Hayward forever in the rafters: Panthers outscore Huskies

This past weekend, the man of the hour was definitely Perry, Georgia’s own Casey Hayward Jr. He was a stellar defensive back at Vanderbilt University and later, he was picked 62nd overall in the 2012 NFL Draft. But before all of these accolades, who exactly was Casey Hayward?

Hayward was a very talented athlete for the Perry High School Panthers. During his high school career, he was an all-state performer in football, basketball and track. However, it was on the gridiron where fans saw the best of Casey Hayward. As a senior at Perry High, Hayward was a three-year starter at the positions of quarterback and defensive back. During his senior campaign, he threw for over 1,300 yards and 18 touchdowns. Hayward also had an exceptional rushing ability during his time as the gunslinger for the Perry Panthers.

Alongside throwing for over 1,000 yards and 18 touchdowns, Hayward rushed for 1,284 yards and another 18 scores as well. As a lockdown cornerback, he intercepted four passes, three of which were returned for touchdowns. In his time in the professional sports arena, the Perry native has had a great NFL career. Hayward was drafted in the second round by the Green Bay Packers in the second round of the 2012 NFL Draft and has since played five season with the San Diego Chargers, a team that has since changed its name to the LA Rams.

Hayward has 23 career interceptions, and he is known as a threat to opposing quarterbacks. The now 32-year-old is currently in the NFL as a member of the Las Vegas Raiders, whom he signed with earlier this year. Hayward is the son of Casey Hayward Sr. and the late Tish Hayward. He and his mother became the founders of Hayward Hands, the nonprofit organization through which he reaches back to help the citizens of Perry in various ways. Hayward’s father, Hayward Sr., was a member of the Perry Football team as well and he graduated with the Perry High School graduating class of 1981.Casey Haywards’ Perry High football jersey was retired during halftime of the Howard and Perry game.

Friday night was also Senior Night for the Perry Panthers and the seniors really took charge to give Casey Hayward a great homecoming tribute. The Panthers looked sharp and sound on both sides of the ball. The Perry passing attack was in great hands against the Howard Huskies of Macon.

Junior quarterback Armar Gordon was 20/24 passing, and he threw for 306 yards, three touchdowns and one interception. Gordon finished the game with a 145.8 passer rating. On the year, Gordon is continuing to excel as he as thrown for over 2,267 yards and 23 touchdowns. Armar Gordon is 141 for 213 passing this season. To complete his season statistics, Gordon has only thrown eight interceptions, while averaging 252 yards passing per game. Gordon led the Perry offense to five total touchdowns on the night, two of which were rushing touchdowns.

The Panthers carried the ball 25 times for 69 yards against Howard’s defense. Despite not scoring, the Howard Huskies only allowed one sack on the night for the Perry Panther defense. The Panthers scored 21 first half points before scoring the rest of the game’s touchdowns in the third quarter. With Friday night’s win, the Perry Panthers improved to 8-1 overall, and 4-1 in the region.

The Panthers are set to closeout their regular season this week against the Baldwin Braves. The Baldwin Braves are not a pushover opponent as they are 6-2 during their 2021 campaign. The Perry Panthers will travel to Milledgeville on November 5, for this region matchup. Kick-off is set for 7:30 p.m.

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