McDonald's Drew Zajack (10) runs for a tough 1st down on Friday night against Lowellville.

McDONALD — The first time McDonald and Lowellville met this season, the Blue Devils controlled the game for all 48 minutes.

The Week 11 rematch, however, was a different story.

Lowellville loves a revenge story, and the Rockets took that opportunity. They came out strong from the opening kickoff, getting that revenge and taking down the Blue Devils 34-20.

“We had a situation last year against Western Reserve where we dropped to them in the regular season. We got a second chance. We had to go up there and, and we played our best game, and it’s the same thing this time,” Rockets coach Andrew Mamula said. “Our kids know what this is. They know the playoffs. It’s about ending dreams. Tonight, we ended some kids’ dreams, but we kept our dream alive, and that’s what it’s about.”

Geno Perry, who surpassed 2,000 total yards of offense on the season in the first half, gave the Rockets an early edge, pounding the ball in from the goal line.

He added on two more scores in the second quarter, one of which was a 77-yard run just 20 seconds after McDonald’s first touchdown.

Perry finished the night with all five of Lowellville’s touchdowns, including a 76-yard scamper in the third quarter.

“He wasn’t a kid that grew up in Lowellville. His dad’s from Lowellville. His dad was a great running back in the 90s, but he was a kid that their family moved in,” Mamula said. “Honestly, if he wasn’t here, I don’t know what we would do. This senior class, their junior high year, they went 0-8, it was the COVID year. They did not have a good season, and it was one of those where everyone’s expecting, ‘This is the down class. This is where Lowellville goes back to what they were.’ We’re not going back to what we were. We’ve got some great kids, and Geno is leading the bunch. He stepped up as a leader this year on and off the field.

“We’ve got some kids that make some bad decisions off the field sometimes, and he’s the one that rallies it together. He’s a kid that I put all my trust in. And tonight, it shows what happens when you put trust in your kid like that.”

McDonald’s season ends at 7-4.

After a handful of uncharacteristic seasons for the Blue Devils, coach Dan Williams was optimistic that this season is the turning point. McDonald football is back on the rise.

“We keep our heads up and we just get back to the ground and get back in the weight room,” Williams said. “The senior class got us to a 7-3 season, got us to a home playoff game. Things that you play for and you work for. I can’t say enough about our senior class. We’ve got some good young kids coming back, of course, and they’re going to learn from what we’ve done here this year and build upon it.”

Lowellville will play Malvern in the next round of the Division VII, Region 25 tournament.

Once again as the underdog, the Rockets (7-4) will look to work their magic again.

“Obviously, you get to live to play another week here and really have a new sense of confidence for your team without a doubt,” Mamula said. “It’s one of those things where you want to play your best football right now. Last week was not our best football, but tonight was, and if you keep it going, hey, you’ve always got a shot.”