Perry's Jeremiah Wardrobe carries the ball ahead of Yokota defenders. (Leon DeJesus/Special to Stripes)

MARINE CORPS AIR STATION IWAKUNI, Japan — Julian Chuckrey exited Yokota’s previous meeting at Matthew C. Perry with a high left ankle sprain and could only watch as the Panthers lost to the Samurai 13-0 on Sept. 19.

He could not have returned at a more opportune time, coach Michael Woodworth said after Chuckrey ran for four touchdowns. The Panthers led throughout Friday’s contest, which they won 44-20 over the Samurai to repeat as Far East Division II champions.

“He was hesitant about coming back,” Woodworth said about Chuckrey, adding that he told Chuckrey that he could come out to practice, and if he did not, there would be no hard feelings and they’d just chalk it up to injuries.

“He was at practice every day and he made the trip” to Iwakuni, where he ran for touchdowns of 3, 8, 19 and 74 yards – the latter coming midway through the fourth quarter when the Panthers pulled away.

“That was the final nail in the coffin,” Woodworth said of Chuckrey, who finished with 122 yards on six carries.

“He (Chuckrey) said I’m going to score and he did score. Having him come back from injury was incredible. If he hadn’t come back, I don’t know where we would be.”

Yokota's Corey Carpenter bulls his way over Perry's Matthew McDowell. (Leon DeJesus/Special to Stripes)

Yokota's Kysiem Banks brings down Perry's Kameron Ramos. (Leon DeJesus/Special to Stripes)

Yokota led throughout Friday’s rematch of last year’s D-II title game, in which the Panthers trailed 10-0 after three quarters only to score 22 unanswered points in the final period.

This time, the Panthers left nothing to chance, Woodworth said. Yokota took the lead early and never relinquished it.

Corey Carpenter added 202 yards on 16 carries. Kysiem Banks ran for touchdowns of 55 and 17 yards and totaled 72 yards on three attempts. Quincy Brown ran seven times for 32 yards.

Woodworth credited his offensive and defensive coordinators Joshua Long and Jay Dayao for the Panthers’ title run. “We would not be able to do any of this without them,” Woodworth said, adding that the Panthers “won the PCS lottery” with Long.

Perry scored all of its points in the first half on two touchdowns by Kameron Ramos, who finished with 176 yards on 27 carries, and one from Jeremiah Wardrobe.

The Samurai were beset by injuries; Wardrobe and key defender Matthew McDowell each left the game. Ramos and Kelton Clark led Perry with five tackles each.

“You win some, you lose some,” said Samurai coach A.J. Edwards. “Executing plays, making plays happen, stay in your zones, keep your head in the game; it’s all part of the game. I told the boys to celebrate our growth. This was an historical season for us.”