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By Michael A. Lough

The Sports Report

centralgasports@gmail.com

PERRY - For a few years, Del Martin and Kevin Smith were colleagues at Houston County High, with offices in different parts of the school, and sporadic interactions. But some interactions were serious, and foreshadowing.

“He said, ‘Coach, man, I’ve watched you for two or three years now,’” recalled Smith, then the Bears’ defensive line coach. “ ‘If I ever get an opportunity to hire you, I’m gonna hire you.”

A look at Perry and Stockbridge
Coming Tuesday morning; The Panthers vs. the Tigers, with Ahmad Gordon and Trejean Day video interviews

Then Martin was approved in April of 2016 as the new principal at Perry. Less than a year later, nobody knew how different life would become at the school and on the football field.

The Panthers were off their third straight losing season upon Martin’s hiring, with another one to come that fall under Carl Dixon, who was Perry’s second straight two-year head coach, following Erik Soliday, who followed three-year head coach Stacey Harden, who, well, that was the trend.

Wishful thinking hires from inside the administration equated to some what-are-they-thinking-hires? from outside the administration. Perry seemed doomed for only short-term success, in large part because of instability in the program.

Dixon, who was diagnosed with and treated for a form of throat cancer during the 2015 season, was released from the job – he had been at Perry for more than a dozen years as an assistant, too – in December of 2016 with a 5-15 record over two years.

Martin went through the full interview process – Smith said Martin never ventured outside of it for personal conversations or favoritism – and made good on his word, and instinct, and hired Smith, approved by the county school board and superintendent Mark Scott, another former colleague, but at Northside.

And among the first people to greet Smith after the Panthers won the semifinal game at Starr’s Mill two Fridays ago was Scott. It was a short conversation from Smith’s side.

“‘I told you when you and Mr. Martin gave me the opportunity, I was gonna make y’all proud.”

Perry pride may be at an all-time peak.

A full 70 years after its first football season, Perry is in its first state championship game, setting the state record for longest period without such an accomplishment. That streak officially ends with Tuesday’s 4 p.m. kickoff at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta.

“Man, I tell ya, I’m so excited,” Smith said. “I am so frickin’ excited.”

Imagine the level for those who have been around Perry football longer than Smith has been alive, and watched a program of potential – the Panthers were pretty respectable in most other sports – muddle its way through so many falls.

According to the Georgia High School Football Historians Association. Perry is 361-367-8, winning 49.6 percent of its games. Up the road, Northside and Warner Robins became statewide names, and Houston County – born in 1991 – is 20 games over .500 (192-172-1). Private school Westfield, across I-75 from the Georgia National Fairgrounds in Perry, has two state GISA titles and has won 64.7 percent of the time, going 387-208-12 in 52 seasons.

All around, Panther Nation saw smiles, and competition for trophies. The program had some stability and respectability for the first 30 years, led by Herb St. John from the debut year of 1954 until 1968, a 2-8 season in his finale. Bob Morrow had five winning seasons in eight. But one region championship, and only region playoff games (teams had to win region playoff games to make the state postseason).

And the coaching door started revolving: five seasons for Dave Crockett, four for Raymond Maddox, two for Ronnie Royston, four for John Stephens. And in that span, five winning seasons.

Then George Collins for six seasons (20-40), Chuck Conley for four (17-25), Andy Scott for five (27-29), Stacy Harden for three (19-14), the program showing some progress under Scott and Harden, who teamed for six winning seasons in their eight.

Successful veteran head coach Erik Soliday gambled and took the job, went 4-16, and admitted after leaving he shouldn’t have come. Dixon was rewarded for loyalty, but he hadn’t been part of much success, and couldn’t turn anything around, either.

On came Smith, who had pretty much only been part of success throughout his career, at Northside and Houston County, also serving for several years as the head boys basketball coach at Northside.

Officially, it wasn’t a done deal. But it unofficially was.

“Coach, I knew what I was getting. I interviewed you for three years. I knew exactly what I was getting,” Smith said Martin told him back then.

Turns out, he got more.

Even before Smith would start figuring out how to change the culture, he started changing the culture. There was a Twitter picture of him with an eighth-grade player, a sign he was wasting no time on getting the word out about what was coming, a day after the announcement of his hiring.

Perry has in some form or fashion showed marked improvement every season under Smith. The 5-5 record his first year was Perry’s first non-losing season since 2012. Then the Panthers went 6-5, then 7-5 with their first state playoff victory since 2017.

Perhaps the real sign that things had changed came in 2020. They lost their first three games, by seven to Houston County, by four to Harris County, and by 10 to Veterans. An 0-3 start for Perry may normally lead to a three-win season and another bout of frustration.

But they went undefeated in region play for Perry’s first region title since 1959. First. Since 1959. Then came two playoff wins, for the second time in program history, before top-ranked Marist rolled to a 36-7 quarterfinal win at the Panther Pit.

The seal, from 2007 and 1959, was broken. A region title. And then the defense of the region title en route to the first double-digit wins season in program history. Revenge against Houston County and Veterans, three straight shutouts, two more playoff wins at home.

The culture Smith was working on progressed until COVID-19, then stagnated. He embraced the power of positive, the Coffee Bean mentality, borne of authors Jon Gordon and Damon West, which is “a simple lesson to create positive change.” Smith will talk and post about the Coffee Bean mentality on a regular basis, and it enhanced what he already brought to the program before his changing of the culture had any real identity.

And soon enough, he had help with the culture change.

“We became a player-driven team when this senior class was sophomores,” Smith said, citing Dakarai Anderson among others. “We were undefeated and we played Spalding right here. We fumbled going into the end zone, and that was the only game we lost that year regular season.

“We had some guys that didn’t know how to lose and we had some guys that weren’t all in.”

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Those who were all in had something to say to those who weren’t.

“They stood up in that locker room and kicked a couple of those seniors out,” Smith said. “Now, they’re seniors. When you come in to the state playoffs and you’re in game week 13 or 14, and your best player comes into your office and says, ‘Coach, I’m so excited about practicing today,’ you know. When your best players are your hardest workers, you know you’ve turned the corner.”

A winning streak that covered more games – 10 – than Perry had ever won in a season before Smith showed up followed, in 2022. Favored, the Panthers lost 14-7 to Wayne County in the second round of the playoffs.

“We laid an egg against Wayne County,” Smith said. “They shortened the game on us and we freaked out. We had 10 plays the first half. My young coaches, they flipped out, and we still had a chance to win it.”

But the present Perry now bore no resemblance to the past Perry, and a crushing defeat would only be crushing for a few days. There would be no pouting player departures. The exorcism was pretty much complete, evidenced even in defeat.

Westside head coach Spoon Risper was at that Wayne County game, and shared a story with Smith afterward.

“ ‘Coach, I don’t know if you’re in to moral victories or not. But 21, the tight end, he dropped a pass there in the end zone that would’ve tied the game. The clock ran out. Your guys went over there and got him off the ground and got him to the locker room.’”

Smith loves his staff and its work ethic, and how the players watch film and work out and want to practice and learn. But they’re not displaying any revolutionary game plans executed by a list of Power-5 prospects. It’s doubtful that the Perry staff knows any more about football than the Stockbridge staff, or Starr’s Mill, or too many of the other 57 victims under Smith.

It appears to be everything else that has led to the Panthers performing the right way, in football and otherwise. As thrilled as Smith was with the semifinal win over Starr’s Mill, it was his team’s reaction – they started the handshake line, shook hands, strolled over to the band and started celebrating a little bit over there – that brought him more joy.

No helmet throwing, no jawing, no logo stomping.

“I had two or three Starr’s Mill officials say, ‘Coach, y’all are one class act the way your kids acted,’” Smith said. “That’s the right way to win. No matter what happens, walk across and ‘Good job, I’m gonna get you next time.’”

Perry is certainly racking up some getting-them-next-times. Finally.

“I really believe this,” Smith said. “We’ve created a culture that people want to be a part of here. If you hear of people leaving here, it’s because they couldn’t, they didn’t want to do the right thing, It was all about them. It wasn’t about the team.”

Perry has been a town quietly loaded with power, from former governor Sonny Perdue to longtime senator Sam Nunn to Larry Walker and Larry Walker III, to name a few. He may not have given it to them, but they all seem to have Smith’s cell number. Those with financial means, some of whom have owned land in Perry for decades, are paying attention.

And there are those still fairly close to the program now living what they dreamed of.

Dr. Argene Claxton is a longtime and prominent agriculture teacher at Perry, who was part of the Future Farmer of America for nearly 40 years. So respected is the now-retired Claxton that he’s the namesake for the Argene Claxton Canning Plant in Perry.

“He used to be the water boy,” Smith said. “He came and spoke to the guys last week. He teared up. ‘Guys’, I’ve been waiting 40 years to see Perry play in the semifinals.’”

That group is a large one.

“All the people here in Perry that’s come through here that’s always wanted …” he saiad. “They’ve had success at a lot of other sports, and football’s been the one that’s always been left out. They wanted to see what everybody else was getting, and I’m just thankful, I’m very gracious and humble that Mr. Martin gave me an opportunity to come down here and lead this group.”

He has plenty of company.