Burrell QB Perkins puts on a show in win over Mt. Pleasant
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Friday, September 5, 2025 | 11:11 PM
Burrell’s Zach Coudrie pulls in a pass in the first half against Mt. Pleasant on Friday at Burrell High School.
Burrell’s Antonio Perkins is caught in the backfield by Mt. Pleasant’s Christian Brodak on Friday at Burrell High School.
Mt. Pleasant’s Richard Shawley looks for open field against Burrell on Friday at Burrell High School.
Burrell’s Antonio Perkins stops Mt. Pleasant’s Richard Shawley in the backfield Friday at Burrell High School.
Mt. Pleasant’s Stephen Predajna drives for yardage against Burrell in the first half Friday at Burrell High School.
Mt. Pleasant’s Stephen Predajna makes a reception in the first half against Burrell on Friday at Burrell High School.
Burrell’s Trey Coury is called down a yard short of the goal line against Mt. Pleasant on Friday at Burrell High School.
Mt. Pleasant came into its game against Burrell happy to have one half of its running back tandem back in the starting lineup.
But what the Bucs brought offensively was something the Burrell fans hadn’t seen in a long time.
Sophomore quarterback Antonio Perkins put on a show for the hometown crowd and sealed a 28-21 win with an interception as Burrell (1-2) edged Mt. Pleasant (1-2) in a Class 3A nonconference battle.
With the score tied 21-21 with just under a minute to play and the Bucs looking to finish a nine-play drive and get their first win of the year, Perkins fumbled the shotgun snap but picked up the ball and walked in for a 3-yard touchdown.
The touchdown was the eighth straight scored by Perkins this season.
With Mt. Pleasant looking to tie, Perkins was in the right place at the right time, picking off Vikings quarterback Dane Firmstone with 20 seconds left.
“It felt great to get that pick and get us that first win of the season,” said Perkins.
The Bucs quarterback finished 12 for 17 with 153 yards and ran the ball 13 times for 142 yards and four touchdowns.
“He’s a special player,” said Bucs coach Dom Girardi. “Everybody sees the athleticism, but I’m so proud of everything he does for us as a leader and how he handles the game mentally. He’s phenomenal and a joy to coach.”
Even Mt. Pleasant coach Jason Fazekas knew it was going to be tough to stop Perkins based on the film he had seen.
“His film says it all,” Fazekas said. “We knew he was a good runner, good thrower, no doubt about it.”
The Vikings offense did its best staying with Perkins and the Bucs. With the return of Stephen Predajna, Mt. Pleasant’s running game gained huge chunks of yards on the outside.
“We saw it on film that the outside would be there,” Fazekas said. “It was tough early. I thought we should have scored on our first possession. Credit to them for keeping us out of the end zone.”
Added Girardi: “That’s their MO, and they did a really good job getting to the outside. They got us, but there were some times that we got them, and that was one of the biggest differences in the game: the times we were able to come up with stops.”
One defensive stop by Burrell seemed innocuous at the time but proved to be the difference.
After Perkins was picked by Viking linebacker Rage Suchar, Mt. Pleasant’s offense had the ball at the Bucs’ 24 and threatened to score.
Burrell’s defense bent but didn’t break, allowing the Vikings to advance to the 12-yard line before stuffing Nicholas Morell on an end-around, giving the ball back to Perkins and the offense.
“That was huge — and probably the series of the night — because it might have been difficult for us to come back from that,” Girardi said. “I was so proud of how our kids responded in that situation. It speaks to their character.”
Burrell opened the scoring with a 13-play drive that culminated in a 1-yard run up the middle by Perkins.
Mt. Pleasant matched, and seemingly mirrored, the Bucs’ drive, manufacturing a 13-play drive that quarterback Firmstone capped with a 1-yard run to knot the score 7-7.
Firmstone finished the game 6 for 13 with 165 yards, a touchdown and an interception.
On the Bucs’ next possession after the defensive stop, Perkins again made a number of Viking defenders miss as he rumbled for a 42-yard touchdown.
“I knew going into the game that we had a good game plan, and Coach Girardi had us well-prepared,” Perkins said. “I had a lot of confidence in everything we did, everything we ran as an offense.”
Firmstone and junior running back Predajna displayed great fight and patience as they connected on a 58-yard touchdown on a swing pass.
Firmstone dropped back with no pressure as the Burrell defense read the play immediately. As Firmstone stood in the pocket for what seemed like an eternity, Predajna fought his way through a mass of humanity and caught Firmstone’s lofted pass in stride with nothing but green in front of him to even the score 14-14.
“It’s always good to have Stephen in our lineup. He’s one of our best players,” said Fazekas.
Predajna’s return was short-lived, as he once again left the field late in the third quarter with what appeared to be a reaggravation of a previous injury.
Perkins would punch it in for his third touchdown with six minutes to go in the fourth quarter, pulling the Bucs even with Mt. Pleasant.
After their first win of the season, the Bucs will look to carry their momentum into the beginning of conference play next week.
“It feels great, and I’m so happy for these kids because they put in a lot of hard work, and it’s great to see that work rewarded,” said Girardi.
Tags: Burrell, Mt. Pleasant
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