For the fifth time in nine years, the Perry boy’s soccer program is heading back to the state tournament. The Bluejays defeated Glenwood Wednesday night 3-1 in front of a large crowd at Dewey Field in a Class 2A Substate 8 final. Perry returns to state for the first time since 2018.
Perry grabbed a 2-0 lead at halftime thanks to goals from Anthony Chavez and Alex Banuelos. Chavez found the back of the net at the 26 minute mark while Banuelos scored off a rebound and sneaked it by both the Ram goalkeeper Casey Godbout and the goalline.
“It started with a corner and then it got crossed in by Glenwood and I saw (Anthony) Chavez running for the ball and he crosses it in and it deflects off another player,” stated Banuelos. “I take a touch and it seemed like everything stopped and it was all in slow motion. I looked up at the keeper and he is jogging left to right and I was like all I have to do is place this right and its going in. So I placed it right but it was a really bad shot. The keeper got a hand on it and it barely crossed the line. It was like one of the weakest shots you’ll ever see but a goal is a goal.”
Perry continued with the heavy offensive presence in the second half, sending 24 shots at Glenwood keeper Casey Godbout, but the junior kept Glenwood close with save after save. The Rams found the back of the net with a little more than 10 minutes to go on a deflection from senior Caden Johnson to cut the Perry lead to 2-1. The Bluejays responded five minutes later on a breakaway goal from Jonatan Banuelos. The sophomore’s ninth goal of the season sealed the victory and sent Perry into celebration mode for final couple of minutes.
It has been quite the month of May for a Perry team that once sat 4-5 on the season. Banuelos pointed to one specific game as the turning point of the season.
“It was definitely the Treynor game. Everybody on the field has put their heart and soul into turning our season around and we beat Treynor in penalties after going 2-2 with them. Everything turned around. The motivation was through the roof after the game and watching the film it seemed like everything changed for this team.”
Perry Head Coach Gary Overla has guided the Bluejays to each of the school’s five state tournament appearances. He knew he had a pretty special team even in the midst of a four game losing skid in April.
“I really tried to put together a difficult and challenging schedule for our guys. We punched a little bit higher than our weight class. We tried to play the bigger teams, the better teams. Ankeny Centennial, why do we play them, because they’re really good and they proved it that day. They dominated us and we need that. Those types of games make us better in the long run.”
Perry will compete in the Class 2A state championships next Tuesday with a quarterfinal matchup against top seed Davenport Assumption. Eight teams qualify for the state tournament and Tuesday’s game will feature the one seed against the eight seed in Perry. Kickoff is slated for 1:00 on Field 9 at Cownie Soccer Complex in Des Moines.