Sophomore quarterback Perra gets his shot with Roseville

Jacques Perra’s dream of starting at quarterback for Roseville came true on Friday night.

“It’s been a pretty long time,” Perra said. “I have been going to the games since I was pretty young. I just didn’t imagine that I could do it this fast.”

Perra, a sophomore, has played QB on teams since the second grade. He earned the starter job on varsity in the last week-and-a-half.  

“He has a very good arm,” Raiders coach Chris Simdorn said. “He’s a quarterback that can catch onto the offense. The quarterback needs to know what every guy is doing, so it’s not an easy job let alone for a 10th grader.”

Perra showed knowledge of the offense and poise with a pair of touchdown passes despite Raiders' 28-13 loss on Friday night to White Bear Lake. Perra and the Raiders had their chances on offense against the Bears, but mistakes on offense and defense ultimately cost them the game.

“They made the plays they needed to win, but I feel we gave them some opportunities,” Simdorn said. “That was the disappointing thing.”

After a mostly scoreless first half, the Bears took charge on offense and drove deep into Raider territory, and they punched in the ball at 7:55 in the half to go up 7-0.

Perra had a few long pass plays to Emeche Wells, Dale Miller and Zack Moriarty, but they could not connect in the end zone. The Raiders also had troubles on offense with a pair of fumbles in the first half.

“It was really nerve-wracking,” Perra said about his first start. “I have all the talent around me, so I just have to come and show that I can be the starter. I was nervous and pretty excited. I just wanted to get the first game done and see what it’s like to go out here and play on Friday nights under the lights. “

Roseville opened the second half with a bang on a recovery of a kick off at the 24 yard-line by Chris Dishop. Two plays later, Perra found Wells sweeping left for a 12-yard TD at 11:18 to tie the game.

“He was definitely one our bright spots on offense,” Simdorn said about Perra. “His composure was good.

The Bears responded immediately with their powerful running attack. Bears running back quarterback Eric Gebeke ran 41-yards for the TD, outrunning Wells, to put the Bears ahead again, 14-7.

“We need to get that down,” Wells said about the run defense. “They just ran it up and down the field with no hesitation.”

A bobbled snap on a punt and a fumbled kick-off return by the Raiders dug the hole deeper. The Bears converted on both opportunities with a pair TDs for a 28-7 lead.

Wells stepped up on offense for the Raiders in the following drive with a run and reception two fourth-down plays. His clutch plays set up Perra to connect with Moriarty for a five-yard TD pass. It cut the lead to 28-13 with time running low in the fourth quarter.

“I think he played well,” Wells said about Perra. “He’s a solid player. I hope he has a good season this year.”

The Raiders could not recover the onside kick, and the Bears chewed up the rest of the clock with their running attack.

“I think we are way better than what we are today,” Wells said. “We just need to make sure we come back in the next game and do our job.”

The Raiders also had a moment of silence before the game in memory of Sean Matti, a former Raiders player who died this past summer.

“It was good to honor Sean with the 22s on the helmets, and to let his family know we’re thinking about them in this difficult time,” Simdorn said.