Clarke Central High School varsity football wide receiver Troy Rucker, a then-sophomore, advances the ball against the Cedar Shoals High School varsity football team in the 57th Classic City Championship at CSHS’s Waters-Wilkins Stadium on Aug. 19, 2023. CCHS head varsity football coach David Perno looks forward to the 58th Classic City Championship, which will take place at 6:30 p.m. on Aug. 15 in Billy Henderson Stadium. “It’ll be a good challenge. More importantly, it’s at home this year, which I think is going to be a lot of fun for us,” Perno said. Photo by Aza Khan
The CCHS varsity football team is prepared to play Cedar Shoals High School in the 58th Classic City Championship.
The Clarke Central High School varsity football team will open their season against Cedar Shoals High School in the 58th Classic City Championship at 6:30 p.m. on Aug. 15 in Billy Henderson Stadium.
In last year’s rivalry game, the 2023-24 CCHS varsity football team defeated CSHS 28-7 in CSHS’s Waters-Wilkins Stadium, but over the past two seasons, the Gladiators have struggled, having an overall record of 10-11. CCHS varsity football head coach David Perno is looking to turn this around for the 2024-25 season with new players, personnel and focus.
“A lot of guys have a ton of experience, so they have a little bit of a bad taste in their mouth from last year and how that deal went the wrong way. And so they’ve learned a lot from that,” Perno said. “So the focus has been and their intent has been, you know, at a much higher level than in a lot of teams in years past.”
CCHS secondary varsity football team coach Zack Howard is one change to this year’s team, it being his first season at CCHS after coaching at South Forsyth High in Cumming, Georgia.
“Last year (the team) had a middle of the road year, and this is something that we needed to fix and change,” Howard said. “Coach Perno brought in some new coaches and did some things different. Our team has meshed well and bonded really good over the summer.”
As the Gladiators focus on their team community, varsity football quarterback Hezekiah Millender, a senior and three-star transfer from Desert Edge High School in Goodyear, AZ who started at CCHS in the spring of 2024. Despite losing 34-8 to Marietta High School in an Aug. 8 preseason scrimmage at MHS, Millender feels that the Gladiators are well-prepared for the home opener.
“I feel pretty excited. This is my first rivalry game, so we’ll see how it goes. I don’t know if they’re like this in Arizona, so we got to see how it goes,” Millender said.
CCHS varsity football wide receiver Malik Jackson, yet another 2024-25 addition to the team, has a unique outlook on the game as a transfer from CSHS.
Clarke Central High School head varsity football coach David Perno speaks to the 2023-24 CCHS varsity football team at the 57th Classic City Championship on Aug. 19, 2023 in Cedar Shoals High School’s Waters-Wilkins Stadium. For the 2024-25 season, Perno is focused on team culture. “We worked hard in spring football (and) in the summer on changing our culture, how we treated each other, our behavior outside of the practice field, outside of the locker room or in the classroom,” Perno said. Photo by Aza Khan
“It’s going to be a very competitive game. I get to play against some of my friends from over there, so I feel very good about today,” Jackson said.
According to Perno, the crosstown rivalry may result in an emotionally-charged game – as recently as two years ago, the last time CCHS hosted the game, an on-field altercation during the fourth quarter resulted in ejections for both teams.
“What you worry about is (it being) too emotional, because they’ve played against these kids, or played with some of them growing up, and now (they’re) in the Classic City Championship, and it can get away from them,” Perno said. “We’re trying to just focus on execution.”
“We worked hard in spring football (and) in the summer on changing our culture, how we treated each other (and) our behavior outside of the practice field, outside of the locker room or in the classroom.”
— David Perno,
CCHS varsity football head coach
After not making it to the 2023 GHSA AAAAA Region 8 playoffs for the first time since his start as CCHS varsity football head coach in 2016, Perno is looking for the team to work together to minimize mistakes and keep possession of the ball in order to secure a sixth straight win against their crosstown opponents.
“Some circumstances and pitfalls or roadblocks we can’t avoid, so we’re getting (the Gladiators) to control the controllables, and regardless of what comes out at us, we’re going to handle it with a positive attitude, and we’re going to lean on each other to get it done,” Perno said.
