every week, and we’ll see what happens.”

Sign Up for Daily Headlines

Sign up to receive a daily email of today's top military news stories from Stars and Stripes and top news outlets from around the world.

Sign Up Now