‘They’ve grown up’: How Perry football turned into a championship team under its coach

What makes a successful high school football team?

Coaches try to crack the code each year, hunting for some strategy that will grant them the ability to conquer all comers. Houston County is certainly as good a place as any to find an answer to the question, but most people would look in the northern part of the region, where football powerhouses Warner Robins and Northside loom large.

After Perry High School’s performance this season, some folks might go further south on Interstate 75 to ask Panthers head coach Kevin Smith that question instead.

Before Perry beat Starr’s Mill last week in the Division 4A semifinals, it was one of the oldest schools in Georgia to never play for a state championship. They’ve been going to school in the same building since 1956, and existed long before then.

Now the team will face Stockbridge for a chance to raise the trophy at 4 p.m. Tuesday in Atlanta’s Mercedes-Benz Stadium. It was a winding road to get to the Benz, and one that began long before this season.

Building a culture

There is a refreshing lack of football jargon when Smith talks about his team. X’s and O’s are not the focus. Nor are the talents of his players, necessarily, though he does rave about the athleticism of his stars.

Before Smith can talk about what plays he might run or what his game plan is, he has to talk about the one thing that brought Perry to the state title fight for the first time — culture.

“We’re playing for a state championship because we care about each other, and we care about this community,” Smith said. “We’re more concerned about how these players will grow as people than the winning, because that growth brings the outcome we want.”

Smith spoke about Houston County with the affinity and familiarity of someone who’s been there for more than two decades. Ever since he graduated high school in 1988, he says, it’s been his dream to take over a high school football program and take it to the next level.

Houston County provided the perfect launching pad for Smith. While his first job was in Griffin in 1994, he moved to Northside just two years later and spent the next 14 years with the Eagles as an assistant. After a stint with Houston County, Smith finally got the call to be a head coach at Perry in 2017.

The culture that Smith was so emphatic about was nowhere to be found when he arrived.

“You know, (Perry) had been through something like four or five coaches in six years,” Smith said. “There was some toxicity there. The players were playing for themselves, it wasn’t a true team yet.”

Smith went 5-5 in his first season, a success as far as Perry’s dedicated fan base was concerned. When 2018 brought a 6-5 finish and a playoff berth, the Panthers’ rise had officially begun.

Perry kept winning, capturing region championships in three straight seasons from 2020 to 2022. The players that came in as freshman then and grew in Smith’s system are the key to this year’s success. Smith thinks it happened as much in the locker room as it did on the field.

“I think it was when (star wide receiver) Dakarai Anderson was a sophomore in 2021 that he stood up in the locker room after a loss and kicked a couple seniors out because they didn’t know how to act,” Smith said. “I realized we have a special group, and that we have guys who really care for each other.”

A special year

While the Panthers did not win the region title this year, the talent and culture has hit its highest point since Smith came on board. They finished 8-2 in the regular season, and nearly every skill position on offense is occupied by a player who could be a star athlete.

“They could all be the best, but they play as a unit. We spread the ball out, and they don’t mind. They’re okay with it because it makes us better,” Smith said. “That’s what makes this group so special.”

Between Anderson, quarterback Colter Ginn and running back Ryan Taleb, few have stopped Perry’s offense this year. The defense lost 10 starters after the 2022 season, but even that unit has excelled this year.

“They’ve just learned. They had that first game against Houston County where they gave up some points, but they’ve grown up,” Smith said. “That’s true for the whole team.”

The defense improved steadily and arguably hit their highest point in the playoffs, when they held powerhouse Bainbridge to just three points to advance to the quarterfinals.

Smith also talked about the things that can derail a title run like this one — the coach detests distractions, and Perry has faced its fair share of them already. The aforementioned road games and inexperienced defense, along with Ginn suffering a hand injury near the end of the season, put some serious dents in the Panthers’ trophy hopes.

“I mean, man, we had a sophomore punter while Colter was out,” Smith said. “And in that Bainbridge game, he flipped the field seven times … the whole team believes in every other player. It’s just ‘next man up’ for us.”

That Bainbridge victory was the first of three straight road wins for the Panthers to reach the championship game, offering a window into Smith’s philosophy for the playoff run.

“Going on the road, there’s a lot more distractions. Now we’re playing at Mercedez, there’s gonna be a crowd. But once you get in between those white lines, it’s 100 yards… everything is the same,” Smith said. “That’s what we have to remember… whichever team doesn’t get distracted will win this game.”

With school history on the line and the team’s rampant fan base sure to be in attendance, the Panthers will take on Stockbridge to win it all.

This story was originally published December 8, 2023 at 1:00 PM with the headline "‘They’ve grown up’: How Perry football turned into a championship team under its coach."