Clarke Central High School varsity quarterback Isaac Ward, a senior, prepares to throw the ball during football practice in preparation for the opening regular season game against Winder-Barrow High School on Aug. 20. Ward is recovering from a dislocated thumb but will start in the Winder-Barrow game. “I was hurt with a dislocated thumb. It’s kinda better,” Ward said. “I’m still trying to get used to it, but it’s been feeling good the past few days, so I’m confident.” Photo by Krista Shumaker
On Aug. 23, the Clarke Central High School varsity football team will play Winder-Barrow High School at Billy Henderson Stadium.
The Clarke Central High School varsity football team will host Winder-Barrow High School Bulldoggs in their first game of the regular season on Aug. 23.
The Gladiators defeated the Bulldoggs in the 2018-2019 season at WBHS with a final score of 22-19.
“(It was a) good start for us. We were down at halftime, and we showed that we were resilient and very capable. You know they’re a AAAAAA school; they’re going to have some physical guys,” CCHS head varsity football coach David Perno said.
Clarke Central High School head varsity football coach David Perno blows a whistle during football practice in preparation for the opening season game against Winder-Barrow High School on Aug. 20. According to Perno, the team’s leadership is significantly stronger, and the players are more disciplined.“What we’re looking for is the type of mentality that’s fun to watch, the one area that we’re really going to focus on is penalties, we lacked a little bit of leadership and discipline last year, and at times were out of control with the penalties and I think this team (has), to this point, been more committed, (and demonstrated) better leadership, than any other team we’ve had in recent years,” Peno said. Photo by Krista Shumaker
Perno believes the team worked hard over the summer to refine their offense and defense and is confident their work will pay off.
“They did a good job this summer picking up on the new scheme defensively, and obviously the new plan offensively, and I think now as we get better and get into the season and try to shape our identity, it will carry us a long way,” Perno said. “It’s something coach Jones (Defensive Coordinator) and our defensive coaches have done a great job with this summer and our players have bought into it. It’s going to play a little bit differently, we could be absolutely dominant at times last year on the defensive side, but this year I think they’ll play with a lot more discipline.”
Perno says that home-field advantage, coupled with the team’s ability to stay drama-free, makes it likely CCHS will walk away with a win.
“Last year we were (at WBHS). We started our first three games on the road, played very well, and for that team, that was probably good. For this team, I think us being at home really increases our chances of getting off to a good start,” Perno said.
Varsity quarterback Isaac Ward, a CCHS senior, has high hopes for the team and believes they will succeed in part to a new coaching staff.
“I like (the new coaches) a lot. They’ve been very helpful, they’re really good coaches. Just (teaching the) little things, and those turn into the big things, like my quarterback coach, he coached Michael Vick– like that’s pretty cool,” Ward said.
