Perry’s Anderson to have surgery on knee

Jaylen Anderson, a sophomore All-Ohio football player from Perry, will miss at least three weeks with a torn meniscus in his left knee, Coach Matt Rosati confirmed on Aug. 27.

Jaylen Anderson, a sophomore All-Ohio football player from Perry, will miss at least three weeks with a torn meniscus in his left knee, Coach Matt Rosati confirmed on Aug. 27.

Anderson will have surgery to repair the torn ligament on Aug. 28. Rosati said Anderson will miss this week’s game at Chardon, a Week 3 game at Madison and a Week 4 home opener against Chagrin Falls.

“We hope to have him back for the St. Vincent-St. Mary game (on Sept. 28), maybe earlier,” Rosati said. “Maybe we’ll have him for the (Week 5) game with Beachwood, but we’re hoping he is full-go for St. Vincent-St. Mary.”

Rosati said Anderson injured his knee in a summer league basketball game on June 28 when he landed awkwardly after dunking in transition. Rosati said Anderson has dealt with discomfort since then.

Despite being injured last week in a 28-14 win over Riverside, Anderson ran for 103 yards and scored a touchdown. He is also a starting defensive back for the Pirates, one of the few two-way starters for Rosati’s team.

“The first doctor we talked to said six months,” Rosati said. “Another doctor said it’s completely torn — there’s no more damage than he can do to it. So he strapped it up and played against Riverside. But he was clearly not the same kid.”

As a freshman, Anderson compiled 1,436 yards and 20 touchdowns between his rushing and receiving numbers.

In his absence, Rosati said All-Ohio defensive back Cameron Rogers will move over to start at running back.

“Cameron is pretty darn good, too,” Rosati said. “Jaylen is pretty explosive with the ball his hands, while Cameron is more of a downhill, banger kind of guy.”

Rosati said Anderson’s absence will allow others the opportunity to step up on offense or defense.

Perry takes a 22-game regular-season winning streak into its game at Chardon this week. The last time the Pirates lost a regular-season game was Week 9 of the 2015 season, a 4928 loss to West Geauga on Oct. 23, 2015.

“I could cry the blues all I want, but I don’t think anyone’s feeling sorry for us,” Rosati said.