Matthew C. Perry quarterback Joel Pacleb gets wrapped up by Daegu's Jayson McCode. (Sara Freels/Special to Stripes)

Matthew C. Perry quarterback Joel Pacleb gets wrapped up by Daegu's Jayson McCode. (Sara Freels/Special to Stripes)

Matthew C. Perry's Roy Clayton looks for running room against the Daegu defense. (Sara Freels/Special to Stripes)

Daegu's Andrue McCall hands off to Princeton Newbold as Matthew C. Perry's Dominic Loesche gives chase. (Kevin Rossiter/Special to Stripes)

Matthew C. Perry quarterback Joel Pacleb tries to elude Daegu's William Hamilton. (Kevin Rossiter/Special to Stripes)

Matthew C. Perry's Joshua Newkirk tries to run past Daegu's Andrue McCall. (Kevin Rossiter/Special to Stripes)

Matthew C. Perry's Wyatt Ruiz burrows into the end zone through Daegu's Nehemiah Walker. (Kevin Rossiter/Special to Stripes)

Daegu's Andrue McCall tries to elude Matthew C. Perry's Roy Clayton. (Joshua Blanquisco/Special to Stripes)

Matthew C. Perry quarterback Joel Pacleb tries to drive past Daegu's Andrew Reeves and Jayson McCode. (Joshua Blanquisco/Special to Stripes)

Matthew C. Perry quarterback Joel Pacleb tries to knife his way through the Daegu defense. (Tige Tarleton/Special to Stripes)

Matthew C. Perry's Shion Fleming launches a kickoff against Daegu. (Tige Tarleton/Special to Stripes)

Matthew C. Perry's Roy Clayton tries to sidestep Daegu's Hansel Morris. (Tige Tarleton/Special to Stripes)

Matthew C. Perry's Joshua Newkirk closes in on Daegu running back Andrue McCall. (Tige Tarleton/Special to Stripes)

MARINE CORPS AIR STATION IWAKUNI, Japan – No Marshall China? No problem for Matthew C. Perry.

With their star senior running back shelved by a nagging ankle injury, the Samurai turned to their other backs and they responded with 312 rushing yards and four touchdowns Saturday. Perry even threw a rare touchdown pass in a 36-6 home romp Saturday over Daegu.

Leading the way were Matt Torrecillas and Roy Clayton – the latter returning from a concussion – who combined for 191 yards on 17 carries. Wyatt Ruiz added a rushing touchdown and Joel Pacleb rushed four times for 39 yards and a score and also threw an 11-yard TD pass to Maverick Graydon.

“Matt and Roy really stepped up; we hardly missed a beat,” Samurai coach Frank Macias said of going without China, expected to return to action shortly. “We’ll give him another week and have him 100 percent,” Macias said. “We’ll need him for the second half of the season.”

With the win, the Samurai improved to 4-0 overall and remained tied with Zama, a 66-24 winner over defending champion Osan, atop the Division II regular-season standings. Daegu fell to 0-3 and all but out of contention for the D-II title.

Playing his younger backs gives the Samurai more depth and a brighter future, Macias said. “This was a great opportunity for them to improve their running abilities,” Macias said, adding that his offensive line is “playing really well right now.”

Kenny Thompson tackled a Daegu running back in the end zone in the third quarter for a safety, capping the Samurai’s scoring. William Hamilton accounted for the Warriors’ only points with a 45-yard fourth-quarter touchdown run.

“Our defense looked better than it did last week” in a 36-0 home loss to Zama, a game that ended at halftime, Daegu coach Blake Sims said. “And we were healthy, no major injuries, which was a plus.”

Daegu gets next week off and resumes play on Oct. 12 when it hosts Robert D. Edgren; kickoff is at 3 p.m. Perry will tune up for an Oct. 11 home battle with Zama by playing Sotoku, a Japanese team, next Saturday.