Perkins wants to party like it’s 1999.

That was the year the Pirates won their first Division IV state championship with a 16-14 win over Ironton, under then-coach Rock Farlow. That Perkins’ team defeated Gary Quisno’s Oak Harbor team, 21-0 in the state semifinal and finished a dream season 15-0.

The following year, Perkins went 10-0 in the regular season, but lost in the regional semifinal to Coldwater, 38-27.

Since then, Perkins has made just one playoff appearance in 2006 when they finished 8-2, but made a first-round exit — losing to Kettering Archbishop Alter, 27-0.

Now the head coach at Perkins, Quisno has returned the Pirates to state contender status in just his second year at the school.

Perkins, who finished the season 9-1, will host a playoff game today against Tipp City Tippecanoe at Strobel Field in Sandusky.

Things won’t be so easy for Perkins after they lost their starting quarterback Spencer Bryant to a leg injury last week against Margaretta. Backup quarterback Tommy Barnum was able to help lead the Pirates back from a 12-0 halftime deficit and a 18-7 fourth-quarter deficit to clinch a playoff berth with the 29-18 comeback win.

“We challenged them at halftime to come out and play harder and with more heart,” Quisno said. “We have confidence in Tommy, he’s a senior quarterback and he knows what we’re doing. “The guys on the team also have confidence in him. We went out and executed a lot better in the second half and Tom made some plays — it was a good win for us.”

“Obviously Spencer is our starter and that’s where we would prefer to be, but Tom is very capable of leading us to a victory. Injuries are part of the game and it’s a tough break for Spencer, because he had such a great year. He’s a great young man and a great competitor and we feel bad for him, but we do have confidence in Tom.”

Bryant, who went 86 of 136 with 1,318 yards and 16 touchdowns against six interceptions, will be forced to watch from the sideline after having a MRI done on his leg this week and not being cleared to play.

Quisno has turned Perkins around rather quickly. In just his first year at the helm last season, he took a defense that allowed 25.8 points per game in 2007 and cut that number down to 15.2. This year his defense has cut that nearly in half at 8.7 points per game.

“It was a good year for us,” said Quisno who went 216-80 in his 28-year career at Oak Harbor, which included two undefeated teams and only three losing seasons. “You start every year wanting to play games at the end of the year that are meaningful. This is where we want to be. We came out with a co-championship and now we’re in the playoffs.”

Perkins’ only loss came in Week 8 to Clyde, who it co-shared the Sandusky Bay Conference title with.

Leading the Pirates’ rushing attack is Richard Hohler, who has gained 713 yards and has scored eight touchdowns. Kyle Finn (425 yards, 74 carries), Xavier Turner (314 yards, 61 carries) and Bryant (331 yards, 72 carries) also have gained over 300 yards apiece.

Their eading receiver is Turner, who has caught 27 passes for 346 yards, which include six touchdowns. Finn also has caught 15 passes for 300 yards and three touchdowns, while Nico Caponi (17 catches, 262 yards) and Tony Henderly (12 catches, 171 yards) have scored two touchdowns apiece.

Perkins has scored a total of 45 touchdowns for the season, including two on interception returns and two on special teams.

Tippecanoe, who finished this season 8-2 and was a co-champion of the Central Buckeye Conference with Tecumseh, has a 35-5 record in the regular season the last four years, but has lost in the first round of the playoffs each time. Three of its playoff losses came by a touchdown or less — all at home.

“One thing different this year, we’re playing away from home,” said head coach Charlie Burgbacher, who is in his 21st year at Tippecanoe. “That’s not bothering our kids. Some people make a big deal about playing that first round of the playoffs at home. This particular group of kids are excited about playing away from home. We’re excited about being there. That was our goal at the beginning of the season to win our league and to make the playoffs so we’ve realized both of those goals.”

The Red Devils only lost to Graham (St. Paris), 28-3 in Week 1 and Tecumseh (New Carlisle), 26-0 in Week 9 during the regular season this year after going 10-0 last season.

Tippecanoe runs the Wing-T offense led by seniors Jake Budding and Corey Johnson, who have combined for 1,337 yards and 19 touchdowns. Budding has 14 of those touchdowns and 680 yards on nearly half the carries as Johnson. Daniel Strawser also has 336 yards on 44 carries and one touchdown.

Quarterback Ryan Landwehr, a first-year starter, completed 56 of 115 passes for 898 yards with seven touchdowns and 12 interceptions. His receivers Alex Trotter (18 catches, 267 yards), Budding (11 catches, 186 yards) and Johnson (nine catches, 224 yards) nabbed two touchdowns apiece.

Trotter also has seven sacks to lead the defense, which was suspect at times, allowing 147 points (14.7 per game).

“Our kids are excited about making the trip,” Burgbacher said. “They’re looking forward to the challenge. Some people make a big deal about teams playing after a long road trip, but I don’t think it’s going to be a factor for this particular group of kids. We’re one of 32 teams in Division III to earn that opportunity to play. There are some teams that are staying home that are deserving to go and some teams staying home that would love the opportunity to play Week 11.”