Sayer’ hat trick leads Panthers past St. Michaels to claim regional title

By Victor Hensley

PERRYVILLE - If you take any time to blink, breathe or get your bearings against the Perryville Panthers, there’s a strong chance you’re already too late.

The St. Michaels Saints (4-8) witnessed it firsthand last Tuesday in the MPSSAA 1A East Region I final, when the breakneck Panthers (10-2-1) used their speed to send themselves to the state tournament with a 4-1 win, taking home the regional title in the process.

“There hadn’t been (a banner) here in a long time and they were super motivated,” said Chris Tome, the Panthers’ head coach, after the win. “As soon as the regular season ended, we went right into, ‘We’re playing this one to hang a banner, we’re playing this one to hang a banner,’ so that’s just the mentality we had and it was the mentality they trained with and clearly the mentality they played with, so I’m super proud of them.”

Each of the past two seasons, St. Michaels had gotten the best of Perryville, knocking them out of the postseason in both 2019 and 2021.

This year, however, the Panthers meant business.

More specifically, sophomore striker Dylan Sayer, who had an electrifying hat trick in the win as he continues to make the most of his return from a hand injury that kept him out for most of the season.

“(Battling back from injury) was definitely draining,” Sayer said. “I was definitely down on myself a lot, but I knew when I came back, I was just going to find myself in my happy place again, which is on the soccer pitch. I love being back. It’s so much fun.”

Sayer was part of a Perryville offense that tortured the Saints in the win, registering 11 quality shots as the Panthers retained possession for most of the match.

A large contributor to Perryville’s offensive showcase, however, was Sayer’ speed, which St. Michaels had no shot of containing as he looked to be able to score at-will.

His first goal came in the 14th minute, when he received a crossing pass from Logan Shaw from the left side, rapidly wove through a pair of Saints defenders and forcefully rocketed a shot at the right corner of the net to draw first blood and get the Panthers on the board, 1-0.

Then, just six minutes later, he’d do it again.

Waiting patiently at the 10-yard-line, Sayer was wide open to receive a pass. As soon as the ball touched his foot, he turned around and fired a shot from 20 yards out, burying it into the left portion of the net for the 2-0 lead.

He immediately shifted his body to look at the crowd after the score as if to let everyone know what they already knew – Sayer is back. And he’s hungrier than ever.

“He’s the most technically proficient player in the county, hands down,” Tome said when asked about Sayer’ hat trick. “He’s faster with the ball at his feet than most of the kids on our team are just flatout sprinting. That is a huge advantage. And it’s not just because he’s got speed, it’s because he works incredibly hard to have ball mastery.”

Before the end of the half, Perryville’s John Alexander found some success of his own, using his quickness to outrun the Saints’ defense and drill a point-blank shot into the back of the net, past St.

Michaels’ goalkeeper Will Sherwood, to make it 3-0 at the break.

It took just 30 seconds into the second half for Sayer to complete his hat trick as he sprinted down the sideline and pounded another shot into the back of the net, giving the Panthers a 4-0 advantage – effectively sealing the win – and capping off a stellar performance by the sophomore.

Later in the half, Saints senior Kyle Miller got his team on the board after Finnegan Tome saved a shot, but Miller continued to fight with the Panthers goalkeeper – who was on the ground after the first shot –avoiding the official’s whistle before eventually knocking the ball free and slapping it into the goal to make it 4-1.

But, the rest of the half was all Perryville as the Panthers continued their defensive dominance until the clock hit triple zeroes, clinching their first regional title in recent memory.

“It’s awesome to see, it’s a big morale booster,” Sayer said when asked about the Perryville men’s and women’s soccer teams both claiming regional titles this season. “It’s great work by them, you definitely can’t down them for being undefeated. That’s just an amazing feat. To come back to school tomorrow is probably going to be amazing. I mean, both soccer teams (are) going to states. … I’m pretty happy about what we’ve done.”

A few days later, the Panthers downed the Pocomoke Warriors (9-5) in a hard-fought win, 4-3, in the opening round of the state tournament.

This week, they’ll be facing off against the #1 seed Brunswick Railroaders on November 11 in the state semifinals round.