MISAWA AIR BASE, Japan – Decorio Perry set the tone with a 63-yard touchdown run and also had an interception and a fumble recovery, and Yokota pulled away late for a happy ending to a losing season.
Perry and backfield mates Shota Sprunger, Marcus Henagan and Jamarvin Harvey combined for seven touchdowns as the Panthers won 46-14 Friday at Robert D. Edgren to close the season 3-4, their second straight sub-.500 season.
“It’s nice to finish with a win,” coach Tim Pujol said. “I’m very proud of the guys and happy especially for the seniors. It’s nice to end the season on a winning note.”
But it wasn’t easy at the beginning, when the Panthers had trouble handling the Eagles’ double-wing attack.
Pujol credited the Eagles for “playing hard the whole game. They got very creative on offense, we had to make some adjustments which worked out. Our kids moved the ball well offensively in the second half. A lot of good blocking and tackling going on.”
Sprunger had 162 yards and three touchdowns on 20 carries, Henagan added 102 yards and two scores on 11 carries and was 4-for-6 for 37 yards and Harvey scored his first touchdown, finishing with 62 yards on 10 carries. Shareef Saxpon and Emilio Saucedo each recovered fumbles.
Perry “played his best game of the year,” Pujol said.
Edgren (2-5) kept it within reach by moving Sky Phillips to quarterback as the Eagles had a week earlier, changing plays and incorporating motion in the backfield, “mostly a running game, not much passing,” coach Bill Schofield said.
Shawn Robinson, moved to running back, had 132 yards and a touchdown on 16 carries and Nick Cunniff added 96 yards and a score on 12 attempts.
“The kids seemed to really wake up for this game and gave us a lot of good blocking,” Schofield said. “We learned a lot about blocking and working really hard this season.”