Panthers prepare for season opener

The Perry High School Panthers football program will open their 2016 season at home against Rutland High School (Macon) and against the ghosts of the last time they won a home opener. Perry has not won a season opener at home since 2009. “I don’t need to tell you how big of a game it is,” says Panther head football coach Carl Dixon by phone on Monday morning. “Coming off the thumping we got from HoCo (a 55-0 scrimmage loss at home on Fri., Aug. 5) we have had a couple of good days of practice.”

The Panthers missed a couple of days of practice due to thunderstorm warnings and bad weather. “It’s a game week so the kids are a little more excited and have a lot more pep in their steps,” says Dixon.

That level of excitement will reach a fever pitch if the Panthers are able to win the game and deservedly so, they haven’t won a home game since 2013. “We want to give a home win back to the community that supports us,” says Dixon.

The stands at Herb St. John Stadium will undoubtedly be packed with students and fans alike despite the recent futility and the school’s principal believes that lack of home success won’t affect that fact. “I hope to see our stands full of supportive fans cheering our Panthers,” says Perry High School Principal Wesley D. Martin. “We have a stellar group of students at Perry High who are intelligent, athletic and talented and my expectations for our players and all of our students is to execute the plan, to have Panther Pride in everything we do and to Commit to the P.”

The Panthers will have consecutive home games to get a win at the Panther Pit under their belts, the Peach County High School Trojans will make their way there on Fri., Sep. 9. The Trojan football program and head coach Chad Campbell start their season at home against HoCo this Friday following the death of senior defensive/offensive lineman Raekwon Smith. Their opponent on Friday, Rutland High School, only won two games last season and begins the 2016 season with a new coach, Mark Daniel. “Both of us are fighting to re-establish ourselves and get the programs back to winning ways,” says Dixon.

From the looks of this season’s schedule now might be the best time to get a good off to a good start. Following Peach County, the Panthers will travel to play Harris County High School and at the new Freedom Field against Veterans on Sep. 23.

“Even though this is a non-conference game, it is important for us to start the season off with a win to build confidence in our players,” says Martin. Dixon and his coaching staff have their eyes on the bigger picture but agree that a victory, especially in front of the home fans would be nice. “We had 10 goals going into this season,” says Dixon, “first on our list of goals is winning our home opener.”

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