PERRY, Ohio — Talk about a statement win for Painesville Riverside.
The Beavers came into Friday night's WKYC.com High School Football Game of the Week at 2-0, but were thought by most to be underdogs against the Perry Pirates and their 21-game regular season winning streak. Instead, the Beavers came out firing early en route to a 44-14 road win.
Senior Jamir Francis appeared to be the key to the onslaught, making a nice catch on Riverside's first drive of the game to set up a Cayman Locher touchdown. Then on Perry's first offensive play, Francis intercepted Jacob Caldwell and took the ball all the way back for another score to make it 14-0 less than three minutes in.
Francis would get another big play on the very next series, as a direct snap sailed through the hands of West Virginia commit Jayden Anderon and into the backfield for a fumble. Francis recovered the loose ball, setting up a field goal by Lucas Giffith to make it 17-0.
From there, the Beavers never let up, as Dom Lulow threw two touchdown passes and the running game added three to lead the offense. The defense also held the Pirates' normally potent attack without an offensive touchdown, as the only scores came on a kickoff return by Brandon Mason and an interception return by Javin Richards.
The unbeaten Beavers will take on Chardon next week, with the Hilltoppers coming off a big win of their own over Kenston. At 2-1, Perry will face unbeaten Chagrin Falls.
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