Down eight points after United Township scored with 7:19 left Saturday, La Salle-Peru responded.

The Cavaliers marched 83 yards in 12 plays and sophomore quarterback Marion Persich capped the drive with an 8-yard touchdown run with 2:09 remaining.

However, Persich’s two-point conversion pass was broken up in the end zone and the Cavaliers couldn’t stop the Panthers on their ensuing drive as United Township ran out the clock to defeat L-P 23-21 in East Moline in JJ Raffelson’s debut as L-P coach.

It was the Cavs’ first season-opening loss since 2019, and the loss snapped a 14-game winning streak against United Township.

“I thought the boys rallied together,” Raffelson said. “They made plays and they drove the ball down the field. What we need to do now is fix everything that happened before that series and keep moving forward.”

The Cavs had several opportunities to put up more points.

L-P had a 21-yard touchdown run by Persich negated by a penalty in the second quarter, Persich was intercepted in the end zone on the Cavs’ first drive of the second half and had a pass broken up in the end zone early in the fourth quarter.

“We had our ups and downs during the game,” Raffelson said. “We moved the ball pretty effectively, but when it came down to it and we needed to score in the red zone or inside their 40, we just didn’t have it all game. We left a lot of points on the board. We have a lot of learning to do from this tape. There were a lot of good things I saw our kids do, but there’s a lot of things that we need to fix, things we need to fine tune and make sure we rely on our principles and understand what we’re doing in all three phases of the game.”

After the teams combined for 31 points in the first 14:16 Friday before the game was postponed due to inclement weather, only 13 points were scored in the final 33:44 played Saturday.

“I think both teams made adjustments and that’s what good coaches do,” Raffelson said. “They have a great staff over there. A great team. They’re going to do big things. We just made some adjustments that we saw from Friday night before we got lightning. But when it comes down to it, you have to be ready to go. When the big moment shines, you have to be able to make a catch, get a block or hit the hole running.”

The final 9:44 of the second quarter was eventful despite no scoring.

The Cavs had Persich’s TD run wiped away by penalty, while the Panthers had two scores called off by penalties. The teams also traded interceptions on back-to-back plays.

The teams each had their first drive of the second half end with an interception.

After United Township stopped L-P on fourth down with 10:05 left in the game, the Panthers managed to put insurance points on the board.

UT quarterback Jonathan Drake connected with Jesus Guzman for a 32-yard pass to start the drive and later threw a 17-yard pass to Isaiah Navarrete to get down to L-P’s 12.

Navarrete punched it in from 4 yards out with 7:19 left for his third TD of the game and Bear Boynton booted the extra point for a 23-15 lead.

Following L-P’s touchdown, the Cavs held United Township to minus-3 yards on its first two plays of the ensuing drive, but Drake hit Navarrete for a 36-yard screen pass on third down, allowing the Panthers to kneel out the clock.

Persich finished with 139 rushing yards and two TDs on 24 carries and also completed 11 of 22 passes for 204 yards and a TD with two interceptions.

Logan Zellers caught five passes for 94 yards.

“We asked him to do a lot and he did well,” Raffelson said about Persich. “He made a couple poor decisions, but when it comes down to it, he did well. He’s running around with his head cut off sometimes, but it’s because he can make big plays. We’re going to keep giving him the ball and make adjustments from there.”

The Cavs allowed 285 offensive yards, including 119 yards and three touchdowns on 17 carries by Navarrete.

L-P will play Metamora at 7 p.m. Friday at Howard Fellows Stadium. The Redbirds beat Sterling 43-14 on Friday.

“They’re good,” Raffelson said. “They have a Division I running back. They have a lot of good skill guys. They’re big up front. They’re going to move the ball. They gave it to Sterling. We just have to be ready to fight.”