Carl Dixon coming off first win as Perry’s head coach

For one week, Perry football players and first-year head coach Carl Dixon can celebrate the feeling of victory. It’s a sensation the team had not experienced in more than a year.

The Panthers won their opener last year, beating Monroe-Albany, but they went 0-9 the rest of the way. Dixon was promoted to head coach after the season, and the Panthers lost their first two games before beating Macon County last week.

“Wow, Macon County is a darn good program,” Dixon said of his first win as a head coach after spending 38 years in coaching. “The talent level over there, golly, they’re tremendously talented. It was nice to win, but to win over a program that’s having a lot of success right now makes it very rewarding,”

The Panthers started the season with an 11-0 loss to Monroe and a 13-6 defeat at the hands of Peach County, and they really struggled in the red zone in those games. Dixon said some of the struggles can be attributed to a scheme change, and after the team featured a spread attack for the past two years, Dixon changed the offense.

“We’ve kind of reined things in, and we’re focusing on controlling the ball and trying to run the ball and play good defense and not let the other team have the ball as much,” Dixon said.

And after some initial transitional issues, Dixon said the players’ hard work paid off in last week’s 34-33 win.

“Now, they can kind of see the fruits of their labor a little bit,” he said.

Along with better offensive efficiency, Dixon was proud of the team’s improvement on special teams. During the offseason, Dixon said the team worked hard in the department, but the work did not translate in the first two games.

“We had a couple of breakdowns in the special teams area that cost us dearly,” Dixon said. “And that kind of surprised us.”

But the Panthers improved against Macon County, returning a kickoff 70 yards for a touchdown and making all four extra points.

Dixon said Perry is no stranger to big-time wins. He spoke of a game in 1999 when the Panthers defeated Mary Persons at a time in which the Bulldogs were among the top teams in the state. And even though the Panthers have not won a region championship since 1959, Dixon said the program has received an unfair reputation.

“It seems there’s a misconception Perry hasn’t had good football teams in the past,” he said. “We have; it’s just that we haven’t gotten over that hump of winning our region championship.”

Dixon plans to change that perception.

“The kids are hungry for that, the community is hungry, the school is hungry for a winner,” Dixon said. “We were kind of the homecoming (team) the last couple of years. At least, now, I think we’re going to get everybody’s A-game, so to speak.”

And those games will offer major tests for the Panthers the rest of the season. The team already has had its bye week -- which came after the Monroe loss -- and Dixon does not mind. He said it makes practice “a lot easier” since the team can find its rhythm with the schedule.

That starts Friday night against Brooks County, which is 1-2. Perry then opens GHSA Region 2-AAAA against Mary Persons, Howard team and Upson-Lee.

“There are no easy weeks,” Dixon said. “Every week is going to be a top-rated game for us. We’ve gotta crank back up and do it again Friday like everybody else does.

“The kids celebrated, and they’re enthusiastic to get back to work. I think they like the taste of winning.”

This story was originally published September 17, 2015 at 3:58 PM with the headline "Carl Dixon coming off first win as Perry’s head coach ."