There are only a few things more certain than the Perryville boys’ soccer program’s control over the Jefferson County Athletic Association Conference.
However, there isn’t much.
Perryville rebounded from a slow start to collect a 5-2 victory over DeSoto on Oct. 12 to capture yet another Jefferson County Athletic Association Conference title. The Pirates went an impressive 5-0 against its conference and have won 11 of the last 12 JCAA titles.
“Every year we set goals, the first is to win conference and the other to win districts,” Perryville soccer coach Jerry Fulton said. “We were down 2-0 right from the start and I thought we showed a lot of heart.”
Perryville scored four second half goals to secure the win, which was a pretty common thing when the Pirates played JCAA teams. Perryville outscored opponents 27-3 in those five games with two of them 8-0 shutouts.
“We played really poor in the first half and I had one of my colorful speeches,” Fulton said. “It worked. It wasn’t anything tactical except that we were sitting back and letting them win the ball. Once we corrected that and played up to the speed we were supposed to be playing, we controlled the game after that.”
The Pirates currently sit at 11-7 on the year and have won three games in a row as a “crazy” season is nearing postseason play. The Pirates have battled injuries for much of the season, having as many as five starters out at any one time, however, the team is healthier now with nearly all its players back.
“We’ve had a lot of injuries and we’ve played more bigger schools than we ever had before,” Fulton said. “We are hoping this all prepares us for districts and helps us put on a good show.”
Perryville’s record isn’t quite where it has been in the past when it has drawn the top seed within its district, however, Fulton believes they can still be seeded high and has a case for a favorable seed. The seeding meeting for Class 2, District 1 will be on Friday.
“When there are seven teams voting, you never know what the other teams are going to do,” Fulton said. “I think we can be in the 1-3 slot. I still think we have an argument for first seed, but I could see it not going our way. The guys have performed well when they were all healthy.”
