Perry Has No Equals This Season

They all thought they had the answer.

All those pumped up opposing defensive backs believed they could stop Rod Perry Jr. The names and faces changed each week, but the outlook didn’t--or the attitude. Every defensive back Perry encountered was going to be the guy to shut him down, or so they said.

So confident were Mater Dei’s opponents, they usually covered Perry with only one defensive back. Don’t these guys watch film?

Perry trashed defensive plans at every step of his playoff joy ride, which is a big reason Mater Dei and its fans left the Coliseum cheering Saturday night. Perry caught six passes for 82 yards and one touchdown in the Monarchs’ 17-10 Southern Section Division I championship victory over Los Angeles Loyola, capping an eye-opening playoff run that left teammates in awe.

“I’ve got one thing to say about Rod Perry: He’s everything that people say about him and more,” Monarch quarterback Nick Stremick said. “Some guys can talk the talk but they can’t walk the walk. Rod Perry walks the walk all the time.

“With Rod Perry, you can believe the hype. Totally.”

Technically that might be considered more than just one thing, but Stremick’s enthusiasm is understandable.

Perry has exploited the best secondaries the playoffs have to offer. In four games, the USC-bound receiver has caught 25 passes for 499 yards and nine touchdowns. Those are pretty decent totals for some teams. For a season.

Along the way, Stremick has been the beneficiary. His games of “catch” with Perry helped him pass for 845 yards in the playoffs. Nine of his 10 playoff touchdown passes have been caught by you know who.

“Nick and I have pretty much been on contact all year, but he’s been on fire lately and we have a lot of confidence in each other,” Perry said.

“We’re always on the same page. We can just make eye contact and Nick will know which way I’m going to cut and I know where he’s throwing.”

Against Loyola, Perry and Stremick teamed up for Mater Dei’s first touchdown on a 47-yard pass play in the second quarter. It was like so many other big plays the friends have made together during the playoffs.

And like so many plays, Perry was covered by only one defensive back.

The Loyola cornerback got mixed up looking for the ball, Perry adjusted and Mater Dei had its first lead.

Which begs the question, Why wasn’t there anyone around to help out on Perry?

Unofficially, he finished the season with 78 receptions for 1,508 yards and 18 touchdowns. Each time some team challenged him, he made them pay.

“Yeah, I guess a lot of teams felt they could play me like that,” Perry said. “Loyola actually did a great job of mixing up their coverages.

“But when you do play me [with only one defensive back] Nick and I look at it as a big challenge. That’s when you have to respond.”