Perry football takes down Baldwin in rain-delayed finale of Gridiron Classic

FORT VALLEY — The finale of Saturday’s Gridiron Classic at Fort Valley State University was called into question as multiple lightning delays pushed the start time back again, and again.

But, a little after nine, Howard versus Westside concluded and Perry and Baldwin took to the field to warm up.

Perry football coach Kevin Smith kept his players focused on the game through multiple hours of unexpected delays, and he drew from their experience in the championship game to help do that.

“We talked all week about [treating it] like going to play in the state championship. We didn’t know [how long] those games before us [would go]…we wanted to keep the focus inside the lines,” Smith said. “We can’t control everything…so we tried to keep it in between the lines and I thought we did for the most part.”

Rain fell steadily in the second half of the game, but the Panthers (1-0) still came away with the 37-6 victory over the Braves (0-1).

Here are three observations from Saturday’s game:

PHOTOS: See more shots from Perry’s game at Fort Valley State University.

1. Perry dominated both sides of scrimmage the entire night

The Panthers determined who was going to run the ball when, where and how far for both teams on Saturday.

Baldwin had nothing to their name on offense save a few big plays sprinkled throughout the game. Run or pass, Perry’s front seven was in the backfield making a big play most of the night.

This was highlighted when the Panthers forced the Braves into fourth-and-13 inside their own 20-yard line, and the punt for the snap was too low and rolled out of the back of the end zone, giving Perry the safety and the 16-0 lead in the second quarter.

Even when Baldwin did get off their big runs, none of them ended up with a score except for a quarterback scramble that almost went the length of the field to start the third quarter. That was their only score of the night.

Perry also controlled the line of scrimmage on offense. They had multiple sustained drives on the ground and through short passes that acted as runs. They had great blocks upfield from their offensive line, and their tight ends also had some great blocks to ensure runs stayed positive.

“Our guys up front, defensively, they’ve been playing well all summer. We had two starters back and we had two guys that stepped in that played a lot of football last year,” Smith said of the defensive line. “Then offensively, that’s been one of the question marks has been our offensive line. I think those guys are starting to grow up and be high school football players.”

2. Cullen McDaniel’s decision-making looks good in the Panthers’ offense

Smith advertised McDaniel as a game-managing quarterback in the summer. Someone who can make intelligent plays and take what the defense gives him.

There wasn’t a big sample size, but against Baldwin his decision making looked good.

The Panthers didn’t ask him to make a lot of complex reads or decisions. Many of his plays were almost run-pass-option like in the fact that he had a man in motion to throw to immediately if his primary read wasn’t open. There was almost always a check-down available in the backfield.

There were a few plays, however, where he had to scan downfield first before making a decision.

If his reads weren’t open, he comfortably and safely got it to his check down and moved to the next play.

He also had a fair amount of read-option plays where he was asked to make decisions.

He did attack downfield a couple of times. One was a dropped touchdown pass to Kiel Sparks, and the next was, funny enough, a touchdown pass to Sparks.

In a run-heavy Perry offense, McDaniel should be a good fit at quarterback.

3. Ahmad Gordon-led wildcat formation sees a good amount of snaps

There were more than a few occasions where McDaniel came out of the game completely, and running back Ahmad Gordon led the offense in a wildcat formation.

Several of those plays were read-options with fellow back Corrion Daniel in the backfield with him, and two of them went for touchdowns as he handed the ball off and Daniel took it wide and snuck into the edge of the end zone.

While it might not see “consistent” use, Smith sees this formation as a way to get the ball in the hands of his best players.

“It’s a lot more to get ready for if you’re the opposing team. We try to utilize getting all of our playmakers the ball some kind of way, and that’s just a different way to get somebody else the ball,” Smith said.

UP NEXT

Perry will get a visit from rival Peach County next week on Friday, Aug. 23 at 7:30 p.m.